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Many times over the course of her illustrious free-skiing career, Angel Collinson stood atop mighty mountains looking over slopes that went thousands of feet down. On many occasions, the routes had never been attempted before. In Alaska’s Neacola Mountains she scored a run that made her the first female athlete to win the coveted “Best Line” award from Powder Magazine. But before shoving off and flying through mounds of untouched snow she was able to find moments of calm — through the practice of meditation.

You don’t need to be facing extraordinary circumstances for meditation to be a powerful tool. The mind is one place that we can never escape, so it’s worth putting in a little work to make it a pleasant landscape. As Collinson notes, meditation can bring you clarity, calm, and focus in all sorts of moments — from mundane to massive. This summer her story is spotlighted in Jimmy Chin’s Nat Geo series “Edge of the Unknown” which you can stream on Disney+.

Below you can find Uproxx’s conversation with Collinson about her personal path to peace, as well as a few tools that will help you start your own.

How did you first hear about meditation?

My mother was really into Buddhism and as I was growing up I learned about meditation through her. There were books lying around the house that I picked up and studied. But I grew up and forgot about it for the most part. I was into my skiing career and it came back to me. I was hearing about it from some friends and my boyfriend at the time was a mindful person.

What was your personal starting point?

I was told that I could start off slow, with the idea that all meditation has to be is one breath in and out. I think that was good advice. From there you can grow at your own pace, like perhaps focusing on two or three breaths instead of one. Next thing you know you are meditating for 30 seconds and then a minute. There is the term Kaizen which I think applies — putting these small incremental steps towards success or a goal so it doesn’t become overwhelming.

How did you use meditation when it came to your sports and what do you think it brought to your ability to grab onto opportunities?

I believe that meditating has had a profound effect on how successful I have been able to be. It allowed me to be present and to focus on what was happening on the mountain with no clutter. I use meditation as a self-check, it gives me the keys to really find out how my body and my mind are feeling.

There is no outside distraction in those moments and those can be the moments when I first realize that I’m tired or not really able to focus. If that’s the case, I might be really saving myself from a bad situation up on the mountain.

Did it help you see your way into the results that you wanted?

One of the big ways that I meditate is to visualize the goals that I wanted to realize. I would picture myself going down the mountain absolutely crushing it. But not only that, I would also visualize what if something went wrong in my performance or in nature. I wanted to be prepared for every single outcome.

The only times that I got really worried is when I couldn’t visualize it at all. That meant that something was really wrong or off, and perhaps I shouldn’t attempt it.

Once you realized that you were benefiting from meditation how did approach elevating the practice and leaning into it?

I started doing it every morning, but beyond that small focused approach, I didn’t have any kind of greater practice that I was doing… at first. I was probably meditating for ten years with no specific practice or teacher that I was following. That was pretty similar to the way that I approached the big mountains that I skied. I never attempted to take one on until I was sure that it was well within my abilities. There would be the time that people would say that I was ready, and I would add on a year to that.

Once it was time to meditate more, and dedicate more time to it, I was doing it in the morning and in the evenings. The next step was to get certified in Transcendental Meditation.

How does breathwork fit into your practice?

I am a huge fan of breathwork and was doing all sorts in the beginning. I thought they were working but that was until I was taught how to really do it. I was invited to this special camp by Red Bull since I was one of their athletes. They bring in all of these experts like Navy SEALs and coaches to run you through a gauntlet of programs. They have a heart rate monitor on you the whole time and they gave us different practices to try to see how they helped us deal with stress and fear.

One of the other tools that they gave us that really helped me was focusing on small moments in the present. I would focus on buckling up my boots, then zipping up my won jacket, and so on. These small actions that helped you be more present. The next thing I know I am flying down the mountain, focused in every single turn.

Why would you say it’s important to practice often if you are able?

The reason that I feel like it is so important to practice often is so you can find your space quickly. In an ideal world you are able to jump into that place of calm, and everything will slow down for you. That comes a lot easier once you have been done the road a few times, and even gotten there down a few different roads. It doesn’t always work for me, and I think it’s that way for a lot of people. You aren’t always going to be able to get there, but that is a part of the process. I use it when I need it like I’m nervous about a particular situation or I’m having a hard time focusing. You don’t always get to pick and choose those moments, so being able to unlock that space quickly is helpful.

Basic Breath Work Exercise: Breathe in for four counts; hold that breathe for four counts, breathe out for four counts, and hold that for four counts. Repeat.

