Content Warning: sexual abuse
I’ve been practicing the physical aspect of yoga for about three years, though as I’ve started to consider teacher training, I’ve slowly begun to familiarize myself with yoga as a lifestyle, its history, and its original meaning. I thought it would be fun to start off the podcast with my singing bowl, an instrument often used to start or end a class or to meditate due to its vibrational properties (attributed to the Westernization of yoga). To an audience who has taken a yoga class or guided meditation, this sound effect would hopefully evoke images associated with yoga. The peaceful effect does not last for long, though, as in this episode we are taking an unflinching look at the transformation of yoga into an institution that perpetually creates and empowers abusers. As I delve into my three anecdotes, my voiceover is accompanied by intense chanting music that heightens and fades with the emotion of the words. The practice of chanting is rooted in The Vedas, and so it is commonly practiced as a part of contemporary yoga as well as in teacher training programs. The voice over and mixing proved to be the most difficult for me as I’m unfamiliar with these aspects of digital content. My friend who records music suggested that since I don’t have a walk-in closet, to record the voiceover under my comforter, which I worked to muffle background noise.
Image credits
“Opening flower” by William Sharp retrieved from Public Domain Image Archive dedicated to the Public Domain under CC0.
Audio Credits
“Singing Bowl under Comforter” by Olivia Sampogna licensed under CC0.
“Cinematic Chanting / Throat Singing Percussion Trailer” by Gregor Quendel retrieved from freesound licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.
Liv, great job on your podcast. I liked your use of the singing bowl sound effect as it goes well with the theme of your podcast. Your voice was very calm and professional like a yoga instructor. The background music went well with the whole podcast and the volume for each of the audio was right on point. The image works well with the audio and I like the text placement. The colors for the rectangle and font match well with the photo too. I can see how the photo uses the rule of thirds for the flower and for the text itself. Nice formatting, great transitions, and nice sound effect at the end of the podcast.
Hi Olivia,
I think your podcast concept is super interesting, yoga and wellness but also an element of true crime, very fun. I think the audio and image you chose to represent your podcast go well together – soft but not muted. I especially like how the background audio you used intensifies as the information being shared becomes darker and more nefarious. That said, I did struggle to hear your first opening sentence – the spoken word seems to be overpowered by your opening sound effect. Thank you for sharing. 🙂
Hello Liv. Your image brought a sense of calm and serenity for me with seeing the Lilly pads and flowers on a pond. These are feelings I think of when I think of yoga. I also like the color choices for your title fonts which match the Lilly pad and flower petal colors. Great choice of music with the throat singing and Ohm chants. The percussive beats also supplement the seriousness of the episode’s content. After seeing your podcast cover and listening to your excerpt, I have a few suggestions. First, I would suggest raising your title placement to align with the bottom horizontal grid from the rule of thirds. Second, for the bell sound effect, I would recommend fading out so it doesn’t end so abruptly, as well as use a fade in mix when the Om chant and throat singing starts. Lastly, I would have continued speaking and used a fade out to silence for the last few seconds to have the sentence trail off. Great job!