No doubt, Tola Yoga is that. For less than your pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks, come treat yourself to the best. Peace – R
Best $5 deal in LA for the Best Yoga Workout
Tola Talks all things Millennial with Hollywood Writer, Ben Smith
Another great show on Columbus Day talking all things millennial with my good friend and Hollywood writer, Ben Smith.
Since moving to LA LA Land eight years ago, Ben has managed to survive by developing websites while pursing his passion as a screenwriter. He’s also become a much better writer and continues to hone his craft by taking show-runner classes at UCLA.
As a follow-up to last week’s “If I Were President”, I would raise the Federal Minimum Wage and require our unemployed receiving benefits to get their hands dirty, helping America achieve the cleanest streets in the world…no doubt!
In other news, Tola Talks Hollywood movies and gives a 5-star review to George Clooney’s The Ides of March, bestows the The Get Your Shit Together Award to a Judge in Michigan, plus “nudge” theory with this year’s winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in Economic Sciences.
Check it out below…and remember to get your workout in! Peace – R
Tola Talks with Actress/Producer, Stephanie Drapeau
Kudos to re-launch of Tola Talks…we had a titillating show yesterday talking Hollywood film and TV roles with the lovely and talented, Stephanie Drapeau.
Plus, before I introduce Stephanie at 27:41 minutes, I kick-off the show with some Presidential advice on how to solve homelessness and get every United States resident off the streets. I also give out the Get Your Shit Together Award to none other than The Trump Administration.
We also observe a moment of silence for the victims and families of those who perished or were injured in Las Vegas in the worst mass shooting in our nation’s history, as well as for the way-too-early passing of one the great rock-and-roll legends of all time, Tom Petty.
Thanks for listening, and have an awesome day! Peace – R
Talking Tola Talks on LATalkRadio tomorrow 10am PST
Hey everyone, you can catch me on the radio tomorrow, Wednesday at 10am PST with ‘Sam in the Morning’ talking Tola Talks and anything else Sam and Rachel have in mind.
And if you haven’t seen the news on social media, after three years aways teaching Tola Yoga in Chicago and Seattle, I’m re-launching my talk show on LATalkRadio every Monday at 4p.
Tola Talks is a weekly show bringing you my “21st Century Talk for a No-Bullshit World”. No doubt there’s a lot of BS in the world, so I give it to you straight with seven different segments including: If I Were President, the Get Your Shit Together Award, Books-Movies-Music & More, World News, Rant & Raves (aka WTF), Fitness & Tola Yoga, and Celebrity Guest Interviews & Listener Calls.
Have an awesome day and as always, remember to get your workout in!
Live What You Love
Live What You Love and happiness will follow you everywhere.
I wrote this in yesterday’s blog and I’ll reinforce it again today. Because no matter what your current profession or your life’s passion – hopefully they’re one in the same – living what you love to do is something everyone can accomplish. That is to say, if you’re willing to make some sacrifices in order to achieve it. Because just like it was nearly 300 years ago and succinctly articulated by renown Scotish economist Adam Smith, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.
Case in point: 12 years ago I fell in love with Yoga and soon thereafter I became a certified teacher. Since then I’ve taught more than 25,000 students in over 2,000 classes throughout the United States, produced more than 30 hours of instructional videos including my Yoga-inspired film, Boulevard Zen, created my own style of Tola Yoga, and posted exactly 500 blogs since I started my website on December 9, 2010 (with Welcome to a new Fat Burning lifestyle!).
It’s also my birthday today, so here’s a little Tola Yoga treat to help center yourself and improve your balance. Enjoy and keep rockin’ your passion everyone…and live what you love! Peace – R
Explore the world…including Vancouver
If there’s one piece of advice I can give – other than workout everyday and live by Yoga
principles to build a strong body clear mind – it’s these three words:
Explore the world.
I just spent the past three days in Vancouver, Canada exploring a plethora of neighborhoods like Gastown, Downtown, Coal Harbor, West End, Davie Village, Yaletown, Kitsilano and Mt. Pleasant. An amazing 25 miles worth of walking around one of the most beautiful, clean, vibrant and fashionable cities I’ve ever lived or visited. There’s been quite a few.
In Vancouver you’ll find tons of great shops and eateries and cool street fashion that had me people watching as much as checking out the sleek modern architecture that’s everywhere.
There’s also tons of little parks and beaches and public art that seem to pop-up out of nowhere. Like the A-maze-ing Laughter in Morton Park consisting of 14 enormous bronze statues – in all different poses – of a shirtless guy laughing hysterically. And what a great way to get your daily workout in. By kicking-the-bricks, as we used to say back in my NYC real estate days.
Speaking of which, Vancouver also has that international cosmopolitan feel, much like Manhattan and Chicago. Plus, the hi-rise apartment building where I stayed had one of those old-school Universal weight machines and some dumbbells, which came in handy every morning. Add to that a yoga class, or better yet, a free 30-minute Tola Yoga class, and voila, you’re set!
So pack your bags, pick your destination, and do a little exploring on your own.
Peace – R
Fit, Fabulous and 50th in Seattle!
Today marks the first day of Donald Trump‘s Presidency of the United States. Love him or hate him, let’s give our new leader a chance. After all, radiating love is far better than harboring hate.
