Creating albums and babies in the Spirit Voyage family!!

Spirit Voyage is blessed with a state of extreme bounty – our fields are fertile!! It seems that the process of creating music is deeply linked with the process of creating life for our artists these days. Snatam Kaur became pregnant while writing the music for Liberation’s Door and Shanti the Yogi, and was pregnant during their recording.

Mirabai Ceiba's Markus and Angelika with producer Jamshied Sharifi

Earlier this year, Mirabai Ceiba‘s Angelika and Markus began the process of preparing for their next album, during which time they discovered they were pregnant – and in June they flew to New York to record with an incredible producer named Jamshied Sharifi who is also a gifted musician and has worked with many world famous musicians (check out his website: www.jamshiedsharifi.com).   They rented a somewhat famous studio out in the countryside that they said made the recording expreience amazing. We are hoping for an October/November release of their new album, which is tentatively titled A Hundred Blessings.

Nirinjan with producer Hans Christian

And last week, I joined Nirinjan in Wisconsin at the studio of producer Hans Christian to record her first album with Spirit Voyage, and I have now been cleared to announce that she too is pregnant!  This new album is going to be really incredible!  A lot of the music on it was developed while Nirinjan was touring with GuruGanesha and both he and Manish Vyas joined Nirinjan in the studio to record the tracks in a live environment so that some of the incredible energy of playing live could be captured.  We are hoping to release this album for Winter Solstice in December.

On both of these projects, we were able to do something we’ve never done before – both of the producers we are working with use studios with multiple isolation rooms.  This means that the musicians can all play together at the same time, hearing each other through their headphones.  Usually each musician plays separately and hears pre-recorded mixes of the other musicians.  Playing together allows them to bring in the energy of playing music live and also opens things up to improvisation in the recording process.  It lets those creative juices flow on the spot while recording.

There is something so deeply beautiful about the creativity and joy experienced during pregnancy, and to be able to share music born from that experience is really a blessing for all of us. I’ve asked Nirinjan and Angelika & Markus to share what that experience was like for them, and they have promised to send that my way so I can share it with all of you. In the meantime, here are some photos from their recording days.

Angelika recording harp

Nirinjan recording vocals

The team recording Mirabai Ceiba's 'A Hundred Blessings'

The team recording Nirinjan's new album

LA Yoga Magazine Music Review: Snatam Kaur’s Feeling Good Today

LA Yoga: Ayurveda and Health – Family, Kids and Yoga Issue

Music Review by Luke Ketterhagen

Feeling Good Today
by Snatam Kaur

 When asked to review Snatam Kaur’s children’s CD Feeling Good Today!,  I decided to see how my kids would respond to it while curious how we might fit it in our busy schedule.  I placed it in the CD player and then got swept away by the standard barrage of parental responsibilities.  I actually forgot I had changed out my kids’ regular bedtime CD with Feeling Good Today!until I pushed play.  My seven-year-old son and five-year-old daughter loved the new music so much that they began singing along.  In bed, with their eyes closed, smiles on their faces, they belted out the wonderful lyrics: “The sun shines on everyone…the One Spirit lives in everyone…we pray, we pray for everyone….”  how is that for a review?!

Snatam has successfully fused happy, light, playful music with the timeless wisdom of  the great traditions.  She has masterfully blended ancient philosophical messages with everyday language to share with all – especially impressionable young minds.  Snatam’s delightful recordings of these nine tracks also carry a message any adult can not only appreciate, but learn from as well.

So, on the eve of Father’s Day, I sit in front of my computer grateful to Snatam Kaur for her brilliance.  As parents, we constantly look for positive images and language in a world that can often be overwhelmingly crude, disrespectful and negative.  Snatam joyfully leads a beautiful choir of youthful voices in a mix of songs that invites anyone to sing along.  The messages here reinforce concepts any parent would want absorbed by precious little minds.  The titles of the first few tracks tell all: “Feeling Good Today,” “The Sun Shines on Everyone,” and “I Am Happy.”  The jo on the kids’ faces says even more – Feeling Good Today! will be on our family playlist for many years to come.

