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Om this way: Inside the Texas Yoga Conference with hip-hop MC Yogi

MC Yogi brings the beats to yoga.
More than 1,000 yogis are expected at the second annual Texas Yoga Conference.That's a lot of arms raised.
Photo by Marci Gilbert
The Yoga Conference is being held in the University of St. Thomas gyms.
Photo by Marci Gilbert
Soon MC Yogi and his wife would lead the entire class around the gym in afreestyle dance romp.
Photo by Marci Gilbert

Over 1,000 yogis are gathering in the gyms of the University of St. Thomas for the second annual Texas Yoga Conference this weekend. There are 72 classes of various yoga styles. Major names in the Houston yoga circle like Albina and Roger Rippy of Yoga One and Joy Winkler of Joy Yoga are leading classes all day Saturday and Sunday.

Yoga celebrity and instructor, MC Yogi, is the Saturday night concert rounding out a yoga lover’s idea of a zen good time.

I attended the Saturday morning 90-minute “Asana and Yogi Grooves” class led by MC Yogi and assisted by his wife/yoga instructor Amanda Giacomini. Packed with over 100 dedicated yogis, we sun salutationed and flowed our way through the class. Both natives of California, MC Yogi and his wife travel the country sharing their music and art to yoga conferences.

The first hour of the 90-minute class was traditional with warrior poses, sun salutations and heart-opening twists. It is always an extra fun treat to attend a yoga class with so many dedicated yoga lovers sharing energy through breath in tight spaces of mats next to each other and on all sides of you. (If that sounds cheesy, try it and see!) At the hour mark of the class, MC Yogi, a full-time yoga instructor and music performer with a love of hip-hop, asked if the class liked to dance and warned he was going to lead us in something that makes no sense without balance or logic.

His wife proceeded to lead the 100-plus people in a freestyle dance around the gym to tunes MC Yogi chose from his handy iPad. He finished the class with a heartfelt lecture of always being "here" and trusting yourself to overcome obstacles.

The practice of yoga is great for all body types and ages, and the classes throughout the weekend cater to everyone. There is a prenatal class, a slow moving explanation of the sun salutation (a large part of the practice of yoga), and a yoga class for runners focusing on hips, hamstrings and a good stretch. There is also Yoga for Youth and classes focusing on back bends or twists.

This is the second year of the Texas Yoga Conference, sponsored by Cura Yoga and Yoga One in Houston. Tickets to tonight’s MC Yogi performance are $25, a half-day pass for Sunday is $80, and a full day is $140. The complete schedule can be found on the conference's website.

Editor's note: Don't miss Steven Thomson's story on the St. Thomas yogasm.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”