Akasha – taking yogis to Guatemala to teach Ashtanga and Kundalini

Akasha with his son, Prakash

Akasha is an amazing yogi and yoga teacher who studied Kundalini Yoga since he was 11 and had a deep and profound personal relationship with Yogi Bhajan. He also lived in Albuquerque, NM for a few years and had the blessing of studying Ayurvedic Medicine under renowned doctor and teacher, Dr. Vasant Lad. When he was 25, he moved to Bangalore, India and studied Ashtanga Yoga with one of the masters of this practice, Vishwanath, who is the nephew of the late Pattabhi Jois. Here he talks about his upcoming retreat and the unique blend of Ashtanga and Kundalini Yoga:

Q “What experience can someone expect from the retreat you have planned in Guatemala?”

Akasha: A sense of rejuvenation and balance….this retreat will offer you a chance to unwind and focus on your health and your feelings that arise each day. And Hopefully give you the space to lessen the chatter in your mind and just breathe and relax.

I was blessed at an early age to meet Yogi bhajan and was taught the importance of waking up in the early morning and cleansing both body and mind. Through these simple techniques were able to balance our systems each day. I truly believe these practices give each of us an opportunity to experience our divine self/teacher and remove the blinders so we can live balanced and free to treat each situation as something new rather than layering it with unresolved past issues .

Q. Does someone have to be familiar with Sadhana, Kundalini yoga or the Ashtanga Series to attend?

Akasha: Each morning we will guide you through a kundalini set and practice the Sadhana meditations given by Yogi Bhajan during the early morning and then take a short break and rejoin to practice the Ashtanga series. Depending on the students attending we will offer 1 or 2 Ashtanga Vinyasa Classes each morning. A simple Beginners led class and a more experienced class for students that are familiar with the Primary and secondary series.. There will also be unstructured time each day for exploring the surrounding area and enjoying solitude or one another’s company.

Q. “We understand the healing power of Kundalini, but please explain why you’ve added Ashtanga to your daily practice and how it will benefit others?”

Akasha practicing Ashtanga Yoga

Akasha: I have always been drawn to physical practices and forms of meditation in motion. Kundalini yoga, kriya’s, martial arts, swimming, running and sports. In my late teens running and martial arts filled much of this space and I wanted to dive deeper into the physical asana’s I just didn’t know exactly how or where to begin. The funny thing was that fate soon helped me find this practice. When I was in my early 20’s I injured myself and was unable to run and practice many of the martial arts and kundalini sets that I had previously loved doing I even found sitting and performing some of the kundalini asanas and kriyas to be very painful for my knees and hips and I wasn’t sure how to strengthen and bring myself back into alignment. While studying with Dr Lad I was introduced to Ashtanga by another yogi. It was 1992 and Alan Finger listened to my caseJ and mentioned that I watch this video by Richard Freeman well I was blown away when I saw Richard doing Ashtanga Primary Series. It moved me. I thought wow here is way I can deepen my asana and spiritual practice and focus my mind on my breath. Shortly after seeing this video I moved to India and within a year or so I had the opportunity to begin my Asthanga Studies with Pattabhi Jois’s nephew, Vishwanath, a wonderful teacher living in Bangalore. During my first year of practice my injury in my knee and hip healed along with many other unrelated physical injuries in my body. I also became much more aware of my breath and how it affected my nervous system in a positive manner. I was better equipped to balance and some situations reshape these bodies and calm my reactions to my thoughts and my mind.

I have seen in myself how both of these Yoga Practices which are complete in themselves transform and support one another in a self practice. Both Ashtanga and Kundalini offer a place for your spirit to shine through the 8 limb path using Asana( body), breath (nervous system) concentration and meditation (mind) to bring balance and healing to your body stystems.

Q. “Tell me why Guatemala and this particular place?”

Yoga Room at Retreat Center

Akasha: Actually it’s funny I began looking for a place to do a retreat last summer outside of the US and I truly believed the universe would offer us a space. So a week or so after I began projecting this idea we offered a workshop in Birmingham and my dear friend and business partner, Terri was speaking to another Teacher from Atlanta and how she had just returned from conducting a wonderful yoga retreat in Guatemala at Villa Sumaya. She mentioned how conducive the environment, climate, and people were during her yoga retreat and to top it off they served incredible vegetarian food. After hearing this we did a little more research and realized that this place has and is a magical and healing place for many and would be an ideal place for our retreat.

You can see more details about Akasha’s retreat  – registration info, pricing, etc. here:  Ashtanga and Kundalini Yoga Retreat

[Note from Karan: Some of you might recognize my son, Prakash, with Akasha in the top picture - Akasha is not only an amazing yoga teacher and father of an amazing child, he is also my ex-husband.  We are wonderful friends, and I consider him one of the best yoga teachers I've ever met  - and he has an incredible understanding of diet and health that he incorporates into all aspects of his teaching and life.]

Kundalini Yogi and Respected Doctor, Soram Khalsa, MD Starts a Revolution

Dr. Soram Khalsa

Dr. Soram has been a member of the Kundalini Yoga community and a devoted student of Yogi Bhajan for over 35 years.  As one of America’s top medical professionals, working at Los Angeles’ famed Cedar Sinai Hospital, he  is also a founding member of the American Holistic Medical Association, the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture, a member of the Bureau of Naturopathic Medicine Advisory Council for the State of California and serves as medical director for the East-West Medical Research Institute.

And with all of those credentials aside, he is an amazing doctor who has helped care for his patients for decades.  In his private medical practice, he integrates Eastern medicine, nutrition, homeopathy, and Western Internal medicine.   It was from this base of knowledge and practice that Dr. Soram began to recognize the critical importance of Vitamin D which ultimately led to his Vitamin D Revolution.

I recently sat down with Dr. Soram to ask him about this revolution and get an understanding of what it’s all about.  He started noticing the incredible connections between Vitamin D and health in his personal practice.  He had himself tested and discovered that he was deeply deficient in Vitamin D and had early signs of adul rickets or osteomalacia.  At that point, he started measuring patients and discovered that a high majority of his patients were very deficient as well.

