Ace Hood and Shelah Marie meditating together.
Hip hop is not known for its yoga (though, yoga is getting known for its hip hop, isn’t it?). We don’t expect yoga rap to be the next hit style sweeping the charts, but you just never know. (Sorry, MC Yogi doesn’t count.) Anyway, whether or not yoga seeps into the music, we’re hearing more about its presence, and that’s pretty awesome. (And it’s not just hip hop entrepreneur and Jivamukti devotee Russell Simons, though he’s certainly helped ameliorate yoga’s diversity issues—did you hear about his fancy new LA yoga studio?)
Sure, yoga’s still not all that popular in the rap game, but maybe that’ll change. Ace Hood, a rapper whose top track is called “Hustle Hard,” is discovering why practicing his down dog is making life a lot easier. Especially with his girlfriend.
Watch out Beyonce and Jay-Z, a new power couple’s posing a threat your royalty status. Literally.
According to BET, Ace Hood and his partner Shelah Marie have been doing private yoga sessions together for the past year with their teacher @yogaracheal, and it’s been a boon to their relationship.
“Intimacy happens in the mind first, so I think yoga helps you to become more in tune with yourself,” Shelah says. “When we’re in tune with our own selves and become more comfortable with ourselves, then you become more comfortable with your partner,” she said.
And just in case you thought all the rappers are doing yoga now cause it’s so hip (dope? we’re old), Shelah points out that practicing yoga and meditating with your bae is kind of a big deal.
“I think he’s so brave. I used to tell him that in the beginning, just being with a Black girl who has natural hair and not being afraid to go out and meditate, I think it’s brave for somebody in his position. He’s going to wake the game up and let them know what time it is!” she said.
Shelah, who has her own meditation mixtape and self-love conference, is a huge devotee to the practice and shows her love through a multitude of instagram posts, many of which help to challenge yoga body stereotypes and appeal to the black community, which has, until more recently, been largely absent from the mostly white yoga picture.
Together, Ace Hood and Shelah Marie are turning the stereotypical image of yoga on its head…er, hands.
And look who else is benefitting from the practice.
More of this, please.
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Sweet family! What a wonderful gift they are giving their kids!
I personally would not enjoy having a teacher make us listen to “Hustle Hard” during a class. However, I can imagine that song being played during yogic bicycles at a sculpt class at CorePower, etc. lmfao
I would love to have such an amazing family one day! Great combo! 🙂
Shiv Siddh Yog Peeth RYS 200, registered yoga school, conducts 200-hour residential yoga teacher training in Rishikesh, friendly and professional Yoga School in Rishikesh in the Himalayas, India which is certified by Yoga Alliance, U.S.A https://www.shivsiddhyogpeeth.com/
200, registered yoga school, conducts 200-hour residential yoga teacher training in Rishikesh, friendly and professional Yoga School in Rishikesh in the Himalayas, India which is certified by Yoga Alliance, U.S.A https://www.shivsiddhyogpeeth.com/
By the looks of their handstand-at-the-wall video, they’re right on track to damage their shoulder joints.
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I love how different types of people are trying yoga