Live Jazz and Yoga? I’ll Be There… After The Pandemic
Since late 2019, The National Jazz Museum in Harlem had sent me newsletter after newsletter about a live jazz and yoga series happening at the venue. The classes were hosted by Move and Groove Yoga, a holistic organization founded and led by Courtney Liddell and Latressa Fulton.
Black and woman-founded healing spaces are crucial. Intersecting music with movement and mindfulness, I found their framework immediately appealing, and clung to the idea of meeting Liddell and Fulton one day.
Though I failed to make it to class, on a Tuesday night in February, Move and Groove launched their conversation-based series, “Sound and Self-Care.” My will to attend surpassed the rain that washed over the city. I shook my umbrella outside the door of the museum and found a seat.
While a group of us – from young adults to seniors – discussed mental health in the music community, the evening felt generous, vulnerable, and honest. And in our interview below, you’ll find Liddell and Fulton offer the same sense of completeness as they describe what brought them to yoga, how music impacts their – and your – practice, and why yoga is an imperative tool for community.
Wherever they reference an album, there’s a link to listen. After reading, early birds should tune into their 8:00-8:15am sound baths on Instagram @moveandgrooveyoga. Follow them there, then click here to listen to their four curated yoga playlists.
Photo: David Welch. Martha's Vineyard event.
LB: Why did you start Move and Groove Yoga?
CL: We both share a love of music and yoga. I was doing an album-based yoga series at a local studio, teaching yoga classes to some of my favorite albums: “Aquemini,” “Songs in the Key of Life,” and “‘Justments.” After a “Love Supreme” class, Latressa had the idea to bring it to The National Jazz Museum in Harlem.
LF: Love for music, appreciation for wellness [and] self-care, love for community. [I] discovered and enjoyed The National Jazz Museum in Harlem, but never had the funds to sufficiently support the nonprofit. Created this combination for yoga with live music, a space of respite for the community, and finally, supporting [the] nonprofit.
LB: What differences do you notice between attendees who take a standard yoga class versus your live jazz classes?
CL: People come for the experience. We're not in a gym or yoga studio where people may be a little more focused on the physical. I've also noticed a wider age range. I frequently hear "I haven't done yoga in years!" I think the live music element generates a little curiosity and motivates some return to their practice.
LF: Some folks are newer to yoga or frankly more hesitant to practice yoga because they thought it was too hard. Most people find this experience familiar because of other attendees and I believe music is the biggest draw. They are welcome to try something new in a nontraditional setting.
Photo: Cyrille Phipps. Harlem RESET event, Harlem Parish.
LB: How has Move and Groove’s mission impacted your own yoga practice?
CL: I trained and still practice within the modern yoga studio system, but Move and Groove has made me think a lot more about how to share my practice with a more diverse community. Yes, this means race, but also body type, age, and income level. It means crafting an experience where everyone feels challenged, but no one feels discouraged.
LF: I’m learning more and more about discipline. [I’m] finding that I enjoy offering something up to people that makes me feel good. I’d like them to find relief in yoga just as I have.
LB: What caused you to start practicing yoga? How does music amplify that purpose?
CL: Peer pressure and a little bit of vanity. Two women in bootcamp class suggested I come to yoga with them. They were both incredibly fit and had a spirit and work ethic that I really admired. I wanted to do whatever they were doing. Music, especially when I was new to the practice, played many roles, from distraction to motivator to soother.
LF: I came to [a] regular yoga practice for healing after losing both my father and brother to cancer within one year of the other. This was a time of immense pain, both physically and mentally. I continue to have the support from my family and friends who helped find peace in my heart, but it was on the yoga mat that I found restoration and calm.
Like life, there are some parts of yoga that can be really challenging. But each time I made it on the mat, I was rewarded by taking the time to breathe. I came through pain with a sense of resilience. My hope is that as music soothes your soul, you’re engaging [in] physical activity with your community, and that it will change people's lives. The live music makes this a dynamic experience, as it stimulates the senses. I am well aware of the magnitude of the microaggressions that we experience each day. I wanted [to] allow people to learn the benefits of yoga and also see this as an attainable remedy as they move through life.
Photo: Cyrille Phipps. Harlem RESET event, Harlem Parish.
LB: What is yoga's relationship to jazz music?
CL: The present. Yoga teaches us to be present in the moment. I think anything improvisational in nature already does that. On a practical level, it doesn't hurt that jazz has endless instrumental options and an incredible range. I love all forms of music, but some lyrical themes don't play well for me when I'm approaching my mat.
LF: Ideally, yoga does have a sense of flow, but when we have our classes, musicians can see that there’s a crescendo, and you smooth back down at the end. That sense of rhythm in our heart and breath is pleasing to us.
There’s someone we’ve been studying named Frank Johnson. He teaches so much about breath and sound, and how they make you feel, and how that drives you to either relax or move faster. It’s been interesting to learn from that.
LB: Who are your 5 favorite musicians to practice yoga to?
CL: That's tough for me! I'm constantly creating playlists for classes without live music. A few artists that show up regularly: Alice Coltrane, OutKast (I play “Hold On, Be Strong” on loop all the time), storytellers like Bill Withers and Gil Scott-Heron. I've been playing a lot of Christian Sands lately.
LF: Hard for me as well… But Gary Bartz, The Clark Sisters, Stevie Wonder. Any music that’s good for the soul.
Photo: David Welch. Martha's Vineyard event.
LB: As black women, what apprehensions did you initially feel towards practicing yoga? How did you confront and tackle those hesitations?
CL: Honestly, none. I've known black yogis since I was a child, and when I started to practice as an adult, it was because black women invited me. It was normal for me, and I hope our presence helps to make that the case for others. It's really important to me that people know that yoga is not inherently white, thin, young, affluent and female. Historically, it's rarely any of those things.
LF: For me, it wasn't really feeling in shape. Also, I had a lot of trouble quieting my mind. I'm not sure if that’s an apprehension of being a black woman. This could relate to just about anyone. But I can relate to yoga often being popular in white spaces and finding apprehensions or feelings out of place. But it was the teaching from black women that made the experience better for me. Those are the teachers that have shaped my practice the most. Finding this community that gently pushed me left me feeling welcomed and encouraged.
LB: Why is yoga an essential healing tool for communities of color?
CL: The ultimate goal of yoga is to reveal your highest consciousness. This means shedding layers: baggage, burdens, trauma, outright lies, etc. that we have often unknowingly adopted. The stress reduction and physical benefits are lovely side effects.
LF: Coming together in familiar supportive spaces. Advocating for yourself, your wellness, and your health. Your “helpline.” Do you know the resources you need? Do you have access to them? Moving from a value system that places material wealth as paramount and moving to center wellness as personal wealth.
Photo: Cyrille Phipps. Harlem RESET event, Harlem Parish.
LB: Covid-19 has interrupted many people’s routines, livelihood, and sense of safety. Which yoga postures would you recommend for managing anxiety or depression?
CL: Grounding postures like Malasana. A simple breath practice, like three-part or alternate nostril breathing, is also great.
LF: Child’s Pose. It's a resting pose where you can breathe into every part of your body.