I asked him why so many people are deficient.  He said that it is a combination of things, all connected to the sun.  People spend so much of their time indoors, wear so much sunblock, and have become unable to convert sunlight into Vitamin D.  It turns out that Vitamin D isn’t even a Vitamin, it’s a hormone that interacts with over 2000 genes in the body.  Shortage of Vitamin D in the body has been associated with cancer, heart attack, strokes, osteoporosis, diabetes, autism, childhood asthma, chronic pain, and many other  disorders.

About a year ago, Dr. Soram discovered that home testing kits were available for testing your Vitamin D levels.  The next morning while he was meditating during his morning sadhana, he clearly saw this combination of a test kit, a book, and high quality Vitamin D pills that could be offered to the public and really revolutionize the understanding and consumption of this critical hormone/vitamin through the country and the world.  And the Vitamin D Revolution was born.

As a Sikh, Dr. Soram said that Vitamin D deficiency is much more common because sikhs cover up so much of their bodies with their bana (traditional clothing) – this is also true of many religious clothes including muslims, jews, priests, nuns, etc. etc. 

Dr. Soram gets very passionate when he talks about this Vitamin.  “If  I told you there was a pill that could potentially reduce breast cancer by 50%, wouldn’t you think every woman in the world would take it?  Epidemiological studies show that if women raise their Vitamin D levels over 52 mg/ml, it is estimated that breast cancer would be reducd by 50% without side effects!!”  It is also extremely critical for pregnant and nursing mothers, having a huge impact on the health of their children. 

So, I asked Dr. Soram what the best way to get Vitamin D into your system is.  He said that getting sun on your skin is great, and recommends that you get 20 minutes of sun before putting on your sunblock, but he says this just won’t be enough.  First of all, it is only during the summer that the sun is strong enough for our bodies to effectively convert it to Vitamin D and only at very specific latitudes – it needs to be at 35 degrees or less.  And race also effects this ability – peopl of African descent need much more sunlight to create Vitamin D than people of European descent with a wide range in between.  So he recommends taking a daily supplement.

It is possible to overdose on Vitamin D, so until you get tested, he recommends staying at 2000 units per day, but he highly reccomends taking the test and figuring out the correct dosage for your individual levels.

There is so much information about Vitamin D that I can’t possibly include in this blog – you’ll have to read the book to get all the info.  You can click here to see more about it on our site: http://www.spiritvoyage.com/yoga/The-Vitamin-D-Revolution/Soram-Khalsa/BKS-009164.aspx 

Dr. Soram has much more to come, so keep your ears open – he has had a long-standing dream of writing about merging Eastern and Western medicines.  He says that he loves and cares for his patients in Los Angeles, but feels he has a duty to provide a service to the planet as a whole and this is just a first step.

Snatam Kaur’s ‘Charan Sat Sat’ from Sukhmani Sahib on New Album, Liberation’s Door

In continuation of my interview with Snatam about her upcoming release, Liberation’s Door, she talked to me about an incredible experience she had in the studio while recording the vocals for the track Charan Sat Sat.  In listening to Snatam speak, I realized the depth of devotion and meditation that she experiences with her music, and I am just beginning to understand why so many people are so deeply touched by her music – because it comes from such a pure place within her that is transmitted to you as you listen.

Karan: Can you tell me where the chant ‘Charan Sat Sat’ comes from?

Snatam Kaur during her visit to record 'Liberation's Door'

Snatam:

The words are taken from Sukhmani Sahib which is a beautiful prayer written by Guru Arjan Dev.  Guru Arjan was an amazing poet and teacher.  He gave his life standing up for religious freedom during the reign of emperor Aurangzab by not bowing down to change his faith.  He was tortured and killed for keeping his faith.  I had always known this story and was inspired by it. 

When I was recording this track, I was trying to get into a deep space so I could sing from the purest place possible.  Each time I sang it,  I would go deeper and deeper, trying to connect with the words but also trying to connect to the life growing in my womb so my baby’s soul could be there and present with it too, since she was a part of me and a part of the process of recording the music. 

As I was chanting, I suddenly felt this shift in the space around me and had this experience of being taken to see what it was like for Guru Arjan when he was on his way to the Emperor’s Palace to face his death.  I was literally transported to that place and time – I found myself as one of the disciples carrying Guru Arjan along the road to the palace, and I knew that we were all walking to our deaths.  As I was experiencing that, I kept chanting and everyone with me was chanting.  With each chant, we knew that victory was in the power of Guru Arjan’s sacred words.  We knew that the prayer we were singing would live well beyond us.  With each recitation, we chanted more powerfully because these words were our only defense.  We felt carried forward in knowing that these words would ring through the planet through time and space for all to hear it. 

Then suddenly, I realized I was not only marching towards my own death, but also the child in my womb.  I became very emotional at that point feeling my child did not have a choice in the matter.  Then I felt this soothing presence that I recognized as the soul of my child or some wise soul telling me that my child had already given herself to the guru and was making that choice for herself.  It was a really emotional moment, but I kept singing through it.

It was a beautiful experience for me to tune into that time of Guru Arjan, because I have always known the stories, but that kind of intensity of what it must have been like to fearlessly go towards your death while having the strength of the sound current carry you there was really powerful.  Guru Arjan’s mission was to bring forward the sound current as the teacher that we show our reverence to.

Karan: What did you take with you from that experience?

Snatam: I really felt how strong the words and the sacred sound current are – even more powerful than weapons or swords. 

—————————————————————————

Listen to Charan Sat Sat 

See the entire album: Liberation’s Door

- Karan

Snatam Kaur’s Spanish Offering: Mother’s Blessing – La Bendición De Tu Madre

On Snatam Kaur’s upcoming release, Liberation’s Door, she decided to stretch her offering and took the daring step of recording a track in Spanish.  The track turned out to be an epic track.  It is translated into Spanish and English from a poem that is a prayer written in the 16th century by Bibi Bani who was the wife of Guru Ram Das and mother of Guru Arjun Dev.

Listen to a Sound Clip Here:

 Mother’s Blessing 

I sat down with Snatam and asked her about recording this track.  Here’s what she said:

Karan: What inspired you to record this particular track?

