Founder and creator of the Boys of Yoga movement, Sunday School Yoga and most recently mindfulness event Just Breathe, wellness warrior Michael James Wong sure has a lot on his plate. Recognising the chaotic nature of everyday life in the city, "we often let our best intentions for health and wellbeing slip from time to time," he reflects. "A wellness warrior is someone who is willing to fight for the good stuff in their life, be it their health, their fitness time, their meditation practice, their willing to treat everyone with kindness. While some people believe that these things should come easy, in the real world, these are often things we need to fight and prioritise."
Whilst Michael appreciates that meditation is often perceived as foreign, scary and irrelevant, he and his team at Just Breathe are working hard to shift perceptions of the simple "act of sitting quietly." With benefits such as easing the mind, calming the body and providing clarity and awareness, we certainly will be adding this practice to the top of the list of our health goals this year. To help get us started on the mindfulness journey, the global guru recommends a few things - find a practice that works, integrate it into your life, and keep it up everyday! If you want to really get your zen on, however, then Just Breathe's workshops or Grand Gatherings could be what you are looking for.
As the location and date for the fourth meditation event is due to be announced in the next few months, we asked Michael to give us the dish on what a newcomer could expect from the Grand Gathering. His answer? "Expect nothing. Come open, come to have an experience, but don’t come thinking what is should or shouldn’t be like." Although this may seem like a clever response, the sentiment is clear. The gatherings are special, yes, but are also just friendly and relaxed spaces. They are there to welcome everybody into an oasis of calm: men and women, babies and dogs, office workers, bankers, students and creatives. It is this fostering of a connected community that Michael describes as one of the most inspiring parts of the project.
As well as having utilised our Boiler House space for Just Breathe, we look forward to seeing Michael at many more Truman events this year - starting with Re:Solutions, where Just Breathe and Sunday School Yoga are sponsoring.
Re:Solutions
Juju's Bar and Stage's Wellness Festival
Recently featured in Time Out as one of the top five places to break a sweat this January, head on down to Juju's Bar & Stage at the Brewery this month to get involved in everything our health and wellness festival Re:Solutions has to offer. Book a variety of classes ranging from yoga to cardio, then grab a juice and chill for as long as you like by the candlelit bar - laptops welcome! With collaborators among the likes of Track Mafia, Lululemon, Urban Temple and more, we caught up with one of the event supporters below...
Nike Trainer, Ministry of Sound DJ and head honcho at Fat Buddha Yoga, Jessica Skye is a familiar fitness face at the Brewery, especially in the summer months.
We love your fusion of great tunes with dynamic yoga! What inspired you to mix the two?
It’s quite selfish really…I was DJing before I started teaching yoga – and yoga and music are two of my favourite things. So when I took the leap to start teaching yoga I naturally loved putting playlists and mixes together. There’s scientific proof that the right music positively stimulates workouts, so for those challenging classes there’s always bumping basslines. The right music can also bring you down a notch and create a chilled vibe (super important).
What funky tune are you listening to at the moment?
So many! One of my favourite producers Kidnap Kid has recently done a remix of Moby’s Natural Blues…That’s getting some mega airtime in my classes at the moment. You can find all the FBY playlists and mixes on Spotify and Soundcloud.
Re:Solutions is all about balance – when you take time out treat yourself, what are your favourite things to indulge in?
This winter has seen me mostly horizontal, and I’ve definitely been finding balance in that. Most of the year I am zooming around town and in and out of the country, which is awesome fun but can catch up with you. So I’ve been chilling hard in the evenings, eating loads of chocolate and having the odd glass of red wine. Now it’s January I’m ready to turn that around. I'm cutting booze for the month, eating super clean and have started running again. Yin and Yang Yo!
What is the most rewarding thing about doing what you do?
There’s so many things I find rewarding – FBY is my baby so it’s been amazing to watch it grow. I love the people I meet, I really enjoy hosting yoga events, and listening to and curating playlists and mixes. Most importantly however is getting to share good vibes with like-minded people who keep coming back for more.
As a DJ, yoga trainer and Nike teacher it is clear you have worked hard to be where you are. What motivates you to achieve your goals and what exciting things can we expect from you in the future?
The most motivating thing for me is enjoying what I do. If I didn’t enjoy it, putting the time in would feel like a chore. I think that’s perhaps the key. The biggest tip I could give for career happiness is being honest with yourself about what you want, and just go for it! When you love what you do it doesn’t feel like work and it’s easy to give it 100%. In terms of future plans, watch this space for bigger events, new venues, more music and some awesome retreats.