START YOUR MEDITATION PRACTICE ON THE RIGHT FOOT

Biet Simkin, who is a world-renowned Spiritual Teach and best-selling author of Don’t Just Sit There!, has some sage advice for those looking to get in the door.

“There are a lot of teachers out there, and it’s important to find one that really speaks to you,” she says. “Rather than just typing meditation into YouTube or Spotify, ask people in your circles for recommendations. Like Collinson, Simkin agrees that starting with small steps is the best way to make it in the long run. “Meditating, even for just five minutes, is a great way to level up the way you experience this life.”

One of NCT’s most prominent sub-units has officially kicked off promotions for their fourth studio album by dropping the music video to their lead single “2 Baddies.”

On September 15, 6 p.m. KST — 7 a.m. ET/4 a.m. PT today — NCT 127’s Taeil, Taeyong, Yuta, Jaehyun, Mark, Johnny, Doyoung, Jungwoo, and Haechan invites NCTzen (their fans) as well as newcomers to hop in their Porsche for an experience to their side of the Neo Culture Technology (NCT) space. Neon colors, flashing lights, and inverted imagery in motorsport wear are what make up the themes of this cyberpunk-themed music video complimenting the striking hip-hop, dance, and synth sounds “2 Baddies” offers. According to the group’s website, the song portrays the group’s “positive mindset, racing through life with confidence to reach success.”

NCT 127’s comeback not only showcases the group’s glow up — or should we say upgrade? — with their vehicle of choice since their 2016 debut with “Fire Truck,” but also the maturity in their image, welcoming some ab action and flexing, while still sticking to their staple “in-you-face” bass-bumping sounds.

As the music video has already passed its benchmark of 1 million views on YouTube, the song has already begun its set of dance challenges called #NeoSeoulChallenge on TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.

The NCT sub-unit is set to release their fourth studio album at midnight EST on September 16 with 12 songs, followed by a two-night tour in the US next month. The group will do one-night only shows at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena on October 6, and an October 13 concert at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

On Tuesday night (September 13), Karol G unlocked a new achievement in her career with her sold-out concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The Colombian superstar also performed her hit “Gatúbela” for the first time alongside Puerto Rican rapper Maldy.

Following the release of her debut album Unstoppable in 2018, Karol G toured the US for the first time on a club tour. In under a few short years, she performed at Coachella in April and now she’s touring the country with her first solo arena tour. During her concert at Madison Square Garden, Karol G got emotional reflecting on her journey to reach that iconic stage.

“Ten years ago in 2012, I came to New York City to study English,” she said in Spanish. “I sat outside the Madison Square Garden waiting for someone to sit next to me to practice English with. I dreamed of singing here. And today is the first time I fill it after ten years. Dreams do come true. Yes you can.”

Karol G’s show at Madison Square Garden also had a few surprise guests. She brought out ex-Plan B member Maldy to perform “Gatúbela,” their collaboration that debuted within the top 40 of Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart. Ozuna also emerged as another surprise guest. Alongside the Puerto Rican singer, they performed their hit remix of “Caramelo.”

Karol G’s Strip Love Tour will continue visiting arenas across the US throughout September and October. “Gatúbela” and her other smash hit, “Provenza,” are expected to be included on her fourth studio album that’s due out soon.

Now that Baz Luhrmann is too tired to give us the four-hour cut of Elvis, it’s time for another biopic. Whitney Houston is a legend, with an unrivaled range that made her one of the best-selling recording artists of all time. Sony Pictures just released the trailer for its upcoming Houston biopic, I Wanna Dance With Somebody, aka Kendall Roy’s least favorite song. The film stars Naomi Ackie (The End of the F***ing World) as Whitney Houston. The film’s cast also includes Italian-American icon Stanley Tucci, Ashton Sanders, Tamara Tunie, Nafessa Williams, and Clarke Peters.

Here’s the official synopsis, per Sony Pictures:

I Wanna Dance with Somebody is a powerful and triumphant celebration of the incomparable Whitney Houston. Directed by Kasi Lemmons, written by Academy Award® nominee Anthony McCarten, produced by legendary music executive Clive Davis and starring BAFTA Award® winner Naomi Ackie, the film is a no-holds-barred portrait of the complex and multifaceted woman behind The Voice. From New Jersey choir girl to one of the best-selling and most awarded recording artists of all time, audiences are taken on an inspirational, poignant—and so emotional—journey through Houston’s trailblazing life and career, with show-stopping performances and a soundtrack of the icon’s most beloved hits as you’ve never heard them before. Don’t you wanna dance?