Snatam and Sopurkh - 6 months pregnant

Snatam: During my pregnancy, I was reciting the words to this shabd 11 times per day to pray for the baby in my womb, and I was really inspired to hear it with other mothers.  I wanted to share the experience I had with this shabd.  While I was pregnant, every day people would ask me things like if I had gotten a stroller yet, or a crib, or if my nursery was set up yet.  People were always asking me if I had gotten all of the physical things I needed.  But I’m just not a planner or a “things” person – I don’t really relate to “stuff”.  To me, the most important thing was that I connected with my child energetically, so I was reciting the shabd in English and Gurmukhi and started getting deeper into  the meaning of it, and it really inspired me.  It says “May your clothing be the protection of God and your food be the singing of God’s praise .”  It really helped me prioritize and relax about the material things, and I really felt like the right thing to do was to pray for the soul of the baby coming in.  As a mom, I realized that would be my most important job.  After reciting just the words for a while, I sat down one day and came up with the tune we used in this piece and I knew I wanted to record it.

Karan: Why did you decide to translate it into Spanish?

Snatam with her daughter Jap Preet Kaur

Snatam:  I had been really wanting to sing something in Spanish for a while, and the tune I wrote for this piece inspired me to find out the Spanish lyrics.  My friend translated it in such a beautiful way, and the words ended up fitting so beautifully with the tune, I knew it was meant to be.  Over the years, I have received so much love, so many e-mails and letters from Spanish speakers and I wanted to give a gift to them and that’s how it all came about.

—–

So, here are the words from the shabd in both English and Spanish:

Track 4:  Mother’s Blessing – La Bendición De Tu Madre
Words of Bibi Bani, wife of Guru Ram Das the Fourth Guru of the Sikhs

Retoño mio, esta es la bendición de tu madre.
Oh my child this is your mother’s blessing.

Nunca olvides a Dios, ni un momento
May you never forget God, even for a moment

Adorando, por siempre, al Señor del Universo
Worshipping forever the Lord of the universe.

Recordando a Dios, todos los errores son purificados.
Remembering God, all mistakes are washed away.

Y todos nuestros ancestros son acogidos y salvados.
And one’s ancestors are redeemed and saved.

Siempre canta el nombre de Dios, Har Har
Always chant God’s Name, Har Har

Dios esta en tu interior, Dios es infinito.
God is inside you, God is Infinite.

Que el Verdadero Guru te sea amable
May the True Guru be kind to you

Que ames estar en compañía de santos.
May you love to be with the Saints.

Que tu prenda de vestir sea la protección de Dios
May your clothing be the protection of God

Que tu sustento sea el canto de la alabanza de Dios.
May your food be the singing of God’s Praise.

Bebe el néctar del nombre de Dios, y vive una larga vida
Drink the nectar of God’s Name and live long

Que la meditación en Dios te traiga dicha incesante
May meditation on God bring you endless bliss.

Que el amor sea tuyo propio y tus deseos se cumplan
May love be yours and your hopes fulfilled

Que la preocupación nunca te consuma.
May you never be worn by worry.

Haz de tu mente el abejorro
Let this mind of yours be the bumble bee

Y que los pies de loto de Dios sean la flor.
And let the Lotus Feet of God be the flower.

Oh sirviente Nanak, ata tu mente de esta manera
Oh Servant Nanak, link your mind in this way

Como el gavilán encuentra la gota de lluvia, y prospera.
Like the sparrow hawk finding a raindrop, blossom forth.

See More about Snatam’s New Release Mother’s Blessing – Release Date: June 18th

- Karan

Sat Kirin launches her tour through England and Germany

 Sat Kirin, is heading out on the road next week to take her Blessings tour to Europe.  Sat Kirin has managed to keep a really strong traditional Gurbani Kirtan flavor to her music, while making it deeply connect with those of us with a somewhat Westernized musical sensibility.  As such, her music is much beloved at Gurudwaras and Yoga studios alike.

Sat Kirin in Brazil last year

She talks about her upcoming tour here:

May is here and the countdown has begun for the European BLESSINGS TOUR. Another week and I will be flying out to London, England. There, my kirtan Jatha awaits me. Harsimren Kaur and Jhujar Singh of Wolverhampton and Sat Siri Singh of Southall and I will all be musically merging to sing in 4 Gurdwara’s. Saturday May 16th we also lead Sadhana, and teach 2 workshops at the Sikh Missionery Society. Then we float over to the famous Afghani Gurdwara in the PM. I see this as a dedication to God and Guru for all blessings.

 

Dharm Singh from Santa Fe, New Mexico

In Germany, Dharm Singh of Chocolate Maven Santa Fe debuts to play keyboard & Guitar for our MANTRA JAM BAND. Beloved, Terrance Pompey will come from NY to continue to play fabulous percussion. Nadir Nihal Singh is flying in from India to be sound Tech and Shiuli Subaya of Bombay may be embellishing all

Terrance Pompey

with her delightful vocals. The highlight of the German Tour will be our performance at the famous Interfaith Rainbow Festival in Baden Baden on May 29th.  Still you have a few chances in May to join us in New York for a few high moments. If I miss you in May then lets meet after June 2 either in New York or in New Mexico for Camp Miri Piri and Summer Solstice Sadhana and Ladies Camp.

 

 Blessings to you all with love and gratitude,

~ SatKirin Kaur Khalsa

Blessings Tour in London, England:

Gurdwara Guru Nanak Darbar
Friday May 15th
7:30pm
67-73 King Street Southall UB2 4DQ
contact: 020 8571 3265

Sadhna @ SMS
Saturday May 16th
5am to 7:30am
Sikh Missionary Society (SMS)

Balance and Excel from KY to Shabd Guru
Saturday May 16th
10am to 1pm
workshop at Sikh Missionary Society

Improve your life with chanting
Saturday May 16th
2pm to 5pm
workshop at Sikh Missionary Society

Ealing Gurdwara
Saturday May 16th
7:30pm
London Sikh Centre, Sawyers Lawn,Drayton Bridge Road, West Ealing W13 0JP
contact: 020 8991 5356

Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha
Sunday May 17th
12 to 2pm
Alice Way, Hanworth Road, Hounslow TW3 3UA
contact: 020 8577 2793

Gurdwara Sri Singh Sabha
Sunday May 17th
1:40 to 2:20pm
Havelock Road, Southall UB2 4NP
contact: 020 8574 8901

 

Blessings Tour in Germany:
for more information and ticket purchases: www.satnam.de

