Public Health Policy Reviews 26:
Vinyasa Bliss #1 - Sacred Sunday - Featuring Rising Appalachia's "Silver."
Rising Appalachia is performing “Silver” (LIVE from Preservation Hall in New Orleans, Louisiana) in 2023. Video clip courtesy of Rising Appalachia on FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/RisingAppalachiaMusic/.
Public Health Policy Reviews aims to highlight, review, and analyze the public health impacts of the American government’s political policies and executive orders as the November 2024 US Presidential election approaches.
However, today was a particularly rough day for us mentally and psychologically. So, we spent the day practicing yoga and meditating to settle the mind and balance our emotions.
Unfortunately, like most people, even taking up “mindful practices” and wellness-based lifestyle modifications do not always solve the problems. But - simply engaging in efforts to improve your life and the immediate environment can bring forth brief moments of grace and serenity.
Today, we experienced a moment of respite as we practiced asana and listened to music this afternoon. A song titled “Silver” by a band named Rising Appalachia appeared on our playlist and immediately helped my mind slow down and focus on simply moving and breathing. Listening to “Silver” was a fantastic circumstance because severe anxiety and social fear are a constant - if unwelcome presence in our psyche these days.
Perhaps Rising Appalachia’s ability to soothe our emotions with “Silver” has everything to do with who they are as musical artists. Rising Appalachia is a six-member touring folk music ensemble from Atlanta, Georgia, led by sisters Leah Song and Chloe Smith.
Rising Appalachia advertises as an eclectic combination of American southern folk, national urban soul, and “world” music. The two sisters describe “Silver” as a song about “Grace and maturation and remaining glorious in all your chapters. Nostalgia and looking back at oneself through the tempest of time.”
We know almost nothing about Rising Appalachia except that “Silver” is an amazing song because it quelled the emotional turmoil we have been experiencing for the past two weeks. The “Silver” song inspired our yoga practice today and made us think, “Everything just might be alright…”
“Silver” also influenced us to write a blog entry about a topic not directly related to political policy. However, the song’s soothing qualities seem best described as beneficial to public health.
We now think we will add new weekly entries to our blog project focused on therapeutic wellness modalities - including physical fitness, sound therapy, and mental hygiene. We will call our new wellness mini-project “Vinyasa Bliss” - while naming the Sunday iteration of Vinyasa Bliss “Sacred Sunday.”
We were initially going to post pictures or a video of today’s physical yoga poses. BUT we decided that Rising Appalachia’s rendition of “Silver” was so sublime that we should post a downloaded version of the song and allow readers to enjoy the tune.
You can find Rising Appalachia on social media at the following web platforms:
YOUTUBE: @RisingAppalachiaMusic
INSTAGRAM: @risingappalachia
FACEBOOK: RisingAppalachiaMusic
Rising Appalachia also just released a new album on May 17th titled “FOLK & ANCHOR:”