Musical Offerings in Jamaica with Jason Lee Worton

SO STOKED that my long time friend, yogi and super musician will be joining us for the Yin and Justice Teacher Training AND the Yin Rest + Reset retreat in Jamaica.  Jason is also a yoga teacher in Kingston and plays a whole variety of instruments and sings.....are you ready for musical medicine mixed with yin yoga on the sea? We give thanks for the musical healing powers and insights that is music and yoga mixed today. Have a peep at this bio below and have a listen to this soundcloud here. 

Jason Lee Worton, a singer/musician, grew up moving around the island of Jamaica, and spending several years overseas. Coming from a racially diverse background, surrounded by music, the ocean and rural Jamaica, this shaped him and his music, one of his muses being "the common bonds that complement the very distinctions that make us all beautiful individuals".

Switching between instruments and styles, he has established himself as a solid sideman multi-instrumentalist, working mainly on the guitar. Often described as a Jamaican Jimi Hendrix, but also having acoustic material compared to Jack Johnson, Jason spent years performing with numerous Reggae Artistes, ranging from veterans such as John Holt and Kymani Marley, to the leading figures of what is being referred to as the “Reggae Revival Movement”. This includes young rising stars such as Jah9, Chronixx, and most significantly Protoje in his backing band “The Indiggnation”, who he toured with throughout Europe and the USA.    

Building his reputation as a guitarist in the Reggae scene, Jason has also earned a name as a Singer/Songwriter in his own right, both within the Reggae fraternity and in thesmall developing Yoga community in Jamaica. He has been a mainstay at small local venues like Jamnesia, RedBones and the local jam scene. As a yogi-musician, he has been accompanying yoga classes and leading the occassional kirtan session, bringing his blend of Jamaican and World Music influences to studios and retreats around the island. During the Caribbean Yoga Conferences of 2012 and 2013 he played with MC Yogi, then with Dave Stringer. In 2015 during the first ever International Day of Yoga, he played for the largest recorded gathering of yoga practitioners in Jamaica at the National Indoor Sports Arena,   attended by local dignitaries such as the Indian Ambassador to Jamaica.     

Now Jason aims to continue sharing his music, releasing original material and a project of Jamaican influenced yoga/meditational music. His greatest joy is spreading love in the collective consciousness through irie music. When he doesn’t have an instrument in his hands, he thrives on being in the sea and in the bush, and is an avid surfer, yogi, and aspiring farmer/beekeeper.

Jason Lee Worton is the talented music maker to this new LLY promo video shot in Jamaica last year with Neisha Brown. Giving thanks for yoga moments all over the world, creative co-labs and bigger visions for this 2017! 

Atum: part of the LLY team in Jamaica

Greetings! I am Atum, my family (and you also may) call me Adam. Both these words, although slightly different in their origin, mean the same thing; beginning, the rise from nothing to something, the formation of life, you could even say the first breath. I'm excited to be a part of the Yin Social Justice and Leadership training that's going to take place in February especially since it will be in my beautiful home parish of St. Mary, where the best fruits and herbs in Jamaica grow wild and abundant in the hills. Since early childhood I have always taken refuge in writing. Growing up I had (and still have) my fair share of challenges navigatingthe society we've inherited through history, and I've been able to express myself most freely through pen and paper to find a way to cope with that. I started very young with poetry and journaling, and even though I may not write every day in either of those two ways, they've stuck with me to this day and are my primary means of expression through life's peaks and valleys. In the last couple of years I've found myself practicing yoga, originally just as a form of fitness and physical therapy, but what I've found as my practice developed has been much more than that. Breath is life, and so many of us don't breathe the way we sould. The mindfulness and breath control that I've been able to hone in on have changed the way I do everything from waking up in the morning to going to bed at night and I feel healthier, stronger and more aware than I ever have. The journey through yoga and breath have also shattered many illusions and preconceptions I had before based on what I knew growing up and learned from my environment and indeed I believe there are many more channels to be opened as the journey continues to unfold. In recent times I've decided to share my expression more openly, and this is a part of that sharing. I look forward to meeting the light beings that will be joining us on this retreat in February and the energy we will share as we commit to healing and building each other, and sometimes just being in the stillness. I intend to make the most of this beautiful opportunity, and to share its gifts with my community both at home and at wide, to spread love and acceptance and healing. Another love of mine, which goes hand in hand with mindfulness and breathing is steaming. In the latter part of 2014I started a business with my life partner called SteamChaliceJA, which is centered on spreading awareness of the breath and herbs as medicine. Far beyond your typical smoke shop and just 'getting high', we've made a commitment over the past couple years to redefining how we look at medicine and meditation and ritual. It has been such an eye opening experience so far and the rewards of seeing others learning to embrace natural healing and the power of the breath has been a joy to witness.  I have no doubt that intuitively all people will return to the Source. All the elements can combine to our benefit if we tap into that potential. I love nature, and usually in my free time I can be found not too far from a fireside or a river, steaming or just sitting and basking in the beauty of the great natural gifts of the earth. I love to share in the joys of good food, good music and good vibes.  I can't wait to share my knowledge of my little rock Jamaica and learn so much more from everyone else out there who is willing and able to share. Communication is key to our advancement. Peace and blessings until that time... Atum.

Yin Yoga & the 5 Elements. YTT

For more information you can check out the Vancouver School of Yoga Site.