Workshop & Concert at Fotoatelier- Brigita Krause
Friday May 22nd
Frankfurt

Kirtan Concert at Shunia Zentrum
Saturday May 23rd
Koln
www.shunia-zentrum.de

Kirtan Concert at Ardas Yogazentrum
Sunday May 24th
Hamburg
www.ardas.de

Power of Mantra Workshop at Ardas Yogazentrump
Monday May 25th
Hamburg
www.ardas.de

Kundalini Yoga class w/ Live Kirtan at Shunia Zentrum
Wednesday May 27th
Koln
www.shunia-zentrum.de

Kirtan Concert
Thursday May 28th
Heidelberg

Workshop / Concert at Rainbow Spirit Festival
Friday May 29th
Baden Baden
www.rainbow_spirit-festival.de

Kirtan Concert at KY Zentrum Munchen
Saturday May 30th
Munchen
www.K-yoga.de

Shakti-Zentrum fur
Sunday May 31th
Offenburg
www.shanti-offenburg.de

 

Connecting Through Kirtan

 

LA Yoga Magazine - May 2009

Published in the May Issue of LA Yoga Magazine

 

 

by Karan Khalsa

A New Experience of Community

Waves lapped against the gentle beach in the darkness as I listened deeply to the ocean, and the lingering exhalations of the other sixty people around me. The moon was rising over the water behind Snatam Kaur, GuruGanesha Singh and Manish Vyas, who watched us silently with light in their eyes as the music slowly faded. They had just finished leading another evening of beautiful kirtan (call and response singing) during their sacred chant retreat in Mexico.

After a few moments, Manish gently broke the silence, “Listen to the waves, and then listen to the space between the waves. Find yourself in that space.” This is where the kirtan had carried us, to this space, this deep silence between the waves. As Manish spoke to us, I could still feel the mantra coursing through my bloodstream with each heartbeat, Snatam’s voice carrying on into the silence. I felt such a sense of joy, my heart wanted to burst. I looked around and saw my emotions mirrored in the expressions of the people surrounding me. And suddenly, there was no space between the person next to me and me. We became so deeply connected by that shared experience, that there was an intimacy created beyond explanation. I did not know these people before we arrived at this kirtan event, but we left as family.

 

This experience of deep connectedness and community is being expressed by people attending kirtan gatherings and concerts all over the world. For many, kirtan has become their favorite practice of devotion, but for some, kirtan is a completely new experience. The idea of chanting in a group is completely foreign to them.

Akasha, a yoga teacher in Birmingham, Alabama, went to a David Newman (a.k.a. Durga Das) concert earlier this month. “I brought a bunch of my students to the concert,” he said. “They all had strong physical Yoga practices, but had never been to a kirtan event before. We don’t get kirtan artists touring through Birmingham. There were some people who came who had never chanted in their lives. Half-way through the night, I saw them rocking back and forth with their eyes closed, singing their hearts out. My students said that they felt electric afterwards. The experience of devotion towards oneness and towards each other was so strong. It didn’t matter if you could sing or not, everyone was chanting along.” And that’s the thing about kirtan; we are carried by the group energy to an exciting exploration into whom and what we are.

Manish on tablas with Snatam and GuruGanesha at the Sacred Chant Retreat in Yelapa, Mexico

Kirtan is a new kind of concert experience here in the West. It’s not so much a performance as a journey into the self through the practice of listening and singing. And while there might be leaders at a kirtan concert, everyone is a part of the music. In kirtan, everyone sings. Snatam Kaur calls her concerts “coformances” rather than performances because she says the audience is an equal part of the music. Kirtan is a practice that started in India thousands of years ago, but in the last decade has become a phenomenon across the United States and has transformed musically to appeal to the ears of American audiences. Two recent books chronicle this movement and interview and track the evolution of some of the most popular kirtan musicians including Krishna Das, Deva Premal, Bhagavan Das, Snatam Kaur, Ragani, Jau Uttal, Dave Stringer and Wah! Linda Johnsen, author of Daughter of the Goddess and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Hinduism, recently released a book called Kirtan! Chanting as a Spiritual Path and Journal of Vaishnava Studies editor Steve Rosen’s (Satyaraja Dasa) The Yoga of Kirtan also includes an audio CD of the music.

There is a theme that runs through the unique stories I hear from people who attend all of these various musicians’ kirtan events. People feel like they become a part of something bigger than themselves. Even after having gone to kirtans for years, I will sometimes find myself in the midst of an entirely new energy at a kirtan concert. The first time I saw Dave Stringer perform, I was seriously blown away by it. It was a packed house, and he carried us with him in the progressively building nature that is the trademark of kirtan. In addition to the deeply peaceful feel of some of the kirtan concerts I had been to, at Dave’s I got up to sing and dance at the back of the room with a group of strangers – and through that experience, we really connected. It was such a different experience of kirtan for me that I realized I wanted to experience them all. I wanted to feel the uniqueness that each kirtan artist brings to the group.

---

It didn’t matter if you could sing or not, everyone was chanting along. And that’s the thing about kirtan; we are carried by the group energy to an exciting exploration into whom and what we are.

---

I asked Hargobind, my business partner, about Krishna Das’ last concert. “Krishna Das is hilarious,” he said. “He tells these hysterical stories about India and his Guru and chanting. Through his humor and stories, you feel connected to him, like he’s just a guy you might hang out with. And then he starts singing, and his chants are so rich and upbeat and simple, that you feel relaxed and comfortable enough to join in, and so energized once you start chanting that you are really pulled into it. So you chant, even if you didn’t expect to.”

For a lot of people, this unique experience of feeling comfortable singing in public is in itself a feat. Our western sensibilities have been so tuned to the performance aspect of singing that the act of singing is accompanied by fear. Overcoming this fear alone can be life-changing. And once the fear disappears, the practice of chanting as a group brings with it layers of transformation that unfold the more we chant.

GuruGanesha Singh, a touring kirtan artist and an accomplished guitarist says, “In chanting, there are no bad sounds. In Kirtan, everyone’s voice is nectar.” While sitting in the audience at a kirtan concert, singing along, you can really experience just that: your own voice becomes as beautiful as the performers’. All of the voices merge together to become one voice.

