Tola Talks with Actor/Comedian, Barry Ratcliffe

Always a blast talking with my good friend, Actor/Comedian and Producer, Barry Ratcliffe. On the Monday before Thanksgiving, Tola Talks goes into hyper-speed with the super high-energy Ratcliffe talking about his days in the 90’s working with Don Johnson on Nash Bridges, to his recent days on WGN’s gritty drama, Outsiders. Not to mention Rich’s dogmatic talk about positivity always rules over negativity, specifically as it relates to the current witch hunt for Hollywood’s sexual predators, Serena Gomez getting bashed for lip-syncing at the AMAs, and hometown heroin overdoses.

Plus there’s more including protecting the world’s endangered species and #BeKindtoElephants, fitness tips for the holidays and movies flashbacks – talking Men in Black (1997) and George Clooney’s The American (2010).

Back to the Future…in Los Angeles

Hey everyone, I’m back in LA teaching Tola Yoga classes and hosting live entertainment events like never before. Or shall I say, like before but with a renewed energy and fiery passion that’ll knock your socks off!

Why?

Because after two years of teaching hundreds of classes to nearly ten thousand yoga students in Chicago and Seattle, it’s great to be home. Plus, I’ll be surprising you with pop-up Tola Yoga classes around town, as well as hosting live events like this Saturday, June 10th from 2-4p at the Glendale Central Library. So come enjoy the exciting sounds of the fusion-jazz band, Manjé and The Tips, and you might find yourself laughing your butt off while doing some half-time yoga hosted by yours truly.

In the meantime, check-out this short mix from YogaStyles of RICH and the Almost Famous: Chicago. And for more information about Private or Corporate Tola Yoga classes, please email [email protected]. Have an awesome day and don’t forget your daily workout! Peace – R

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 Yogaand 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

 

Welcome to…Seattle

Iseattlen 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!seattle_central_library_seattle_washington_-_20060418 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

A Taste of Chicago

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Here’s a compilation of me introducing Chicago’s major tourist attractions including Navy Pier, Wrigley Field, the Mag Mile and the beaches of Lake Michigan. It’s where history meets trivia, meets fitness & Yoga and more.

We filmed YogaStyles of RICH and the Almost Famous: Chicago during the sweltering summer of 2016, and had a blast the last day of filming at the Damen Silos & Ohio Street Beach…when temperatures reached 108 degrees.

Thanks for watching and have a wonderful holiday! Peace – R

Another Teaching Milestone…600th Class in Chicago

Rich Tola 600th Chicago ClassI Just taught my 600th Yoga class since arriving in The Windy City last September.

And what an amazing time I had teaching thousands of yogis and yoginis in 12 different neighborhoods including Lincoln Park, Lincoln Square, Lakeview, West Loop, Uptown, Andersonville, Wicker Park, Bucktown, Highland Park, Evanston, Streeterville and the South Loop.

Have an awesome week everyone!

Peace – R

Celebrating 10 Years Teaching Yoga…at the Damen Silos

I’m very fortunate and grateful for having reached my 10th anniversary teaching Yoga to more than 25,000 students in over 2,000 classes throughout the United States. To celebrate, the lovely Lauren Accardi joined me for another challenging Tola Yoga class filmed at the super cool Damen Silosalso the site Michael Bay’s Transformer’s 4 and The Namaste Five class from YogaStyles of RICH and the Almost Famous: Chicago.

Love this one! Peace – R