– Luke Ketterhagen is a Yoga and meditation teacher who studied and lived at the Himalayan Institute for over seven years, and now teaches in Los Angeles: lukeketterhagen.com

Light of Consciousness Magazine Music Review: Liberation’s Door Review

Light of Consciousness - August 2009

Liberation’s Door

by Snatam Kaur

CD: 73 Min

Snatam Kaur’s spirit and radiant voice shine in this new release of Gurmukhi mantras, Shabds (traditional Sikh prayers put to music), and sweet devotional songs.  The words of Guru Arjan blend gracefully with the Prayer of St. Francis of Assissi in Servant of Peace.  Liberation’s Door, a lofty chant about faith, is composed from teh words of Guru Nanak.  Crimson, from teh words of Guru Ram Das, is the only solely English track in these primarily Punjabi songs.  Mother’s Blessing, delightfully sung by Snatam Kaur in Spanish, is translated from the words of Bibi Bani, wife of Guru Ram Das.  Richly layered instrumentation throughout includes guitars, keyboards, sarod, santoor, flute, sax, esraj, tabla, cello and percussion.  Snatam Kaur pours her heart and soul into this offering that will captivate you with its sublime beauty.

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

Snatam’s Upcoming Album: Liberation’s Door

So, it’s been 2 years since Snatam released her last major release album, Anand.  After Anand, she spent a good amount of time touring.  We then released  Snatam Kaur Live in Concert and she continued touring.  During her tour, she discovered the wonderful news that she was pregnant.  She was very busy during her pregnancy!  She recorded and released a children’s yoga DVD, Shanti the Yogi, and a chilren’s CD, Feeling Good Today!   But then she needed to start to slow down a bit as her pregnacy moved forward,  and during that time she began to work with GuruGanesha on a new album.  This album has all of those amazing creative juices that race through the body during pregnancy infused into every note.

Snatam finished recording right after Jap Preet’s (her daughter’s) 40-days were done.  But after she finished her part of the process, that’s when the rest of us really kick into gear to make it ready to share with the world.

Snatam's New Release "Liberation's Door"

Thomas Barquee, the incredible producer, brought in musicians from LA to Calcutta to create the perfect support for Snatam’s vocals.  GuruGanesha, whose guitar and vocal accompaniment is so much beloved on Snatam’s tour and all of her live music, added his special spark to this music, taking part in both writing the music and recording vocals and guitar on the album.  Sopurkh, Snatam’s husband and an extremely talented graphic designer worked with Snatam to create this beautiful album cover. 

We will have this album ready in time for Summer Solstice , but stay tuned  you’ll get to hear sneak peeks here over the next few weeks!  And I promise, you will be awestruck!

You Can Pre-Order the Album Now for Shipping as soon as it arrives (our stated release date is June 18th, but we are trying to get them in as early as the 8th, so if you pre-order, you’ll get the first ones out the door)

Click Here to Pre-Order Now!

As Promised, we have the first sound clips – take a listen!!

Track 2: Liberation’s Door (Mokh Duaar) 

Track 8: Ardas Bhaee 

- Karan

Joy is Now Review – Yoga Journal May 2009

GuruGanesha’s latest release, Joy is Now, is an incredible album, and I was so excited to see the review in the most recent issue of yoga journal. 

Here is the review:

Joy is Now by GuruGanesha Singh and Snatam Kaur:

GuruGanesha Singh is best known as the guitarist for Sikh chant singer Snatam Kaur.  But on Joy is Now, GuruGanesha steps into the spotlight with a set of kirtan compositions that showcase his lyrical guitar playing and relaxed singing style.  On most tracks he alternates lead vocal lines with Snatam, an exchange that creates a winning contrast.  The compositions also leave ample space for improvisation.  Instruments like sitars, sarods, flutes, esrajs, and violins dapple the music with traditional Indian tonalities that twine with GuruGanesha’s guitar.

The songs are varied in mood and style.  “Peace Has Begun” is jazzy, while the title track is a study in blissful acoustic psychedelia that wouldn’t have been out of place on a late ’60s album by GuruGanesha’s longtime heroes, the Grateful Dead.  the final two selections, “Sat Narayan” and “Guru Ram Das Love Song,” are more vocally driven and closer in style to Snatam’s own albums.  On Joy is Now, GuruGanesha and Snatam offer an agreeable blend o fthe new and the familiar in teh world of kirtan, taking you deep into the quiet hear of devotion and meditative awareness. 

