Photo: Carl Kerridge Photography

{Part of what I enjoy most about writing and working for elephant journal is that we really are a community! I’ve gotten to know many of our writers and volunteers—on and off-line—and enjoy our little elephant family. If you are enjoying this new series, and want to find out more about one of our writers, email me your suggestions: [email protected] ~ KB}

This week, Colin Wiseman, of I Heart My Yogi and favorite elephriend agreed to answer my questions…though I would have preferred to head to Scotland and get answers in person!

1. Have you made any New Year’s resolutions this year?

I stopped making New Year’s resolutions. I seemed to always break them. When making them, they just seem to “set in place” and you “have” to do them. The last couple of years, I started New Year Intentions instead. I made a tonne of these knowing that some of them will be broken.

Last year, after the Hanuman festival, I also started to do “leaps” (like Hanuman did, if you believe in the stories) as well, which I think work very well with intentions, but are slightly more set in stone.

My favourite and most effective leap has been the “No TV.” I turned my TV off, downgraded my service to Freeview and then unplugged the Freeview box. So my intention this year is to reduce the amount of online TV I now watch and fill it with more healthy things.

  2. What’s on your iPod, Spotify or similar while you’re working these days?

Oh noes! My Spotify account is full of such rubbish. That’s why I love Spotify. I can search and find a lot of crap that no one would listen to, listen to it once, and never turn it off.

But the music I synch with my phone, via Spotify, can tell you a lot about me.

Currently that is : Three Metallica albums (Master of Puppets, …And Justice For All, Black album), Blind Melon, Levellers: Static on the Airwaves, Tibetan Singing Bowls, Bhagavan Das, The Sacred Wheel, Meditation mix, Daft Punk:  Tron Legacy, Nine Inch Nails: Pretty Hate Machine, The Levellers: A Weapon Called The Word, Eddie Vedder: Ukulele Songs, Peal Jam: Live and Pearl Jam Twenty, Temple of the Dog, Corinne West with Kelly Joe Phelps. So yes eclectic, and mine.

There are a lot more albums that I will synch from time to time. But my working music has to be relaxing, and will range from meditation stuffs to even heavy metal which can be relaxing. My headphones are currently broken though!

 3. Who is your favorite Bond villain and why?

Am not sure. I loved watching Bond, but I was never right into it. The only one that springs to mind is Jaws, just cause he was bad and goofy at the same time. I was more a cartoon kid, with Skeletor, Megatron and Mumm-ra being the baddies of choice back then!

 4. Morning yoga practice or evening? Home practice or studio?

My practice is nowhere near as good as it should be and I complain all the time about it.

My NY Intention is to do my sun sals every morning, but I am of the school of thought that yoga is not just asana. I do believe you can do yoga in more ways than just getting on a mat every now and then. Live your life good for the benefit of yourself and others is just as good “yoga” as being able to bend yourself in to weird ass positions that you put on Facebook to impress your friends and family. Helping an old woman across the road: yoga. Meditating on the bus (even just closing eyes and listening to music): yoga. Eating properly for your body: yoga. And so on. Asanas though I prefer in class as I have less distractions and seem to be able to achieve more. This is a rule everyone should follow if just beginning: No DVDs or TV shows. Hit a class and get taught how to adjust.

 5. What brought you to elephant?

My relationship with elephant started a few years ago. I had just started with yoga and Waylon had tweeted he needed help with his website…and the rest is a long dark history of tears and hair pulling, until we got the website stable—it still has its tantrums now and again!

Thanks Colin!

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Ed: Kate Bartolotta