Typically, Zev Yoga – located right above Breaking New Grounds in Market Square – offers a quiet, reflective, largely sound-free retreat from the hustle and bustle of downtown Portsmouth.

But on the night of August 31st, that hustle and bustle – albeit of a much quieter variety – will be making its way up two flights of stairs to the wooden-floored yoga studio.

Starting at 8pm that Tuesday, Jonas “Zev” Amberger will host the second in a series of unique events combining music, light refreshments, and a gentle yoga practice.

According to Zev, the “SUBTONIC” event – which gets its name from the musical term for the leading tone directly before the “root note”, the most stable note in the musical scale – “seeks to utilize a mindful practice as a way to experience music on a different level.”

“We want people to have an entirely new experience of music through the practice of yoga,” he says.

Musician, multi-instrumentalist and renowned world music icon Randy Armstrong will get things rolling with an array of unique and exotic instruments, including the Lakota flutes, guitars, a sitar, as well as ambient sound-scapes. To call Armstrong a multi-instrumentalist would be an understatement: the musician is capable of playing over 200 of them.

Building off the energy in the room, Zev will then commence a yoga practice suitable for all ages and experience levels, while Armstrong will continue playing notes in sync with the movement of the practitioners.

Having created a similar program in the fall of 2009 and another in late July, Armstrong and Zev were so inspired by the reception that the two decided to roll it out again in August. Armstrong said he’s thrilled to be taking SUBTONIC to the next level.

“We wanted to have the two art forms working together, but in a live setting,” explains Armstrong, whose musical experiences also include providing music for meditation sessions and workshops at the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies in New York. “Many yoga studios use music that’s prerecorded, but sometimes it doesn’t necessarily go with the actual movement in the practice. So we’re trying to draw a deeper connection between the practitioners and the music itself.”

The SUBTONIC event will last about two hours. Ticket price is $20. in advance. For information call: 603-501-9292.
In an effort to draw in new students, now through August 1st new members can receive an unlimited membership to Zev Yoga for just $25 a month through the end of the year.

Earlier this year Zev trained a crew of seven new teachers to help ease the burden of increased membership at the studio, which until that point had been mostly a one-man show. The newly-minted instructors also allowed Zev to further diversify his classes and schedule.

Zev specializes in Ashtanga Yoga, an ancient practice that involves synchronizing the breath with a progressive series of postures. The resulting practice produces intense internal heat and a profuse, purifying sweat that detoxifies muscles and organs, improves circulation, and gives way to a light, strong body and calm mind.

Randy Armstrong is a world-renowned musician whose specialties range from world music to jazz fusion and beyond. He is the co-founder of Do’a World Music Ensemble, as well as the bandleader of the Randy Armstrong Trio and World Fusion Ensemble. Throughout his career Armstrong has sold hundreds of thousands of records worldwide.

The event costs $20 per person and is open to all ages.

For more information about Randy Armstrong, go to www.randyarmstrong.com
For more information about class schedules and other events at Zev Yoga, go to www.zevyoga.com
To learn more about the Green Alliance, go to www.greenalliance.biz