Hip Hop impresario Russell Simmons is clearly working on his karmic account balance. On the plus side he was responsible for the Def Jam label, the Def Comedy Jam franchise, and the Def Poetry project. On the minus side, well, he did unleash Kimora (and some questionable Phat Farm fashions) unto the world…

Simmons, like his tweet-mate David Lynch, is a devotee of the late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and his Transcendental Meditation technique, which was first publicized in the western world by the Beatles, Donovan, and California's own Beach Boys (ok, Mike Love mostly). Today on the website Global Grind, Simmons published a post extolling the virtues of yoga and meditation in schools:

Imagine sitting at a desk for seven hours every day, with only fifteen minutes to eat your lunch. No time for exercise, no after work gym visit, no walk through the park, just sitting at your desk. Imagine how this would affect your focus and interaction with your colleagues, friends and family. Unfortunately, this is the reality for millions of public school children throughout this country. Good news, for very minimal investment we can change this.

Recently, I had the privilege of attending an event to benefit an amazing organization, Bent On Learning, whose mission is to provide free yoga classes that includes meditation (quiet time) for school children in New York City. Joining the two together, yoga and children, is an obvious synergy, because yoga is a great physical workout that teaches kids, in fact teaches everyone, how to use what they already have, their body, breath and mind, to feel better about themselves, to release stress, calm their emotions, and increase focus. I personally came away from the evening with a renewed commitment to bringing yoga to kids throughout the New York City public school system and throughout the country.

BONUS TRACK:

Cryptacize, a SF band recently relocated to Los Angeles, playing the Beach Boys' “Transcendental Meditation.” Remember kids, “Mike Love, Not War.”

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