- Reviewed by Alan di Perna

 

Listen to Sound Clips from this album here:

Song Title	Length
1. Peace Has Begun	–
2. Hari Om	–
3. Joy is Now	–
4. Aad Sach	–
5. Sat Narayan	–
6. Guru Ram Das Love Song	–

Click Here for More Information and to Purchase the Album

Truth Love Creation – Soothing the Soul

My son, Prakash, in his basketball uniform

I was at my son Prakash’s all-day basketball tournament recently, shouting at the top of my lungs and jumping up and down on the bleachers game after game for hours on end.  I’m always one of the loudest parents at every game – somehow my excitement about my son’s basketball brings out the loudest side of me that exists.  At around 3:00 PM after 7 hours at the tournament, we had a break between games for a few hours, and I was exhausted, although still filled with this intense nervous energy.

I decided to run to the store to get some water and snacks and on the way I was searching through my car for some music.  I always have tons of new CDs to listen to since I try to sample all of the music that we carry.  I found Reema’s new CD Truth, Love Creation.  I had heard one or two of the tracks, but never really listened to it in any depth.   Still feeling a bit agitated and really tired, I put the CD into the player.   Her voice, like the lightest crystal, came gently dancing out of my speakers.  It was so sweetly soothing, I felt my stress lift right off of my shoulders.  I felt so gently calmed, I decided to stay in my car a bit after returning to the basketball stadium.  I leaned my seat back and drifted into the sweetest sleep I’ve had in ages.

 The CD opens with the gentlest of flutes subtle instrumentation behind Reema’s voice on the Sri Krishna  track.  I could play this track over and over again every night and sleep.  The CD has great depth, with a few of the tracks bringing in some great percussion and catchy rhythms – a particular favorite of mine is the Mahamrtyujaya Mantra.    This CD is a real treasure and a great addition to your personal collection.

An hour later, I returned to the basketball court with the secret little happiness in my heart – and as I cheered my son through his last game of the day I felt a sense of calm – and Prakash won the game!

Listen to all of the sound clips:

Song Title	Length
1. Sri Krishna	11:11
2. Lokah Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu	9:50
3. Om Arya Sumati Dharma Dhara Huung	7:39
4. Mahamrtyujaya Mantra	5:55
5. Vanday Gurunam	7:07
6. Shanti Mantra	8:25
7. Lullaby	5:23
8. Prabhujee	6:13
9. Anando Hum	11:27

Click Here for More Info and to Purchase

- Karan

Playing with Yoga – How to Help Children Love Yoga

An Article from March 2009 Aquarian Times

by Karan Khalsa

Playing with Yoga –  How to Help Children Love Yoga

 Until I tried to get my son to do yoga, it hadn’t occurred to me that it would be so challenging.  At ten, he is far more interested in Transformers and his Wii than stretch pose or long deep breathing.  So I took it upon myself to get some tips from the experts.

 

“Teaching yoga is very different depending on a child’s age,” says Shakta Kaur.  “With older kids, I try to engage their interest by talking about real life – exercises that help with shoulder pain from a heavy backpack or breathing techniques to help with concentration before a test.  But telling stories is the most sure fire way of keeping children engaged up to age 8 or 9.   Children play at yoga.  The posture is important, but it is more important at that age to be fun and engaging.” 

Yoga Warrior Card

 

First I talked to Shakta Kaur, author of a wide range of yoga books, DVDs and CD for adults and children.  I was really excited to hear that she is about to release a series of playing cards called Yoga Warrior Cards. “Most yoga products for kids are more focused on girls than boys,” she said.  “I worked with two boys to create these cards.  Their imaginations really brought this project to life.”   The cards each have a bio-mechanical robotic character doing a different yoga posture with names like Power Bud and MaxiMorph.  The postures have been given cool boy-friendly names (for example, shoulder stand is called Rocket Launch).  I can’t wait for the cards to arrive!  Hopefully they will find a home beside the Yu-Gi-Oh cards that fill my house.

