When pop superstars sing, you seldom see audiences doing downward-facing dogs, one-legged king pigeons, cow face or lotus poses ... except when it's Toni Childs singing.
The three times Grammy nominee and Emmy Award-winning singer/songwriter was at the Dunedin Town Hall yesterday, sharing her unique style of yoga which combines live singing, improvisational dance, meditation, story-telling and gentle yoga stretches, while her partner, Mik La Vage, accompanied her on guitar.
The 58-year-old is best known for her distinctive singing voice, with hits like Stop Your Fussin', Don't Walk Away, and I've Got to Go Now, which hit the charts in the late 1980s.
She said she first ''dipped her toes'' into yoga and mediation in 1985 when she signed her first major recording contracts.
''It was a horrible day. I had this expectation that it would be this celebratory day, but it wasn't.
''I was four hours in a dental chair; I signed my contracts and my lawyer told me I was being screwed every which way; my bass player got my girlfriend pregnant; and I was going out with this actor/model who wouldn't stop talking about himself.
''By 11.30 that night, I was like, I need to flip this negative energy around. I don't want to go to sleep feeling this bad about this day.
''I think that was what may have caused me to have a Gestalt experience.
''It was like somebody shot off a flare into unlimitedness, and what came to me was an 'a-ha' message which was: your thoughts and your beliefs are creating your reality.''
Childs said.
''It sent me on this inward journey, an internal journey. Up until that point, I was just trying to get a record deal.''
At present, she is on tour around New Zealand, giving yoga/meditation sessions.
During the sessions, she performs songs from her new album It's all a Beautiful Noise, including her Emmy Award-winning song Because You're Beautiful, which she says was one of the things that inspired her to teach yoga.
''Each of us are beautiful, dynamic beings that are crying out to experience more self love, self appreciation and self care.''
She continues to make music and has two albums coming out - Citizens of the Planet (to be released in 2017) and It's all a Beautiful Noise (due for release early next year).
Her New Zealand tour will finish in Christchurch tomorrow. john.lewis@odt.co.nz
