Eric Clapton

Last week I asked our SJF Communications international PR client, “High-Heel Guru” Chyna Whyne if we can do an interview for my blog. I simply asked for a few sentences for each question. Well, Chyna decided to dictate her amazing answers instead of typing and emailing them. Her answers were phenomenal and astute and a bit lengthy, to her absolute credit! I learned so much from this fascinating Goddess that I decided to split the Q & A into several parts – some written, and some audio format. Here are the first 4 areas that we covered….Stay tuned for several audio posts (and possibly a few more written ones)! Here we go!

SJF: Tell us about your choice to be a professional singer/songwriter and your new album release

CW: I was born with a voice to sing and I always made a living from singing. My recent album was recorded in Jamaica. I wanted to record my album in Jamaica, simply because I wanted to release my entire brand from Jamaica and of course my singing is a part of that. I connected with Barry O’Hare who’s a very famous Producer here in Jamaica.. He produced Morgan Heritage, Sean Paul, Shaggy, Beres Hammond – a lot of famous Jamaican artists.

I was really honored to work with Barry. We recorded at the studio on the famous James Avenue where Barry’s studio is. I wrote the entire album and Barry produced it. And I think it’s a very strong album, it’s full of kind of good messages, very upbeat positive, it also looks into, you know, loving the skin that you’re in. It looks into why people are skin bleaching themselves and not wanting to be the color that they are. It also has some love songs on it, some uplifting songs and very funny songs like ‘Sweetest Meow” which – when I do perform that absolutely causes a riot in the audience! I’m looking forward to the release of that, hopefully in 2020 at “Sexy Heels in the City”- February 3rd – looking forward to getting the album released…and I’m looking forward to getting back on stage – singing on a regular basis when “Sexy Heels in the City” actually becomes a road show, so that incorporates everything I do, within the brand, particularly the singing aspects of who I am.

SJF: What experiences and/or people (parents, role models etc) in your life influenced you the most and why?

CW: You know, people ask me that often, who were my influences growing up and I had none, I had NONE! I don’t even remember looking towards anybody thinking when I grow up I want to be like you or being inspired by anything in particular. I think because my background was quite traumatic and also quite sheltered in many ways..I mean I grew up in the church, in the Pentecostal Church. I went from school to church, church to school, I guess my biggest influence was God (laughs) which at the time seemed to be outside of myself obviously developing myself and knowing more about who I am. I can now connect to the goddess within me and know that that’s where my true power lies. So, really I had no particular influences that shaped me into who I am other than like my inner higher self I guess.

SJF: What have been the three most memorable experiences as a performer/model?

CW: OK so, one of the most amazing things I remember the most was when I was touring with The Who and we played at a stadium of 250,000 people now that’s quite a lot of people to even begin to imagine and I don’t think it’s possible to imagine because even before I went on tour with The Who I remember speaking to one of the tour managers and he told me that the stadiums were colossal and that we’d be playing to 250,000 people and I thought I could get my head around it until I was actually on that stage and hearing that amount of people scream and be excited and see that amount of people before me. It was a really incredible sight to see.

And I remember one night I think we were in Chicago somewhere playing there, and it was an evening gig and the night came down and The Who was singing ‘Rain on Me’ which was one of their tracks and the whole audience lit lighters and because there was a a big bank at the very very end of the crowd that went up to almost the sky – looked like the sky – and there were stars out that night and so it looked like there was just like a ‘sea of light’ from the ground that went all the way up to the sky and over and I remember being on stage and just what witnessing this and just thinking wow, this is absolutely spectacular – it just was so magical!

Another time on stage where I thought it was really really amazing was when I sang at Guitar Legends in Seville and I was doing backup vocals for like… You know B.B. King and Stanley Jordan, Eric Clapton, the late Jack Bruce, Keith Richards, just like all these amazing legends on the stage and I was on the stage with them. I thought – WOW I’m a legend!

So yeah, that was pretty amazing and.. what other time was there that was amazing? Oh, I know I remember! When I formed my own band and this is when Seal used to come and see me perform – he was a fan and he used to come to the front and cheer and like, yeah “Go on, Chyna”! And I did a show at the Ocean London and I had said, right that’s it, I’m putting all of my musical talents together so it was a show where I kind of did a ballet piece on stage , I was there with the live band we had models walking in and out of the songs. I still think I’ve got a clip of it on YouTube somewhere, a whole dance routine I choreographed the whole thing, I wrote the songs- it was amazing – I got all the people to be in the show there were about 20 of us, it was an amazing coming together of a huge part of who I am.

And it was just an amazing feeling to really feel that and experience that and I would actually love to do that again and in fact “Sexy Heels in the City” is very much a sort of a recreation of that, so I’m looking forward to being on the road with “Sexy Heels in the City”as a part of a grand tour of health and beauty and music and fashion and education.