 

 

Snatam Kaur is a strong believer in combining yoga and story-telling.  In her DVD, “Shanti the Yogi: Mountain Adventure” she weaves a story and singing into a fun-filled yoga class.  Snatam says “From Yogi Bhajan, I learned to engage children’s imaginations and use stories.  Growing up, we always had stories with yoga at home and at the 3HO Children’s Camp.  It made it really fun for me.  In my children’s workshops, we use music to support the stories and exercises.  It creates the whole environment and mood – ominous  music and snake  sounds when we go into cobra pose really enhances the imagination.  And children love to sing and love the celestial communications (mantras with movements).”

 

“A little 4-year-old boy came to one of our workshops.  He was really shy, sitting on the side with his mom.  Months later, his mom wrote me to say her son didn’t participate in the class, but every day he sings Yogi Bhajan’s words ‘I am happy, I am good’ from my ‘Feeling Good Today’ CD.

 

Gurudass Kaur, who teaches Childplay Yoga workshops all over the world, said, “In order to work with children, you have to be able to embrace chaos, be very active, and go with the rhythm of children. Children play at yoga, they don’t practice yoga.  I use so many techniques in my program.  Using mantras with movement is a very powerful practice for children because they love music by nature.   You want to involve as many senses as you can when you are working with children. And let them play!

 

Every child is unique, and there’s no end to the tools we can try to employ to get our kids interested in yoga.  But it seemed the universal message from the experts  is to make sure the kids have fun doing it.

 

For more information about the products and teacher’s in this article:

 

Shakta Kaur:       Radiant Child Yoga Training: www.childrensyoga.com

                                Books, DVDs and Warrior Yoga Cards: www.SpiritVoyage.com

 

Snatam Kaur:     Children’s Products: www.ShantitheYogi.com

                                Workshop Schedule: www.SpiritVoyage.com

 

Gurudass Kaur: Childplay Yoga Training: www.ChildplayYoga.com

                                DVDs and Music: www.SpiritVoyage.com

 

You can view and download the pdf of this recent issue of Aquarian Times here:  Click to View and Download

 

Karan Khalsa is a child of the 3HO community.  After spending 16 years living in India, between school and work, she joined Spirit Voyage to connect her business life with her inner spirit.  Now her career is dedicated to sharing the healing sound current of music and the healing technology of yoga with the planet through Spirit Voyage.

1000 Day Meditation: Count Down to the Dawn of the Aquarian Age

According to Yogi Bhajan’s teachings, the beginning of the Aquarian Age takes place on 11/11/11.  11′s are pretty spectacular numbers numerologically, so it makes sense to me.  The Kundalini Yoga community started a movement to create a group meditation leading up to this date.  At the 1000 day mark, which was February 14th, people starting doing a meditaiton that was given by Yogi Bhajan in one of his classes. 

1000 Years and Beyond

You can get the DVD of the class he taught which was just recently released here:

http://www.spiritvoyage.com/yoga/1000-Years-and-Beyond/Yogi-Bhajan/DVD-002407.aspx

You can get the CD, Meditations for the Aquarian Age  with the music on it here:

Yogi Bhajan originally taught this meditation with the version of Sat Siri Siri Akal that is on this CD by Nirinjan Kaur.

Click Here to listen to a sound clip: Sat Siri Siri Akal

Click Here to get the instructions in a pdf file – click on the language for the file in each language:

ENGLISH - ESTONIAN – CHINESE – GERMAN - HUNGARIAN - POLISH SPANISH - FRENCH - ITALIAN - THAI - PORTUGUESE- PUNJABI

I’ve seen discussions at the various discussion sites about whether people should stick to only using this version of the mantra or can switch it up with different versions.  The opinions seem to be far ranging, but here is a link to some other CDs with the Sat Siri Siri Akal mantra on them if you want to try out different versions.

http://www.spiritvoyage.com/SearchResult.aspx?pageNo=1&SearchTerm=sat%20siri&SearchType=4

 If you want to join in on some of the discussions about the experience of doing this meditation, check out the Kundalini Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Kundalini-Yoga/ or you can check out the discussion about it on KRI’s Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kundalini-Research-Institute/48239452516#/topic.php?uid=48239452516&topic=5869