The film is directed by Kasi Lemmons (Harriet) with a screenplay by Oscar-nominee Anthony McCarten (Bohemian Rhapsody) with executive producer Clive Davis. I Wanna Dance With Somebody comes to theaters on December 21.

While on his Long Live Montero Tour for his Grammy-nominated debut album Montero, Lil Nas X previewed a new song for audiences called “Star Walkin’.” Little was known about the song or when it’d get an official release, but today, Nas announced its release date — along with a new partnership whose launch is timed to the release.

Nas is pretty well-known for his brand partnerships; in the three years since he became practically a household name, he’s teamed up with Wrangler, Grindr, Taco Bell, and M&Ms. Each time, he’s shown off his flair for the dramatic — for instance, Taco Bell made him Chief Impact Officer, a made-up but significant role expansion from when he first worked for the fast food chain.

His latest pairing will be with Riot Games, the creators of the popular video game League Of Legends. This time, he’ll take on another impressive-sounding role: President of League of Legends, which will involve “creating explosive musical moments, an ingenious League champion skin, and a spectacular live Worlds performance,” according to the press release. He’ll kick off the League Of Legends World Championship with a performance of “Star Walkin’” on September 29 in Mexico City, then debut a new skin he helped design for a new character in the game, K’Sante the Pride of Nazumah (say that five times fast).

This isn’t the first time Riot has collaborated with rappers. Like competitors/colleagues Epic Games (creators of Fortnite), they’ve incorporated hip-hop organically into their game’s world through creations like in-game band True Damage, made up of real performers, and recruiting JID to work with Imagine Dragons on the theme song for the League Netflix spin-off show Arcane. They even previously worked with Lil Nas X to create a hype video for one of the competing teams in last year’s Worlds.

Following rumors that Freevee has been secretly filming a secret courtroom series, James Marsden has been confirmed as the lead actor for the show that is reportedly a “semi-improvised” comedy. The free, ad-supported Amazon channel confirmed the news to Deadline, but details on the series are being kept closely under wraps.

What is known is that the docu-style series will mirror Sacha Baron Cohen’s approach to Borat, and in fact, two producers for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm and Who Is America? are working on the Marsden show. Via Deadline:

In the case of the Freevee series, we hear Marsden and a group of largely up-and-coming actors with improv background performed alongside civilians in the comedy about being summoned for jury duty. We hear the show was filmed in a real courtroom south of Los Angeles, with regular and addition shooting partially scheduled around Marsden’s Westworld schedule.

The confirmation of the Freevee series continues Marsden’s streak of being one of the busiest actors in Hollywood. Even during the pandemic, he kept busy with both Sonic the Hedgehog films, a new adaptation of The Stand, the aforementioned filming on Westworld, and Disney’s Disenchanted, the highly anticipated sequel to 2007’s Enchanted starring Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, and Idina Menzel.

Marsden’s charm is always a welcomed addition to any project, but it will be interesting to see his improv skills at work in the secretive new Freevee series whenever it arrives.

(Via Deadline)

Last time on Scenes, St. Petersburg hip-hop group Nü Age Syndicate kicked off the season with their refreshing sense of individuality and style. In this new episode, we’re featuring Van Buren Records, a Brockton, MA-based hip-hop entourage that have a lot to show the world.

“Van Buren Records is a brotherhood — a collective of thirteen strong, independent, hungry Black men from Massachusetts trying to make a way,” explained one member named Ricky Felix. “Confidence plays a big role.” Along with confidence, the group uses their connections with each other to their advantage, thriving together as a whole while simultaneously treasuring their individuality. Each of them has something to bring to the table, which was obvious on their 2021 debut album Bad For Press.

“There’s a lot of different personalities,” another member, Meech Bold, added. “Van Buren is deeper than rap and it’s just beautiful to be a part of that, as you can see.” Their chemistry is evident, and it definitely helps that they all make sure to prioritize artistic freedom above everything else. Each of them has clocked time in all sorts of different projects, but Van Buren is where they can come together and express themselves in a new, refreshing way.

Meet the Van Buren Records crew in the video above, and keep an eye out for future Scenes episodes.

The Utah Jazz moved the two cornerstones of their franchise this offseason. A few months back, Rudy Gobert was sent to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a monster haul of draft picks and young players, and at the beginning of September, a similarly gigantic package was sent to Utah by the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Donovan Mitchell’s services.

