Calm Connection

Yoga and Meditation have become increasingly popular in the last few years, and it is easy to see why. It connects and restores calm to the mind, body, and soul. However, to the beginner, all the different poses and types of yoga and meditation to choose from may seem daunting. Fear not, in ‘Calm Connection’ we provide you with an understanding of the basics and introduce you to a high-tech, easy to use, app called Zenia and a new, invigorating meditation album called Moyo Motivations.

By Lauren Tighe and Weronika Kusmider.

Samantha Moyo photographed by Hana Wolf for Moyo Motivations

To enhance your practice, you may wish to include meditation as part of your routine. ‘Moyo Motivations’ is a seven-track album that connects the body and mind through guided meditation. The album is different from usual forms of meditation, in the sense that it encourages and talks you through a series of movements to awaken and invigorate the mind and body.  

Samantha Moyo photographed by Hana Wolf for Moyo Motivations

The album is the brainchild of Samantha Moyo (Mystic Moyo) and ALev Lenz. Moyo is a shaman, modern mystic, witch and the founder of Morning Gloryville, the global early morning dance movement and Alev is a Grammy nominated producer, singer-songwriter and composer.

Moyo Motivations album artwork

The tracks consist of spoken meditation to invigorate, rejuvenate and regenerate the mind, body and spirit. They have been designed with the time-conscious in mind, with each track lasting no longer than six minutes. You can listen to Moyo Motivations on their website by clicking Here.

Yoga dates back to pre-Vedic Indian traditions from around 3000 BCE, which makes it nearly as old as the hills. For centuries it has been connecting physical, mental and spiritual disciplines. So, whether you are hoping to work on your asanas (posture), improve your Ashtanga, Hatha, or Yin yoga poses, there is something for everyone. Perhaps you are thinking, ‘I don’t know what any of this means’, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. The video below explains the different yoga practices and will help you identify the one that is most suited to your needs.

Alexey Kurov, CEO and Founder of Zenia, told us about his approach to bringing an ancient art, such as yoga, to technology. ‘The practice of yoga is believed to have started with the very dawn of civilization. Through thousands of years, people used it to support health and mental wellbeing. In the 19-20th centuries, researchers first started looking at it from a scientific perspective to better understand its profound positive effect on the human mind and body. And yet, invaluable for so many, yoga remained accessible only for those who can afford to pay a teacher or already have enough skills and motivation to practice alone. And finally, in the 21st century, we took the best technological advances on offer — an artificial mind and vision — to make yoga practice easy and affordable for anyone. We have developed an app that, in one click, connects you with the best-certified teachers worldwide. While keeping the flow of the practice intact, our tech enhances it, giving you tips and hints and simultaneously helping your teacher make the most of your lesson. Zenia makes your home training more safe and effective than ever.‘

We do everything on our phones nowadays, as a result of that we can work out everywhere and at any time. Zenia, is a yoga app that is unlike any of the others; it is a hybrid of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology and the ancient spiritual artform of yoga. Most certainly, this will revolutionise the way we work out. Their advanced motion tracker technology scans your movements ensuring that your posture and positioning is correct, providing you with real-time feedback and guidance. As a result of that, it feels like you have your own personal yogi (yoga guru). Furthermore, if you miss the socially connected element of a class, or want some more guidance, the app has a community of yoga teachers that offer classes tailored to suit you. Moreover, there is even the option to join yoga challenges, to help motivate you and provide the chance to interact with other yoga enthusiasts.

Now you might be thinking ‘what even is AI, it all sounds so scary, is it tracking me?’. Don’t worry. Fun fact; Artificial Intelligence has been around since 1955. That was just around the same time that yoga was introduced to Western Society. Likewise yoga, AI has been ingrained in most of our day-to-day life. We use it across many different fields, for example, cybersecurity, medicine and personal assistants. Zenia uses this technology via your smartphone camera just to guide you. Above all, all of this is 100% private and videos are not recorded or stored. Therefore there is no need to worry about being ‘big-brothered’ as Orwell would call it.

As you can see, yoga has so many health benefits. It is all about gradual improvements to your physical health, mental wellbeing. It allows us to slowly but surely heal our mind and body. Therefore it is suitable for all ages and experience levels to join practices. So, if you have been thinking of starting the practice of yoga, or want to improve your skills, Zenia should be your go-to.
The app shows what can be achieved by a Calm Connection of ancient practices with high-tech AI. Most certainly, we hope, this is a sign of the future to come, where technology is truly used to improve health and wellbeing.

Namaste

— (Sanskrit, translates to ‘I bow to you’, respectful hello or goodbye)

If you have enjoyed reading ‘Calm Connections’ you might also like
The Best Part of Gil
To find out more about the app Zenia click Here. To find out more about Moyo Motivations you can check their website Here.