When I asked Mahan Rishi, who has been organizing many kirtan concerts over the last few years in Philadelphia about this experience of community at the events, he said, “Kirtan concerts evoke a sublime, beautiful sense of heart. The kirtan environment creates softness where people can let go and feel a part of a mass flow of compassion. In the 1970s, I went to a Neil Young concert at Madison Square Garden. Neil Young walked off the stage in the middle of the concert and announced, ‘The Vietnam War is over.’ This wave of love went through the stadium. Kirtan is like that. People feel love within themselves that is universal and open when they chant. And the kirtan environment feels so safe and caring that they feel free enough to share it.”

“Each musician holds a different energy. They help to infuse something unique through their own way of chanting,” he continued. “Deva Premal and Miten hold an amazing energy. They know how to really create that inner dance between themselves and the community. There is such a depth that comes from them that it allows people to really connect with the profoundly soulful part of their heart. They combine that with a playfulness that gives it a universality that emanates from their music. Their concert in Philadelphia was unbelievable. We all felt it for weeks afterwards. So many people reached out to us feeling so moved by the event that they wanted to carry that connection forward.”

“The real reason I do these concerts is for Philadelphia: to help build the community consciousness. The kirtan events connect the Yoga centers and the Yoga students and create community in ways that nothing else does. They dissolve the boundaries that can’t be dissolved in other ways. The chanting blends the different Yoga traditions as well and has brought a lot of people beyond the separateness to a much greater state of harmony.” Listening to him, I realized that what kirtan does for the individual, it can also do for groups, bringing communities together.

Manish Vyas, who grew up in India studying classical Indian music, says, “Kirtan in India is a very ancient spiritual phenomenon. It was known as a layman’s way of connecting to the divine. Not everyone is a scholar or has had a chance to practice a path, so the simple men and women had kirtan as a tool to dissolve and merge with the divine. My teacher, Osho, said that kirtan is one of the simplest and most powerful techniques of meditation. It is so effortless and joyful at the same time that the kirtan participants just have to allow the music and rhythm to take over and simply flow with it. What happens next is a huge whirlpool of energy generating from the phenomenon of group singing and dancing. And in a group, one’s separation from the other dissolves. In that space, one is finally ONE, even for a few moments. We use so many methods and techniques to find this union, and through kirtan, it is accessible effortlessly.”

That is the amazing thing about the group chanting experience. It just happens. You feel your voice emerge almost without intent. And it feels perfect.

Markus Sieber, who is half of the band Mirabai Ceiba, says, “Chanting can be like a light in the darkness. You can sing for your pain, for your sadness, and it can transform you. Singing and playing music together is a way of subtle communication beyond words.” When you hear Mirabai Ceiba in concert, you feel all of those things and more. You are sharing those songs of longing with everyone around you and breaking through to a new place together.

Valerie Ortiz, who saw Snatam Kaur’s concert in Virginia last year said, “Snatam’s concerts just open your heart wide open. And then all you are is love.” And in a room full of people, that love has plenty of places to land.

Karan Khalsa is devoted to sharing sacred music and technology through her writing and her business, Spirit Voyage: spiritvoyage.com

A Spiritual Practice

(I read this great article on www.grammy.com about Kirtan – they interviewed GuruGanesha for the article.  Very cool!  Check it out!  – Karan)

Yoga’s music movement is gaining popularity while broadening horizons and sales

This article taken from GRAMMY.com
Alan di Perna

While many sectors of the music industry are learning to live with decreased sales and diminished expectations, one niche music market that’s remarkably robust is the growing yoga/chant genre. The expanding popularity of this genre is directly tied to the explosion of hatha yoga over the past decade, with yoga studios springing up in a number of cities across the United States and Europe.

“It’s part of a whole cultural movement that includes yoga, meditation, devotional chanting, and ayurveda [traditional Indian medicine],” says Bette Timm, head of alternative music retail promotion company Bette Timm Marketing.

As a product of the yoga and spirituality boom, leading chant artists such as Krishna Das and Deva Premal are enjoying album and concert sales rivaling artists in more mainstream genres.

Deva Premal

“Deva Premal has sold, between her four albums, over 750,000 units, which is not something to sneeze at in anybody’s world,” says Parmita Pushman, owner of White Swan Records, the label that released Premal’s second album in 2001. “The highest-selling Deva Premal album is her first one [on White Swan], The Essence, which at this point has sold about 300,000 units. And I imagine Krishna Das is up in the same numbers. With all the problems in the music industry, and with so many segments of the industry going down, this is one market that has been immune to that.”

The music performed by these artists is largely based on kirtan, an ancient Indian form of rhythmic call-and-response devotional chanting that creates an ecstatically meditative mood. While the paradigm is ancient and South Asian, some of the genre’s top performers express the mantras while drawing upon other musical styles. Das sticks close to the Indian tradition and also incorporates the harmonium, African percussion and electronic influences, while Premal employs ambient New Age style synths in her music. Jai Uttal, a GRAMMY-nominated kirtan artist, explores Brazilian rhythms on his latest album, Thunder Love, and MC Yogi has created a sensation by setting mantras to hip-hop grooves on his debut album, Elephant Power.

With the genre infusing a variety of musical textures, the audience has reflected both baby boomers and a younger demographic. “I go to a concert by Krishna Das or Deva Premal and half the audience is the older spiritual crowd,” says Terry McBride of NuTone Music, a label specializing in the yoga/chant genre. “But the other half are people who have heard this music in a yoga studio and they’re all 25 to 40 and about 80 percent female.”

Yoga studios are an important component to the genre. “When my partner and I started White Swan in 1991, yoga studios weren’t really playing music,” says Pushman. “Yoga teachers have become the radio stations for this music. They’re the DJs. And that provides a vital way to reach listeners, which is one thing that more mainstream labels lack these days.”

Yoga/chant CDs are also sold at other non-traditional outlets such as New Age stores and gift shops at meditation or spiritual centers. “The problem is that a lot of the sales don’t go through [Nielsen] SoundScan,” says Pushman. “So they get short shrift on the music industry’s radar.” And while digital sales are up across genres worldwide, CDs are still a major focus for the yoga/chant genre. “People aren’t buying the music for one song they love, but rather for an experience that fits their life, such as a yoga class or meditation,” says Pushman. “So they tend to buy whole albums and they tend to actually like buying CDs.”

