In this episode recorded last April, Channa and Meg caught up with their good friend, Yoga teacher JC De Leon. Each sharing shifts that they have experienced from the past 2 years from the different expressions of yoga to how music, silence and movement continue to amplify their lives.  

JC shares his love for martial arts and how it has evolved from practicing Taekwondo to Sarian (‘Sariling Paraan’ a form of Filipino Martial Arts) to Arnis. The aggressive release from each modality brings balance to his yoga and meditation practice.  

The realization of the finite-ness of life through his parents’ passing made him ponder on the question — “Am I doing something that I truly resonate with?” Our host, Meggy met JC in one of his earlier yoga classes in 2017. JC, at that time shared about his journey leaving corporate to teach yoga full time and founding his very own yoga institute. He talks about it more on this conversation.

On this episode, we also talk about:

* JC’s origin story on co-founding Konscious Spirit Yoga and Medicale Yoga Institute

* The practice of yoga beyond the physical poses and finding a practice that works for you

Almost a Music Podcast is recorded live on Clubhouse

Podcast IG: @almostamusicpodcast
Hosts : @channa3x | @meggycaparas
Guest : JC De Leon : @jclion1

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In this episode, Channa, Meg, and Jed have a conversation on music, faith, spirituality, service, and a shared vision. 

Jed shares how he sees the value of empathy and messaging through music to influence his life and creative expression. His experience with the underserved community was an invitation for him to find more depth and purpose in music. He hosts a radio show — The Bridge Chicago and is currently leading Good Loud Media, a nonprofit organization that creates music and movies to help meet the needs of at-risk people. Its mission is focused on violence prevention, mental health awareness, underserved health applications, and climate change.

We explore a conversation on music and divinity. Jed says that music has a way in exploring the divine in a way that is unique to us— the God of our understanding; exploring God with fewer walls, gatekeepers, and people telling what it has to be. 

We talk about having a sense of unity through a common purpose in making music. Each song could be a dream, a vision, and an aspiration of the artist. Jed sees different genres as pathways to multiple expressions 

Channa asked what is the signature of Jed Brewer? — “recognizing the talent that other people possess that the heart is gonna love if they take at least 3 minutes to listen to it. Other people are gonna get a chance to hear what I get to hear”
To close, Jed shares very profound insight on how he sees the music industry moving forward and he says — “Right now, artists have an opportunity to chart the course for themselves and have their own version of success. 

Almost a Music Podcast is recorded live on Clubhouse

Podcast IG: @almostamusicpodcast
Hosts : @channa3x | @meggycaparas
Guest : Jed Brewer @jedbrewer   

#AlmostAMusicPodcast #AAMP

In this episode, Channa and Meg sat down for a chat with Izzy, a writer, and creative entrepreneur as she shares how music influences her creativity through her blog, self-published book, and business. Our 7th episode covered stories as music fans, musings on life transitions, and navigating pivots while trailblazing the path towards one’s alignment. Izzy shares her journey of starting a music and photography blog while being a contributing writer for an online media outlet, Philippine Concerts. 

She has grown it to become a creative business to help content creators monetize their blogs. Coming into the full circle this year, Izzy finally self-published her debut Young Adult book “The Hush Society Presents'' which ranked #1 new release in the Teen and YA music e-books category during launch week on Amazon. This book was something she has been working on since High School. Talk about illuminating dreams in real-time!

 In this episode, we also discuss how juggling university and work-life looked like while working on passion projects on the side. Izzy knew that writing has always been her dream. She shares her journey of coming at a crossroads in her career and finally decided to pursue blogging full-time. She’s had multiple edits as she finds her voice, vision, structure, and consistency while building her brand and blog. Izzy drops the most recent iteration and northern star in her content direction - sharing your bliss and “a fangirl approach to life”. This was such an insightful and fun episode!

 They discuss: 

·       Comparing the blogging era 10 years ago to what it is now

·       Writing anonymously on Tumblr and Livejournal when content creators weren’t a thing

·       Insights on blog monetization 

·       Exploring the different assets of blogging and creative entrepreneurship 

·       Tiktok, social media growth and the importance of content planning

·       Navigating writing blocks and creative burnouts

·       KPOP and the whole new world of music and fan culture

 Almost a Music Podcast is recording live on Clubhouse 

Podcast IG: @almostamusicpodcast
Hosts: @channa3x | @meggycaparas
Guest: Izzy Matias @izzmatias | @thspbook 

#AlmostAMusicPodcast #AAMP