The press release announcement for Russell Simmons Presents Yoga Live tells us everything but the connection to hip hop, though that must be the “modern twist” that involves “integrating contemporary upbeat music to motivate students through a rigorous workout.” For the most part, Yoga Live seems like just another attempt at marketing yoga in its Western form as a combination of meditation and exercise with the Yoga Live name to tie it together.
The interesting part is the use of GoodTimes Entertainment to provide infomercials and, possibly, other marketing and distribution services, as they’ve done for exercise videos for Cindy Crawford and Billy Blanks.
Although the website doesn’t have a track list, a Reuters article claims that the video series is set to “72 tracks of original hip-hop music“. The article also quotes Simmons as saying, “We packaged it intentionally in a way for people to digest the physical practice. . . It’s not meant to get them worried about religion or spirituality.”
The Reuters article also shares various concerns regarding the commercialization of yoga. While such concerns are understandable, much of the history of yoga in the West is an extended tale of marketing and adaptation. Most forms of yoga practiced in the West are relatively new and many were developed with a Western audience in mind. To a large degree, Simmons is just continuing the development of Western yoga as a physical practice that encourages one to open up to spiritual pursuits without ever having to use the H word, Hinduism.
Nevertheless, Simmons’ nefarious new age schemes are revealed at GetYogaLive where Russell offers, in addition to the video set, a “Yoga Live Healthy Eating Plan” plus tips for a vegetarian diet and a 7-day supply of Yoga Live Multivitamins. And I just love the all white teaching staff, with Russell on the cover, it’s so multicultural!
I was most surprised to find that the Yoga Live trademark is credited to GT Merchandising & Licensing at the bottom of the GetYogaLive website rather than to Russell Simmons or one of his own entities. According to this suit filed against GoodTimes Entertainment on behalf of the FTC, GT Merchandising & Licensing is a division of GoodTimes. Let’s hope that YogaLive does better than the Copa Hair System or Richard Simmons’ (no relation to Russell, that we’ve uncovered to date) Blast Off the Pounds program.
Umm, when did Simmons, Russell not Richards, launch Hip Hop LAWS OF SUCCESS?
