In review--Global Yogi

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World Yoga
Putumayo
 

I felt surprised when I received this soothing gem in the mail.  I expected to hear a series of Kirtans sung in a variety of languages, but instead ambient world music greeted my ears when I played Putumayo Presents World Yoga.  The compilation opens with Sona Jobarteh from Gambia humming over a warm acoustic guitar and this short piece invokes our hearts to enter the yogic experience.  Quentin Dujardin (Belgium) follows with more acoustic guitar played slowly with shimmering notes lingering in the air.  It’s funny because until today, I thought the two first tracks represented one song.

And if you’re going to listen to World Yoga while practicing your daily yoga (not a bad idea), you would want the 15 tracks to flow into each other, as you flow from one asana to the next.  Surprisingly, most of the songs hail from the African continent, but also Germany (Deva Premal & Miten), USA, Mexico, Tibet, Sweden, Armenia, Portugal and Wales.  This reminds us that yoga which finds its origins in India, today wears an international face.  I have not heard of the bulk of these musicians prior to listening to this CD, however, for yoga practitioners, Deva Premal’s voice has grown synonymous with yoga.  And now I can think of Geoffrey Oryema (Uganda/France) and Sara Tavares (Portugal) in the same yogic breath.

While I definitely recommend World Yoga for meditation and yoga, you can also listen to this CD in your car to relax after work, or to chill with it after a stressful moment.  I would even recommend slipping this CD into your player before bedtime.  You need this CD so treat yourself.

http://www.putumayo.com and http://www.rockpaperscissors.biz

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