Today also marks my 50th day living in Seattle. WIth as many workouts and Yoga classes under my belt, plus more than 250 miles of walking its plethora of diverse neighborhoods like Pioneer Square, Capitol Hill, Belltown, Queen Anne, Fremont, South Lake Union and Georgetown, let’s just say I’m super fit. And fabulous, of course, because feeling good and looking good definitely does that to you. Not to mention I’ve been very fortunate in spreading the Tola Yoga love around town. That’s right, you can find me teaching weekly classes at the following clubs:
TRIBE Fitness – Sundays @ Noon and Monday’s @ 6am
Gold’s Gym (Capitol Hill) – Friday’s @ 9:15am
FLOW Fitness – Saturday’s @ 11:15am
Soul Fitness – Sunday’s @ 10am
So come join me for a very challenging and effective class, and I’ll see you on the mat! Peace – R
No Judgment…Just More Resoluteness
Never judge yourself when it comes to fitness. Just forgettaboutit, and keep moving forward. Because what you did or didn’t do yesterday – or last week – or last year – makes no difference when it comes to exercising today. Because each dawn brings a new day, and with each day brings another opportunity to reward your body with fitness. With an emphasis on reward.
Case in point: Yesterday my friend says to me, “OK, this week I’m going to start working out every Tuesday and Friday for the rest of the year, because it’s two weeks into 2017 and my resolution to workout twice a week is, well, failing.” This coming from a woman who worked out 4 times a week for the past 20 years until last year, when an injury put her on the sidelines for nearly a year. Now she’s completely healed but just can’t seem to get started.
Is this you? Or perhaps you’re someone who’s never been into fitness and wants to start? No worries.
Really. Because each dawn brings a new day, and with each day brings another opportunity to reward your body with fitness. You get the picture.
And if you don’t already know it, then repeat after me: if I workout on a regular basis, I will look and feel younger. Just like I said to my friend lamenting over her inability to re-start her engines, look at it this way: if you workout twice a week for 30 minutes each for the rest of the year, by New Year’s 2018 that’ll be 50 hours of fitness. Better yet, if you can make it one hour and then turn that second hour into a Yoga class, that’ll be 100 hours…a helluva lot better than Zero.”
No judgment over failed resolutions people…just more resoluteness. You can do it.
Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day everyone! Peace – R
The Power of One
Never underestimate the power of your thoughts, and without question, never ever underestimate The Power of One.
For the third time in 20 years I’m reading Bryce Courtenay’s , The Power of One. An amazing tale of a young boy’s travels and heartfelt metamorphosis – not to mention his spiritual influence on everyone he meets – that’s “part Charles Dickens, part Horatio Alger”, as described by the Raleigh News & Observer. More specifically, this magical journey filled with heartache and pure elation inspires anyone really listening to its deep-rooted message…to always listen to yourself and believe in the power of one: one idea, one heart, one mind, one plan, one determination.
Before I leave you with a paragraph from the novel that rings true no matter what your occupation or calling, take time to reflect on 2016 and set your thoughts on an even better 2017! Mine was quite amazing, with several milestones that set the course for my one idea:
- Created my unique style of Tola Yoga after 10 years of teaching 2k classes & 25k students,
- Produced the original Reality TV series pilot, YogaStyles of RICH and the Almost Famous,
- Celebrated 50 years of fitness – 40 years of weightlifting plus over 10 years of Yoga,
- Celebrated 10 years as an Entertainer/Producer and Yoga Teacher (and Yogatainer),
- Lived in three amazing cities: Chicago, Las Vegas and Seattle (love it here!)
And whatever your goals are for the New Year, remember to respect yourself with a daily fitness program. And just like young Peekay says, dare your courage to follow your thoughts:
“The power of one is above all things the power to believe in yourself, often well beyond any latent ability you may have previously demonstrated. The mind is the athlete; the body is simply the means it uses to run faster or longer, jump higher, shoot straighter, kick better, swim harder, hit further, or box better. Hoppie’s dictum to me, “First with the head and then with the heart,” was more than simply mixing brains with guts. It meant thinking well beyond the powers of normal concentration and then daring your courage to follow your thoughts.”
Have a safe and Happy New Year everyone! Peace – R
Welcome to…Seattle
I
n addition to my fitness mantra, another day – another workout, how’s this for my new travel mantra, another month – another city!
That’s right everyone, if you didn’t catch me in Las Vegas last month, you can now find me in Seattle.
With a plethora of historic landmarks and cultural attractions including the futuristic Space Needle from the 1962 World’s Fair, the Seattle Great Wheel – one of largest ferris wheels in the United States, the 24-day Seattle International Film Festival held every year since 1976, the Bite of Seattle – one of the largest Gay Pride festivals in the US, to the uniquely striking Seattle Public Library featuring 11 stories of glass and steel, the “Emerald City” is quite a city!
Not to mention Seattle is also home to business legends Amazon.com, Starbucks and Nordstrom – with Microsoft and Costco a stone’s throw away, five professional sports team including baseball’s Seattle Mariners, and of course, my favorite rock-and-roll band of all time, Pearl Jam. And don’t forget Seattle is considered the home of grunge music, having produced legendary artists such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and Mudhoney.
So why not bring my fitness style of Tola Yoga as well as my desire to create entertaining and inspiring content, whether it be a Reality TV series or a Radio show, to one of the most liberal cities in the nation – even surpassing its “weird” neighbor, Portland, Oregon, another cool city.
Have an amazing December everyone…and hope to see you in the Pacific Northwest! Peace – R