Compared with pop music, “kirtan music clearly has a longer shelf life,” adds GuruGanesha Singh, founder of the Spirit Voyage label and manager of Spirit Voyage’s flagship artist Snatam Kaur. “As an artist like Snatam Kaur gets embraced by more and more people around the world, they’re going back and buying the whole discography. It’s not likely to go in and out of style.”

Live performance also plays a key role in CD sales. “I really see a huge difference between the artists who are touring and the ones who aren’t,” says Timm. “It’s really hard to sell CDs if an artist is not touring. Whereas those who are out touring consistently and have been doing it for a while are doing great.”

“We’re seeing consistent increases in attendance at concerts, especially over the last eight to 10 years,” says Singh. “We’ve been averaging audiences of maybe 300 to 400 in the U.S., 400 to 600 in Canada and 600 to 1,000 or more in Europe.”

The involvement of Nutone Music’s Terry McBride is a development that may help catapult the genre to a new level. As CEO of Nettwerk Music Group, architect of Lilith Fair and an instrumental force in launching the careers of artists such as Sarah McLachlan and Barenaked Ladies, McBride began attending yoga classes a few years back and became an avid yoga practitioner. He revived Nettwerk’s defunct world music imprint NuTone in 2008 as a new outlet for yoga/chant music, signing artists such as Bhagavan Das, Donna De Lory, Wade Imre Morissette, David Newman, Uttal, and Wah!

“What I see missing and what I’m going to work on over the next couple of years is a more mainstream touring circuit for this music,” says McBride. “We’re going to market this music in ways that it hasn’t been marketed yet.”

Perhaps his most adventurous plan is to create a Lilith Fair-style festival based around mantra music, yoga and wellness. “The initial thought for this would be sort of a half-day festival, like from noon till 10 at night,” he says. “It would combine spiritual music — someone like Krishna Das or Deva [Premal] — with a more mainstream musical artist like Michael Franti. And that would be combined with sessions led by some of the more well-known yoga teachers. The whole thing would be something that resonates with what today’s society is looking for, because there will be a lot of people coming to these events searching for something. And I’d love for them to find it.”

For all the artists involved, kirtan is a spiritual practice first, and a profession second. Newcomers should realize that it is by no means a fast track to stardom.

“Unfortunately some people do try to get on the bandwagon,” says Timm, “but it’s not really what’s in their hearts so it doesn’t have the right essence. But I think the music itself tends to weed those people out.”

So while the market for this genre will continue to grow in the future, it will most likely do so on its own terms. “You can’t force a flower to bloom any faster than it’s going to bloom,” says Singh. “It feels to me that this genre will grow at a slow and steady pace, like a good spiritual practice. We’re in it for the long term.”

(Alan di Perna has been writing about music for more than 20 years and is currently west coast editor of Guitar World magazine.)

An Interview with Sada Sat Simran from Charhdi Kalaa Jatha

 

Karan: I wanted to talk to you about the 4 aspects of a Sikh lifestyle:  Bana (outward projection/clothing), Bani (recitation), Simran(meditation) and Seva(selfless service).  I  know that as a musician and devoted Sikh, these play a major role in your life.  Can you share with each of these mean in your life?

Sada Sat Simran Singh Khalsa

Sada Sat Simran:

Bana, Bani, Seva, Simran. These are four pillars of a Sikhs life. It is part of our spiritual practice. You may think that you can have one without the others, but actually it doesn’t work. Bana is your outward appearance. It is your projection. It is your commitment to being available to the sangat for whatever seva.

Bana is a statement of what you can deliver. The thing that we deliver is Bani. We meditate on the Bani and immerse ourselves in the practice of it. Not just five daily Banis but the Siri Guru Granth, the Siri Dasam Granth, and the Siri Sarabloh Granth, along with other scriptures written by elevated and spiritual people. Bani is the Shabd Guru. That which eradicates your ego and delivers you from darkness into light. The process of recitation stimulates meridian points in the mouth (the upper gopha) and activates the Thalamus and Hypothalamus glands to secrete. This then activates the pituitary which secretes and gives an experience of bliss, Anand, Higher Consciousness, God, whatever you want to call it. This is the purpose that the Bani serves.

Without Bana, Bani is not delivered. This opportunity to experience ones own bliss is unavailable because the carrier of the technology is invisible. Bana states that we are here to deliver this and to serve. We have a claim to the technology and we are presenting ourselves as a vessel to deliver it. We are the wiring that can channel the electricity to the device necessary.

Chahrdi Kalaa Jatha playing in a Gurdwara in India with students from Miri Piri Academy

Seva and Simran is just as important. Seva, or selfless service, is an act of service for the purpose of serving. It has nothing to do with personal gain or self centered attitude. It is the act of serving where there is a need but with no agenda other than serving. The Bana and Bani are tools to assist this service. Bana (as we have stated earlier) is advertisement or a banner of claim that the wearer can deliver the other aspects of a Sikhs life. Bani is the focus of every Sikh but it is also what guides our Seva. We serve where there is a need.

These days Seva is misunderstood. People think that it means to go to a temple and clean, or cook, or serve those who enter. This is a form of Seva, but I have always considered it more a place to learn how to serve better. The Guru’s house is the richest place because the Guru is there. I find that our sangats need to learn to bring the service from the Gurdwara out and implement it into a more general arena.

Simran, or meditation, is the process of cleansing the mind. We bathe every day. That is part of our Bana. Simran is the process of cleansing the mind. Conquer your mind and you conquer your environments. What better way to become the perfect tool for Seva? Neither are we sadhus who live in caves and meditate by ourselves. Or are we self serving business people whose only aim in life is to earn and earn so that they can have a bigger holding for themselves. We live in a Grisht Ashram (householders lifestyle). But our path demands that we remain spiritual while immersed in the material realm. This combination of Seva and Simran creates that balance. Living in a cave and meditating is a beautiful practice but it only serves you. But serving without cleaning your mind and remaining focused on the Higher Self is cheating that which you serve.

Karan: Can you specifically tell us what seva you do living in India?

