All things metal: Musta jooga -haastattelu

Interview in Metal Phenomenon -blog, released Feb 10th, 2017 Yoga and metal, does that go together?! one might ask but I can assure it does. Yoga classes that play metal music have been popping up around the world so even the more dark inclined could enjoy yoga without the ’happy hippie-world peace-love everyone’ kind of vibe that might make their metal hardened skin crawl. And as Finland is the promised land of (heavy) metal, it is no wonder you can find Musta Jooga courses here as well. Fittingly, Urfaust are bringing their latest album ’Empty Space Meditation’ to Helsinki on February 17 for a live ritual for which Musta Jooga is hosting a competition in collaboration with the concert’s organizers – time to sit down in lotus position with Meri Mort and find out more about just how metal and yoga go together.

Meri Mort, the woman behind Musta Jooga, describes herself as ”a wild woman, artist, yoga teacher and visual every day wonderer.” Her aim is to ”bring people together and make them move freely in their bodies, and hopefully help them discover the wisdom of their souls. I like to keep things moving. I only stop for meditation and yoga. And that’s why the spiritual path has become so important to me. It makes me drop in and drop out of the everyday life.” This is something that probably many also say about music be it live or otherwise: It is a break from the everyday, a way to experience themselves within themselves, and something that possibly guides them towards something deeper.

Music is essential for Meri. ”Music is something I couldn’t live without. I find comfort, power and a gate for expression in music. Music is a tool to find altering stages of consciousness. Music is magic. These days I don’t listen music all the time – not like consuming, it’s more like really giving it the space and time it needs. We just bought a new vinyl player, and I’ve really enjoyed the concept of an actual album after so many years of listening to playlists.”

But where is now the actual connection between music and yoga as such? ” Yoga is meditation in movement, to connect to the inner rhythms. To create connection and consciousness. Music connects our inner world to the outer world – just like yoga does, on a good day. Music and yoga MOVE. And we need to be moved. There are so many emotions, lots of inspiration, different paths in yoga and in music. In some way I am also searching for purification in both – more spaciousness and clarity, the feeling of release to the mind,” says Meri.

The Musta Jooga journey started at Pihasali yoga studio in Helsinki at summer 2015, and while Musta Jooga is not for everyone it has found its following and spread from Pihasali and monthly classes on Friday evenings to even to Finland’s biggest metal festival Tuska Open Air which e.g. organized an event together with Meri at the legendary Helsinki rock club Tavastia. The first class is something Meri still remembers: ”All who came were wearing band shirts. I was thinking, oh yeah, let’s keep this shit real! And fun! Also.” Since then all kinds of people from all walks of life have participated the classes. Though, they share some similarities that other yoga class participants might not. ”Nice people come to the classes! In all shapes, sizes and backgrounds. No drama, no hassle. Just spirited open-minded people who are interested in exploring the shadow side of life and mayyyybe they have a little bit more tattoos and hair than the rest.”

The classes themselves take the different backgrounds of people into consideration, they are rather the doom metal of yoga than speed metal. ”I try to keep the classes so slow that it’s always suitable for beginners. It’s not acrobatic or too serious. You don’t need to know anything about yoga beforehand. I crack really stupid jokes, and you just have to deal with it. I align students just like in any other class. Sometimes, I bring a drum and guide a shaman journey. It’s all very intuitive. I usually make plans and never stick with them.”

And just like the metal scene is often seen as a community, so is Musta Jooga. ”People should take away the feeling that they can be themselves just the way they are. Empowered, relaxed and more open in the body and the mind. For me it has also been super important that Musta Jooga creates a community – the feeling that we are in this together. For herself, Meri says that she has ”taken away more freedom to be the holistic multidimensional persona that I am. For that I am deeply grateful.”

Now on to the Urfaust gig and the collaboration with the concert organizers Deer Lord Agency – how did that come about. ”Their wonderful agency contacted me, and we started to think in what kinda ways we could work together. I didn’t know Urfaust before and immediately checked them out, and discovered that they have songs that fit Musta Jooga classes really well. Their raw and untamed, yet atmospheric and dark tunes give me the good kinda shivers.”

Etsimme edelleen joukkoomme ohjaajia! Otathan yhteyttä jos kiinnostuit 🙂

Alkuperäinen haastis löytyy täältä The Metal Phenomenon -blogista. Kiitos haastiksesta Nina!

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