My Musical Autobiographical Yoga Flow

Musicals have always been an enormous part of my life – so why not do a yoga flow that shows how my favorite musicals have influenced me? (Check it out below) A brief explanation in case the meaning is not *completely* obvious to people who are not me:

1. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat: This was my favorite as a child because it’s bright, happy, and full of life. And as the song says, when you are young, the world is full of possibilities and “any dream will do.”
2. Les Miserables: Every teenager identifies with Les Mis, right? As Jean Valjean and Javert wonder “who am I?” and see the same song through to very different conclusions, you find yourself figuring out what you would do. Also, Eponine, right? Enough said.
3. Mamma Mia: College is all about crazy new adventures with close friends and pining away for new possibilities – and learning, too, of course, just like this musical.
4. Newsies: My most important job after college was a small town newspaper reporter. This musical shows the importance of using what you’ve got to try and a difference – and doing it while leaping and tapping. What’s not to love?
5. The Secret Garden: The birth of my kids brought a whole new dimension to my life. This musical shows some of the beauty of those raw emotions and the transformative magic of nature.
6. Wicked: Raising children is a monumentally difficult task, one that brings rich rewards but takes quite a toll. You defy entropy, moods, and pretty much continual original sin, as well as gravity.
7. Hamilton: This mega musical came at just the right time in 2016. We all needed to “rise up” to speak truth to power and try to effect what change we can – and it’s far from over.
8. Dear Evan Hansen: As times change, we have to follow suit. Trying to cope with new stresses (from the world level on down) is much better when you hear “you will be found,” and sometimes it’s good to remember that “all that it takes is a little reinvention” to find the strength.
9. Waitress: I love baking, singing, and children, so this is such a poignant musical for me as well as for others. At the beginning and the end they sing “opening up,” a song which conveys the mundane, repetitive nature of life but also the exciting new worlds that can be just around the corner.