Utah’s stash of draft capital should be further bolstered by a few more trades, as veterans like Bojan Bogdanovic, Jordan Clarkson, and Mike Conley are believed to be available if the team’s asking price is met. It’s quite the pivot from the Jazz, which long tried to compete in the Western Conference but opted to blow things up this offseason, with team executive Danny Ainge saying it stemmed from the fact that Utah had “a group of players that really didn’t believe in each other.”

In an interview with Brian Windhorst of ESPN, Mitchell pushed back on that assertion. He even went as far as to say that, after the season, he expressed the desire for the franchise to run it back with himself and Gobert.

“I don’t think we didn’t believe [in each other],” Mitchell said to ESPN. “I said at the end of the season, don’t trade [Rudy Gobert]. Let’s figure this out, let’s do. And that didn’t happen. For him to say that after six months around the team, I disagree. But you know, at the end of the day, that’s his decision.”

Much has been made over the years of the relationship between Gobert and Mitchell, to the point that people wondered if there was anything to be made of how infrequently Mitchell passed the ball to Gobert.

One of the more enjoyable aspects of the very intense, endlessly watchable The Bear happens to be how viewers lusted after Carmy (portrayed by Shameless‘ Jeremy Allen White) as the so-called (and first declared by comedian Sarah York) “Sexually Competent Dirtbag.” The irony there is that Carmy never got it on, but there’s always room for him to have sex in Season 2. Surely, he can spare a few moments to do so? I have faith in him. And that vibe is why people loved being reminded of The Bear‘s existence when White and Ayo Edebiri (who played Chef Sydney) appeared onstage at the Emmys.

This only made people think about a second season with renewed fervor because, for some reason, watching White, Edebiri, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach stress out is very entertaining. In the meantime, we are still seeing fallout from the Internet’s lust for Carmy, and apparently, he knows all about this. It’s not clear whether he intentionally follows memes, but they must be hard to dodge. This includes how Twitter decided that White resembles Gene Wilder of Blazing Saddles and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory fame. Specifically, the term “Ketamine Gene Wilder” has entered the discourse.

As White recently told InStyle during a video interview, he’s up to speed on this situation, and he’s keeping a healthy sense of humor:

“Yeah I’ve been made aware of some of the stuff out there. There’s one in particular: everyone’s decided I, uh, look a lot like Gene Wilder, which I agree. But I guess someone called me ‘Ketamine Gene Wilder.’ Or called Carmy ‘Ketamine Gene Wilder,’ which I thought was weird and funny.”

You can watch this moment shortly after the 2:30 mark below.

The Bear is currently streaming on Hulu.

Quinta Brunson is killing it right now. The Abbott Elementary star and creator is gearing up to release the second season of the hit show next week while celebrating multiple Emmy wins, including Outstanding Writing For A Comedy Series and Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series for Sheryl Lee Ralph.

When she’s not playing Janine, the lovably optimistic second grade teacher, Brunson likes to take on smaller projects in order to not overwork herself. “Right now, I don’t really have time, unless I wanted to work myself to death, to focus on anything but Abbott, and I’m OK with that,” she told Variety after winning her Emmy. But she did have time to make a quick cameo in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.

Brunson was approached to have a small role as Oprah interviewing Weird Al, though she didn’t feel like she was up for the challenge at first. “When I first had the Weird Al script, I was like, ‘I can’t play Oprah!’” Brunson explained. Once she realized just how wonderfully silly the movie was, she was in. “Then I read it and I was like, ‘Oh, this is the exact way I was born to play Oprah.’ Quick, easy, silly, fun, but still respectable. I just admire her so much,” she says. Brunson also admitted she spoke to Winfrey for the role, though she didn’t reveal what the talked about.

Starring Daniel Radcliffe as the titular musical parody artist, Weird will debut on the Roku Channel in November, but the screening at TIFF was a hit. “It was a comedy that I hadn’t seen in a long time,” Brunson gushed. “I love Daniel Radcliffe, and Weird Al — I got to meet him — such a sweetheart. I really enjoy doing things I only have to do for one day outside of Abbott.”

As for other smaller roles beyond Abbott, Brunson will also appear in the upcoming Party Down season, which is not a reboot! “I’m a big fan of Adam Scott and got to meet him. I love that it’s not a reboot — it’s a continuation.” It’s safe to say we will be seeing Brunson around for quite a while.

(Via Variety)