Hoop x Dance
@ Re:Solutions
Bolly Fusion
@ Re:Solutions
Toned from head to toe, it's still hard to comprehend how the small but powerful Guinness World Record holder Symoné can spin 40 hoops on her body at once - especially alongside an effortless smile and striking a sassy pose here and there. One class with the international performance artist saw the Truman Team squatting, dancing and stretching all whilst attempting to maintain a spinning hoop at the same time. Yet the fact our cores ached when we laughed the next day wasn't the only surprise. Speaking to the maestro herself, it's Symoné's hope that hooping will gain more recognition as both an intense physical and mental workout, helping us to connect with the balance of our bodies and focus the most important muscle of all (that's the brain, guys!)
You can find Neha Banik of Gungharoo Dance working up a sweat at Juju's every Tuesday evening regardless of Re:Solutions. Her modestly priced workouts fusing classical Indian technique with Western and Bollywood influences make for a lighthearted, accessible hour of dancing for both beginners and those looking to broaden their horizons. With a relaxed teaching style and fun personality to match, attending Neha's classes feels less like a fitness chore and more like being taught by a good friend. Mini history lessons are thrown in here and there, meaning you can also swat up your culture as well as moves to make you stand out on the dance floor. And with your first class completely free for January, there's no excuse for not getting moving!
For 17 years, our in-house project Free Range has been providing a platform for art and design graduates to come together and showcase their work to the world. To further Truman's dedication towards supporting and promoting new talent, a new addition to last year's season were the Free Range Awards, in which three young artists were selected for their own solo exhibitions with us. Keep your eyes peeled for their upcoming three day Instagram takeover on the Truman Brewery channel and for further interviews in our Free Range Newsletter!
Katharina Halser
Halser's 'Under My Skin' is an unique accumulation of personal catharsis, a natural inclination towards photography and her experiences of 71 operations all channeled into one. As well as winning the Individual Student Photographer Award at Free Range, Halser has also received great critical acclaim within the Deeper Perspective category at the International Photography Awards in New York. Intrigued? Read more about Katharina's art and life here.
Eva Abeling
Born and raised in Northern Germany, Abeling has both worked in Barcelona and studied at the University of Westminster in London. Her solo exhibition 'Welcome To My Sunday' reflects on the fearful yet beautiful things we witness in our dreams and struggle to understand. The pieces are poetic, take inspiration from literature, and encourage the viewer to seek their own truths in the delicate images Eva captures on materials such as watercolour paper and envelopes. Find out more.
Dylan Fox
'Frontier' sees Fox’s interdiciplinary works all coming together for the first time to explore his gender transition from assigned female to male in an explosion of print, sound, video, found objects and audience participation. The art has a strong element of social interaction to it which always feeds back into his practice, challenging viewers with feelings such as frustration and disappointment - similar to the emotional journey undertaken by Fox when transitioning his gender.
Coming soon...
Fare Healthy, Balance Festival and more surprises
As with every year that has gone before, Truman are planning big things for 2017 - and we also want to inspire you achieve your goals. Wellness festivals Fare Healthy and Balance will follow in Juju's healthy footsteps to keep you motivated in the upcoming months.
Calling all healthy foodies, thinkers and movers, Fare Healthy Festival hits Brick Lane at the beginning of February. With line-up guaranteed to melt away even the most stubborn of post-Christmas blues, get inspired by some of the biggest names in the wellness game on their Main Stage (or even better, find us lurking in the Demo Kitchen). So if you want to #gettheglow from Madeline Shaw, are a dedicated Framer, or are just a little bit obsessed with Deliciously Ella, then make sure you get your tickets now. Until then, Team Balance give us all some advice on how to stick to those fitness resolutions...
Start on a positive note... Take a moment to reflect on the good times of 2016. Instead of thinking of all the things you didn’t do this year – remind yourself of all the things you did. Don’t dwell on the negatives, remind yourself of the positives, such as the new friends you met, the advancements you made at work, or the fun holidays you had.
Think about what you want and why... When setting goals, it’s important to make sure they are in line with your core values and to ask yourself why you want them. For example, maybe you’ve always thought that you wanted to lose weight, but in fact, what you really want is to feel more confident in your skin. Once you’ve decided on a goal, ask yourself what it will mean to you once you achieve it.
Make it fun... There’s no point aiming to go to the gym 5 times a week if you know that you won’t get out of bed at 6:30am while it’s dark and cold outside. Start slow, with a goal that you are excited about and can look forward too. Maybe try a new exercise class with a colleague, or go on an active holiday with your partner, or book tickets to Balance Festival with a group of friends.
Pre-empt obstacles... Have a think about goals you’ve set in the past that you haven’t achieved. What got in the way? Now, think practically about your goals for 2017. What might stop you achieving them? What can you do to proactively avoid these obstacles? It’s a lot harder to get stuck when you’ve already got an escape route.
Good Luck and Happy New Year!