SJF: Tell us about the Alexander Technique

CW: Well, before I had come across the Alexander Technique from a personal experience, I never ever heard of this thing before. I heard about it when I finished a one year tour with Eric Clapton. I was having back problems from wearing high heels and performing on stage for 2 hours a night. I was given the phone number of a teacher named Alice Olsher – and I went along and had no idea what the Alexander Technique was – but first of all I realized it was so beautiful and gentle. That’s what I liked, because I had chronic back problems and I had been clicked and clunked by Chiropractors and Osteopathy and Physiotherapy. But none of it, you know everything had its place – those practices have their place but the pain just kept coming back, so I really love the fact that the Alexander Technique is so gentle and what the Alexander technique actually does – it reeducates your entire neuromuscular system. So, all the muscles and your bones that promote movement, if they are tightened, shortened muscles they become lengthened and released. Say for instance, if your head is pulled forward your head will then educate itself and remember to live on the very first vertebrae of your spine. If your shoulders are rounded, if your posture’s collapsed, your posture will come back up, you will be realigned your shoulders will live where they’re supposed to live and your body will function in a much more optimum fashion. Some say the Alexander Technique is the study of movement – that’s one of the parts, one of the areas that it is. Yeah…it helps you with mobility – people with degenerative bone conditions – osteoporosis or arthritis or anything that impedes movement – the Alexander technique that can help with that but there’s also a thousand other benefits that it can help with like sciatica, breathing problems, asthma, clarity of mind, relieving of neck, back and shoulder problems – it can help with concentration focus, it helps with the awareness of how you’re using yourself – you become, you know, more efficient in the way that you can walk and stand and lift and dance. The Alexander Technique can be taken to anything really, I mean I’ve chosen to take it to improve the way you in which you walk in high heels but you can take the Alexander Technique into yoga, golf, pilates, running, horse riding – anything that moves can benefit from the Alexander technique. In fact, the Alexander technique is the first port of call and a lot of these techniques like Yoga and Physiotherapy and Pilates – and all of these sort of self-help techniques and treatments are not including the Alexander Technique because the Alexander Technique needs to be a little more widespread across the world. In fact, if people started having Alexander Technique before they ventured into at any of these sports or activities or treatments or you know..even after people are recovering from surgery and rehabilitation – if people dealt with the Alexander Technique first then people would feel and have a better chance of recovery and an even better chance of no injuries or …conditions worsening or reappearing. It’s a great way to prevent injury as well. So it’s a very powerful technique that is very well respected within the world of science, education and within the medical field. So, yeah, that’s the Alexander Technique and in fact I have to add that a lot of the teachers in my school that trained me when I was living in London at the Walter Carrington Constructive Teaching Center, at least 3 or 4 of them had degenerative bone conditions and were supposed to be in wheelchairs years and years ago but they’re still standing they’re still walking, they’re still active and they’re still very well, so that actually goes to prove how powerful the Alexander Technique is.

SJF: Many thanks, Chyna. You are truly inspirational!

To book Chyna for workshops and appearances, please contact

Publicists:

(International): Susan J. Farese,

SJF Communications 408-398-5940 sjfcommunications@gmail.com

(Jamaica): Andre Stephens, Creative Director,

Premier Gentleman Company Ltd.
876-865-4587, premiergentsja@gmail.com

Chyna Whyne’s Website: http://chynawhyne.com/

Find Chyna Whyne on Social Media:

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/walkinginstilettos/

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/ChynaWhyne

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/chynawhyne/?hl=en

More on Keith Richards from BeginningGuitarHQ.com: https://beginnerguitarhq.com/how-to-play-guitar-like-keith-richards/

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Walking the Walk (and More) with High-Heel Guru Chyna Whyne

Chyna Whyne

Introducing our SJF Communications client ~ Chyna Whyne

(San Diego, CA – August 12, 2019). Chyna Whyne is truly an inspiring Renaissance Woman and dynamic holistic artist-practitioner – Born in London to Jamaican parents, she is an Alexander Technique Practitioner and Teacher (a world-renowned body management discipline), High-Heel Guru with her Walking in Stilettos Workshops, Recording Artist/Songwriter/Singer, Author, Model, Pageant Coach, International Public Speaker, Kemetic Yoga Teacher and Entrepreneur (Owner of VIP Yoga Retreats at Ocho Rios, Jamaica).

Chyna is ready to take the world by storm as the Global ‘High Heel Guru” sharing her ‘Walking in Stilettos’ wisdom so women can walk in high heels safely, preventing injuries and move elegantly without effort as well as expanding her brand with women of all ages, sizes and occupations – https://chynawhynebrand.com/. She believes in and exudes inclusion, diversity, instilling confidence, empowerment, charisma, glamour, femininity, presence and elegance and a relaxed self as well as promoting health and safety.