Sada Sat Simran: Living in India we as a Jatha perform Kirtan (musical recitation of Gurbani) in Gurdwaras and functions all over India. This gives our community (3ho) exposure to the greater Sikh community and inspires the “Punjabi” Sikh community because they are not aware of foreign Sikhs in the world. When they see us in our Bana singing Bani and openly devoted to the Guru it inspires them to do the same. We pray that the Sangats here grow and become empowered through devotion to the Guru and a strong Sadhana.

Teaching yoga to the Punjabi Sikh Community in Punjab, India

Another way that we serve is at Miri Piri Academy. Jagat Guru Singh Khalsa is the Director of Spiritual Studies at MPA and has been serving as a Staff member there since 1998. Sada Sat Simran Singh Khalsa and Harimander Jot Singh Khalsa serve in other ways as they are not staff members. They help teach Gatka, Music and spiritual studies as well. We are a permanent presence in the Indian Sikh community. We travel from India for Kirtan trips and to teach at Sikh Youth camps.

Sada Sat Simran teaching Martial Arts at Miri Piri Academy

Karan: Can you tell us about the experience of being able to join the elite group of musicians invited to play at the Golden Temple?

Chahrdi Kalaa Jatha playing at the Golden Temple. Amritsar, India

Sada Sat Simran:

The Golden Temple is probably the highest standard for Gurbani Kirtan or Sikh Devotional Music. Its standards have been set for hundreds of years and the Maryada, or code of conduct, for doing kirtan inside the temple is very strict. All the Banis sung there have to be memorized. You cant bring any papers or Kirtan books to read from. This ensures the quality of the musicians in that they have to have immersed themselves in Bani enough to know it by heart. The time frames for doing Kirtan are strtctly alloted and starting late or going over the alloted time by even a minute is looked down on and would probably lead to you not being invited back, and if you are an employee of the Golden Temple would result in you being fired. The first Shabad you sing has to be in Raag. Raag is the classical form of music of India. North Indian Classical Music is based off of a system of scales or modes which have certain rules to their movement, time of day that they are sung at, and vocal techniques used.

There are 31 Raags used in the Siri Guru Granth Sahib and many many more discussed in the Siri Guru Granth, The Siri Dasam Granth and the Siri Sarbloh Granth. All Indian music is based in Raag but inside the Golden Temple the first Shabad must be sung in the classical style which means strict rules in the music as far as notes sung and the rhythms used. Depending on the time of day there are different lines from the Siri Guru Granth Sahib that have to be sung by the musicians.

Nowadays there is another factor that raises the standard. There is a Punjabi channel called PTC Punjabi that has video cameras strategically placed all over the Golden Temple and the Parkarma. These film the everyday cerimonies and Kirtan that happens there. If you are designated to perform Kirtan at the time when the ‘TV is on’ than it is a live performance broadcast in over 120 countries. Whenever we do Kirtan at those times we get phone calls from people in the US and Canada, England and Europe, all over India and Malaysia and Singapore. It is really the central standard for Kirtan in the Sikh religion.

 

Karan: What music (mantras, gurbani) are you listening to these days. Can you tell us 5 albums that are on your current ‘play list’?

Sada Sat Simran:

Bhai Shamsher Singh Zakhami ‘Gur Darshan Dekh Nihali’
Bhai Balbir Singh ‘Mate Matang’
Bibi Amarjit Kaur Live Recordings
Ustaad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan from 1956 singing Raag Bihag.
Salamat Ali Khan ‘Gunkali’

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Check out the music of Charhdi Kalaa Jatha and more on their artist page at Spirit Voyage:

http://www.spiritvoyage.com/Search_Page.aspx?SearchTerm=Charhdi%20Kalaa%20Jatha 

   

- Karan

 

 

 

 

 

Sat Kirin on her NEW CD Blessings of a Woman

BLESSINGS OF A WOMAN

by SatKirin Kaur Khalsa

After 39 years of singing and experiencing the power of Shabd and Mantra I offer this collection, BLESSINGS OF A WOMAN, to all of you to use as a map guide for your life. For women it is to inspire you to uplift yourself, your family, your surroundings. For men it is to understand how you revolve around the feminine and benefit from this support. I am deeply grateful to the Siri Singh Sahib for teaching me about the strength of the woman and for guiding me to my Guru, the Siri Guru Granth Sahib.

The woman contains the ability to create life and thus has many gifts and strengths associated with maintaining the values of society and the future; if she knows how to channel the sabotage of her emotional nature and live in grace.

The Sikh Gurus compiled a map guide for the human mind to be uplifted through song, called the Siri Guru Granth Sahib or SHABD GURU. Because, “Kalyug meh kirtan pardanaa”. ‘In the dark age the singing of kirtan (shabds of the Guru) is mastery.’ This basic teaching of Shabd Guru leads the way to enduring happiness and clear awareness through recitation of the Naad of the Shabd. Naad contains all the sounds of the universe in balance and the entire Shabd Guru is written in Naad.

The Kalyug, which we are now in, is the final era in the spiritual evolution of the human being. It is the ‘Age of Darkness’ and is 432,000 years long. This age is divided into two parts: Piscean and Aquarian. We are leaving the Piscean and transitioning, by the year 2012, into the Aquarian age.

It all works because Shabd Guru releases us from limiting thoughts called, ego. Each Shabd gives an inheritance, a spiritual DNA that establishes our ID and lineage with Infinity. Shabd contains words that have a sound pattern and rhythm. The pressure of the tongue on the upper palate stimulates the 84 meridian points through reciting Gurbani, (the language of the Shabd). This process of recitation creates corresponding patterns with the neurons of the brain to stimulate the hypothalamus which makes the Pineal gland radiate. The glandular system is balanced, you experience ecstasy and increased intuition. This is a human technology, not a religion.

Just as when milk is churned, it takes a lot of milk and a lot of effort to make a little butter. When you churn the tongue in the cave of the mouth the effect is manifested by a lot of repetition and some time . When you choose a Shand to work on from Blessings of a Woman is to be recited 11 times a day or sung for 31 minutes for a 40 day period. If you miss a day, your restart day becomes day #1. Same for the mantras on the CD. They are mini Shabds and should also be recited with full sensory and meditative focus for 11 minutes or 31 minutes. The 40 day period is needed to effect the change in the psyche to create a new habit and release the old habit pattern. You can continue for 90 days, 120 days, and even 1,000 days for mastery.

