Great line-up planned for our Valentine’s Day show at Two Hearted Queen! See you then – R
Courage Works at the Yoga Workshop (video)
No doubt having Courage brings you to a whole new level in life. As it does with your Yoga practice, not to mention one simple fact that everybody knows…Yoga gives you Courage.
Alright, let’s not state the obvious here, but doing one-armed feathered peacock pose (or Pincha Mayurasana for you Yoga purists) for the first time, well that takes Courage. So Kudos to my students who courageously tried & learned 10 of the most advanced Yoga poses on earth!
Here’s a few pics and a video of me teaching Eka Pada Koundinyasana I & II from our Arm Balancing & Inversion Workshop at Evanston Athletic Club. Have an awesome day! Peace – R
Tola Talks on Hamilton Radio – Preview
Tola Talks is off to a great start with Hamilton-Radio.com…check out the preview of last week’s radio show. Tune-in this week for titillating and funny conversations with LA-based Fitness Guru Mandee Miller and Chicago-based Comedians Lynne Roberts & Lauren Huffman.
Hosting/StandUp – Last Comedy Showcase of 2015
Treat yourself to my last hosting and Stand-up gig of the year, the Ain’t Jokin’ Wit Chu Comedy Showcase, tomorrow night (December 29th) at Abram Gale Lounge in Chicago, starting at 8pm.
Excellent line-up with two super funny comedians from our 12 Ladies of Christmas Holiday Show at Two Hearted Queen, my friends Danette Mark & Bridget Clymore. Gonna be a blast!
And if we don’t see you there, have an amazing New Year everyone…and feel free to drop-in my Yoga class on New Year’s Day at Wicker Park Athletic Club from 10:30-11:30am. Peace – R
Teaching Life Lessons is What it’s All About
Kudos to everyone who packed the house in support of our 12 Ladies of Christmas Holiday Show at Chicago’s Two Hearted Queen, and thank you to the very funny and very talented performers who donated their time and energy to make it an awesome event!
As your host/producer who always appreciates the opportunity to impact the lives of youngsters – as well as anyone else who’s open to it – the best part of the night took place right before our raffle drawing, while teaching young Nathan the proper way to shake hands.
Like the ancient proverb says: give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. So take heed and rid yourself of that dead fish handshake!
And don’t forget your daily workout. Peace – R
12 Ladies of Christmas Holiday Show Tomorrow Night!
We’re gonna rock the house tomorrow night with these Royally talented women of comedy! If you’re anywhere near Chicago, bring your family for some awesome Stand-up, Storytelling and cool Christmas Caroling. Not to mention a fine solo performance from Violinist Emma Smoler!
Saturday, December 12th from 5-7pm at Two Hearted Queen. Hope to see you there – R
Hosting Holiday Show on December 12th
Riddle me this: What takes place on December 12th that includes 12 amazing women who will dazzle the entire family with joy and laughter that doesn’t include alcohol, just awesome coffee and desserts, and doesn’t include men – except me – and is totally free? That’s simple…
The Royal Talent Showcase hosted by yours truly, Rich Tola, at Two Hearted Queen!
Rockin’ Chicago…First 50 Days
Great weather, tons of Yoga, a new talent agency and my own weekly showcase in the first 50 days. What more could I ask from America’s third largest city? I suppose a date with Katy Perry is the veritable cherry on top (no pun intended), but other than that, I’m rockin’ Chicago!
Hope you’re rockin’ your world wherever you are, and here’s a quick update since I arrived in the Windy City only 50 days ago:
- Signed with BMG Talent and auditioning for film & TV.
- Hosting a monthly comedy & talent showcase at Two Hearted Queen the 2nd Saturday of each month.
- Taught 51 Yoga classes and love my new home at Chicago’s #1 fitness community, Chicago Athletic Clubs. Come check-out any of our 9 locations around town and take my Yoga class sometime…we’re awesome!
- Found a new apartment in the lovely confines of Lincoln Park – 1 mile from the free Lincoln Park Zoo.
- Made a quick trip back East to visit family and friends and to watch my oldest nephew play baseball for my alma mater, The University of Pennsylvania.
Keep pursing your passion and Happy Halloween everyone…and don’t forget your daily workouts – they do wonders to fight those aging affects of good old Father Time! Peace – R
Think, Prepare and Leap…to Chicago
It’s been two weeks since I moved to Chicago to pursue Stand-up comedy and to teach Yoga in the third most populous city in America (about 2.7 million residents). And what a city it is, with more than 50 million visitors last year alone, the “Windy City” has breathtaking historical architecture and world class culture including public art, theater and improvisational comedy, not to mention all the jazz, blues and house music. And don’t forget professional sports, which I should know since I’m currently living three blocks away from Wrigley Field…Go Cubbies!
And if you haven’t seen the s
unrise over Lake Michigan, you should try it sometime. But wait, what about “I Love LA” and 9 years worth of plying my craft and producing 20+ hours of instructional Yoga videos throughout the streets of Hollywood? It’s all preparation for what comes next, and it’s all part of life’s wonderful journey. If you ask me I’ll always say never be afraid to take a chance on yourself, regardless of how scary it may be – or seem to be – to leave behind what you know best, i.e., your comfort zone.
The good news is Chicago’s not too foreign to me because I did spend two years here during my grad-school days at The Kellogg School at Northwestern University. Albeit, I spent most of my time in the comfy confines of Evanston, but of course I did venture down to bars in Wrigleyville, Lincoln Park and Rush Street for the occasional ruckus with my buddies – which you’ll know if you read my wild and witty memoir, Simply Between Millions: From Wall Street to Hollywood.
So never be afraid to LEAP…just make sure your move is well thought-out and even planned, although too much thinking and planning may lead to inaction (not a good thing). And if you make it to Chicago, give me a shout and come take my Yoga class.
Which, by the way, as of today I’m teaching at all 9 locations of Chicago’s premier fitness club, Chicago Athletic Clubs. In honor of National Yoga Month, I’ll be teaching a special class on Sunday, September 27th at the Lincoln Square location. Hope to see you there! Peace – R
Tola Talks Movie Mondays & Jake Gyllenhaal’s Nightcrawler
Tola Talks about Death with Dignity & physician assisted suicide, the $4 Billion spent on midterm elections & Dark Money Groups, the Windy City & blindfolded tightrope walks between Chicago skyscrapers, the new World Trade Center in NYC & America’s tallest building, plus the Get Your S#!T Together Award to a dead whale surfing idiot in Australia. On Movie Mondays, Rich also introduces a new segment called What’s Your ATA? (Ask Tola Anything), and reviews the new Jack Gyllenhaal psycho-thriller, Nightcrawler.
Watch weekdays on youtube.com/tolatalks.