“Chyna is captivating. She is not pretentious or superficial; totally at ease with herself she radiates happiness, fun and, of course, glamour. Chyna has a very generous heart and delights in helping women wake up to how fabulous they are, beneath their doubts, fears and self-criticism. Her belief that every woman is beautiful is infectious.”

-Felicity Lerouge, wearethecity.com

It all began with Chyna singing as a child in church, then singing at school. She started a band called the Silktones after graduating andsoon her band was playing gigs. Chyna entered a glamorous jet-setting lifestyle, as a model and back-up singer – recording and internationally touring with some of the greatest musicians/bands from the 1980’s to the early 2000’s: she sang background vocals on Peter Gabriel’s 1986 Grammy-winning album “So” featuring the song “Sledgehammer” and “Big Time”. Chyna provided vocals with Rick Astley on “Never Gonna Give You Up” and on “Father’s Eye’ by Eric Clapton. Seal would go to her bands gigs and he invited Chyna on his 1987 “Kiss of a Rose” European tour. She also sang with Bob Dylan in 1991 in Seville, as well as on Peter Townsend’s “Brand New Life” from the “Iron Man” then went on a world tour with The Who. Chyna is the featured backing soloist on Eric Clapton’s Pilgrim Album. She spent a year in the recording studio with Eric and afterwards toured for a year with him.

Chyna’s years as a successful model and singer – constantly wearing high heels or stilettos became a difficult time as she developed extreme chronic lower back pain while touring with Eric Clapton during 1998-99. The pain was relentless, despite chiropractic, osteopathic and physiotherapy efforts, which all failed to deliver positive long-term results. She couldn’t continue wearing high heels.

Her good fortune materialized when she was introduced to the Alexander Technique in 1999 and noticed an immediate improvement. This led her to study the Alexander Technique in depth for three years from 1999-2002 and to become a fully accredited teacher of the technique.

Since 2002, Chyna has renewed her singing, modeling career, opened a wellness Spa, began providing Yoga Retreats and has been teaching ‘Walking in Stilettos” workshops. The response has been overwhelmingly positive with numerous testimonials praising Chyna as she explains and applies the benefits of the Alexander Technique to her Walking in Stiletto workshops to a wide demographic of satisfied clients and audiences. Additionally Chyna authored the book “Mastering the Art of Wearing High Heels’ in 2017.

“Walk the walk. Live the life. Walking in stilettos. What if you could wear your sexy heels with confidence, grace and ease for longer periods of time. Now you can – walk this way!”

-Chyna Whyne

“The Alexander Technique is an educational method used worldwide for well over 100 years. By teaching how to change faulty postural habits, it enables improved mobility, posture, performance and alertness along with relief of chronic stiffness, tension and stress.

Using the Alexander Technique, students are relieved of neck, back, and shoulder pains; and taught about the importance of good posture, balance, and coordination; and how to present themselves with elegance and confidence in professional, social, and business environments. Participants will also learn about health and safety in high heels; how to buy heels correctly and wear them for longer; and the feet exercises you should embark on before stepping out”.

-Maggie Barlow, American Society for the Alexander Technique (AmSAT)

Chyna recently taught courses https://youtu.be/ey8jl3egdCA and coached women at the American Society for the Alexander Technique Annual Conference and General Meeting, June 26-30 at Columbia University in New York as well as delivering courses and workshops at the Caribbean Maritime University in Kingston, Jamaica. She recently coached two current pageant finalists, Sasha Henry (Miss Universe Jamaica 2019 Finalist) and Thalia Malcolm (Miss Jamaica World 2019 Finalist) with topics such as positive body image, healthy food choices, yoga, Alexander Technique and safety and poise walking the catwalk techniques in stilettos.

On August 9th, Chyna performed at the charity event Ignite the Catwalk (Sponsor Diamonds International) with proceeds for hospital equipment for Falmouth General Hospital at Margaritaville in Jamaica (Ocho Rios, St. Ann). Chyna also performed “Kick Up Your Feet and Dance” at the Jamaican Independence Day August 6^th in Kingston, Jamaica.

Chyna’s “Train the Trainer” series, which began in 2016, helps to spread awareness of the Alexander Technique on a global basis with China Doll “Walking Stiletto” Ambassadors.

Ms. Whyne is also back at recording music and worked with Barry O’Hare’s Studio at Jack Ruby Plaza in Ocho Rios in 2016 featuring the singles Walking in My Stilettos and Pick Up Your Feet and Dance. She collaborated with Elephant Man on her single Sexy Baal Ed. She wrote her new upcoming ‘Cultural Reggae” album Melanin with eleven songs (including the single Melanin, which was produced by Grammy Award-winner Barry O’Hare. recorded at World-a-Muzic in Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

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