The CD map guide begins with “AMRIT PEEVO…” The Power of the Mother’s Prayer. Yogi Bhajan said that the greatest prayer is the power of the prayer of the mother. For those of us who are not mothers, you can focus on the ‘child within yourself’ ‘may you live long and may the meditative remembrance of God give you infinite delight”. To care for others you must first care for yourself. To teach self love you must act lovingly. Recitation of this ancient prayer,protects, heals, blesses and watches over all of this. Just listening to the words invokes a powerful blessing.

The next is the ‘Noble Woman’ which is an English song from a class of Yogi Bhajan at Women’s Camp. The trap for the woman in relationships with a man is her emotions and her insecurity. He said, ‘Never compete with nor confront a man. It will make your life miserable. Rather, he impressed upon us the power of nobility; “Nobility is such a virtue you can conquer the world with it”. And, “Build your life around nobility, not sexuality”. Sing this song to develop a grateful heart and understanding of your life.

Wahe Guru jio is a simple mantra to feed the essence of your soul and bring bliss to your day. Take the time to crowd out the suffering by moving your lips and tongue to attune to the bliss meridians of higher consciousness.

In the Meditation for a wise heart, Aad Gureh Nameh… we also sing the English translation. Each line says “I bow”. When you bow, your head is below your heart, and soon your heart energy reigns supreme and thoughts are quieted, and our wisdom can speak to us.

The combination of Akal Sahaa-ee mantra and Adi Shakti mantra are for removing fear.You stretch in the mudra of the hands over the head in prayer and the Infinte will stretch back enabling a powerful potential, while fears and phobias diminish.

Next is the meditation to feel SUPPORTED. GOBINDA, The name of God which means, the sustaining power of the Creator.

The 7th track is the Shabd ” Bhand Jamee-ai…” which is recited in every Gurdwara in the world, daily, in epic poem of Shabd Guru called ASA DIVAR. An affirmation of the creative power of the feminine, it causes indignities of life to fall away and empowers your words with grace.

The final track is for you to deeply relax. The ambient soothing, melting, space created with the Raga scale is adorned here and there with heavenly WAHE GURU.

The CD contains a mix of world rhythms and sounds for easy listening, yoga class and deep relaxation. Created for both men and women who want to transform, excel and be radiant. The ancient mantra meditations focus the mind and develop one’s compassionate heart. Thomas Barquee is the musical producer.

Teachers in Focus – Maya Fiennes

“To be in her presence, and to feel her spirit, her energy, and her teaching is an extraordinary experience” Deepak Chopra

Musician and yoga teacher Maya Fiennes combines her talents to create a stunningly beautiful Kundalini practice focused on fortifying the body’s stress defenses. Maya uses movement, breath, mantra, and chants all set to her own exhilarating music to awaken the spirit, energize the body, and relax the mind and is the creator or the “Kundalini Yoga to Detox & Destress” video.

Spirit Voyage: How did you discover Kundalini Yoga and what inspired you to become a teacher?

Maya: As a classical pianist, I started yoga as I wanted to relax before concerts and to improve my musical performance. I have now been doing yoga for ten years, having tried all different styles including Hatha, Ashtanga and Bikram in search of spiritual growth. When I found Kundalini yoga, my search was over. Once I realised the effect Kundalini Yoga had on me I wanted to share it with others; hence why I became a teacher.

Spirit Voyage: You travel and teach throughout the world – can you share some of your experiences teaching yoga to different cultures?

Maya: I have taught all over the world, including the Maldives, Mauritius, Mexico, Greece, Asia (Taipei, Hong Kong & Singapore). It doesn’t really matter where you are. Kundalini Yoga is all about the journey within one self; the outside world becomes irrelevant. With the help of my music, I am able to teach yoga to people of all types of cultures and languages. I often find that not having a common language with my students is even more powerful as it allows us to communicate via energy lines only.

Spirit Voyage: Teaching is a real form of seva (selfless service). In what other ways is seva a part of your life?

Maya: I am a mother and a wife, which in themselves require selfless service. Apart from that, I am very connected to teaching youth in general and helping them on the road to adulthood and responsibilities. Embracing yoga tends to give confidence which is really useful at an early stage of youth. As I teach, and now that I am on Sky TV, via the channel Body in Balance, daily in the UK, I come across people with big needs and I always try to help be it through yoga, general advice, presence or other types of support.

Spirit Voyage: What type of Mantra/Chant music are you listening to these days?

Maya: I find myself listening only to mantras these days..in fact I have a mantra in my head all the time…as I create music it’s not so strange that I have it in my mind. I am in the studio at the moment recording the last mantra of my new album and it gives me pure joy. I am working on the miracle mantra, Guru Ram Das…it’s very healing, it opens the heart which prepares us for the arrival into the Aquarian age safely.

I also listen and work to other albums such as: Long EK ONG KAR on Gurunam’s “The Seal of Higher Destiny” album, Grace by Snatam Kaur, Yatri by Prem Joshua, Wheel of Sound by various Kundalini artists, The Guru Singh experience volume one, I especially love his Ong So Hung.

Maya’s DVD available at http://www.spiritvoyage.com/yoga/Kundalini-Yoga-to-Detox-DVD/Maya-Fiennes/DVD-002378.aspx

 

YOGI TIP*
Meditation for Emotional Relief and Self Healing

Mantra: Wahe Guru, Wahe Guru, Wahe Guru, Wahe Jio

Instructions: Sit in easy pose keeping the arms straight with the hands in gyan mudra resting on the knees. Sit very majestically as though in the court of a king. Close the eyes so that the energy of sight is not distracting from insight. Chant this layla mantra and enter a divine sound current. Concentrate and hear the sound within.

Continue for 11 minutes, then inhale deeply and hold this precious breath, concentrate the energy at the top of the head. After 30 seconds exhale and relax.

* All teachings, yoga sets, techniques, kriyas and meditations contained in this blog entry are provided courtesy of The Teachings of Yogi Bhajan. Reprinted with permission. Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of these Teachings may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted in writing by the Kundalini Research Institute. To request permission, please write to KRI at PO Box 1819, Santa Cruz, NM 87567 or see www.kriteachings.org.