Busy day at the office. I am editing the new yoga course, Yoga for your Spine, for La Scimmia Yoga. I recorded the first episode of The Running Dutchman podcast and we finished the last work on this website.
I am in love with podcasts. When I go for a run, I often listen to a podcast. The Guardian has a really funny football podcast; Football Weekly. I never watch English football. I hardly watch any football at all, but I’m still following it a bit. Through Podcasts.
I mean, it was for 5 years a big part of my life. Or even, it was 5 years my life. Not that I ever played as a professional. The only thing I ever got for playing football, was a beer. Yet, I made it into the world of the pro’s. As a journalist, but still….
Podcasts
Well, that’s a story for another time. Back to podcasts. Besides the football podcast of The Guardian, I often listen to The Economist, In Het Wiel, a Dutch cycling Podcast, Today in Focus and Beter Worden, a Dutch podcast to become a better cyclist. However, I take their training advice and apply it to my running.
Being so in love with podcasts, Sara and I started one during the COVID lock down; Yoga on the Sofa. It was very unprofessional. Just the two of us and one crappy microphone, hooked up to the computer. But it was fun and lots of people listened to it, to escape those dark days for a moment.
La Scimmia Yoga podcast
Yoga on the Sofa was a podcast in English. This year we launched the La Scimmia Yoga podcast, in Italian. Yoga on the Sofa did good, but lots of Sara’s followers wanted to listen, but couldn’t because they don’t speak or understand English.
Every month we record an episode, often with a guest speaker. The last one was Nicola Artico, a musician we work a lot with, and became a good friend. My role is producer, editor. I don’t speak Italian, so I can’t play a more active role.
And that’s something I miss. I always had fun doing the podcast together with Sara. Chatting, having a cup of tea, laughing. Somehow it worked. Listeners often said they felt like being on the sofa with us.
The Running Dutchman Podcast
Having fun, making podcasts is one of the main reasons behind The Running Dutchman Podcast. It’s like playing radio. Funny thing, when I was studying Journalism I wanted to write and do radio. However, the school logopedic said I had too much of an accent.
Strangely enough, she couldn’t place my accent, so she asked where I was from. After telling her, I received, two days later, a report stating that my accent sounded too much like people from Rotterdam and wasn’t neutral enough for radio.
Disliking my voice
I was only 21 years old back then and because of it, I started to dislike my voice. But again yoga came to rescue. As a yoga teacher, you have no other option than to speak in front of a group.
Interestingly enough,I had people coming up to me telling me they find my voice soothing. I even had a student confide in me that when she had an operation, she was playing my voice back in her head to calm herself down. And on my Dutch YouTube yoga channel I have on a regular basis people telling me I have a nice voice.
Podcasting in English
So thanks to yoga I am now podcasting. In English. Not my native language, but I feel comfortable enough to do it.
What am I going to speak about on The Running Dutchman Podcast? About all those people who run their races outside of the spotlights. Who try to beat their own personal record or just run for the fun of running. People who want to become a better runner, but know they have to juggle work, family, a social life and running. People like you and me.
Will you be one of my listeners?
