Blog
How do I find the best nada yoga school in Rishikesh India?
SO many people ask me how to learn traditional nÄda yoga in India! There are a lot of confusing nada and mantra trainings out there, so I'll try to help you sort out what to look for. I went looking myself way back in 1997 and have gone down A LOT of unfruitful (even scary) roads before I found teachers I could trust, who led me on the mystical inner path of nada yoga!*
Unfortunately sexual misconduct by gurus is also all-too-common... almost every Western female who has gone to India to study nada yoga and mantra has a story (including me! several!)
So first of all,...
Sound Healing through Mantra & Nada Yoga
I shied away from using the term "sound healing" to describe what I do for over a decade, because I thought most people associated it with gong baths or crystal bowls. (That's not the type of sound healing I do or teach.)
However, the mantra and nada yoga courses we offer very definitely explore sound healing training in its most essential sense! It's my opinion that sound that comes from our own unique instrument - our voices - is the core of any sound healing practice for self growth.
Your voice is a one-of-a-kind, highly refined, infinitely sensitive healing instr...
Nada, Naada, or NÄda yoga? Which is correct and what does it mean?
Wondering how to spell NÄda yoga correctly? Or what it means?
Naad yoga training starts with understanding the meaning of the term (because it's easier to explain than the spelling!)
Whether you spell it Nada Yoga, Naada Yoga, or NÄda Yoga... or Nad Yog, NÄd Yog, nAd, etc.
NÄda = vibration, sound, musical sound
Yoga = union, communion
When we use the term "nada yoga" we're talking about union through sound, a meditation on vibration, or communion through music and/or mantra.
Now for the many variations in spelling:
To learn why there are different spellings, fir...
Cultivating a Musical Response to Divisiveness and Existential Fear
Cultivating a musical response to the symphony of dissonant notes screaming for attention in our world right now is not a distant, poetic idea. Itâs a tangible, practical skill. Uncomfortable, yes. Difficult, yes. Full of the mess of aliveness, yes. A swift and tidy spiritual bypass would be much easier. But leaning in to listen deeply, to feel whatâs truly alive in us, can also make this moment resonant with hope and possibility.
Have you been tempted to write off someone in your life who has (or hasnât) adopted a particular conspiracy narrative with the pandemic?
D...
The Healing Power of Voice
In this interview by Jeff Greenwald for The Nine Gifts, Anandra speaks about the Healing Power of Voice.
Jeff Greenwald:
We begin to control the sounds we make when we are babiesâbut when and why do we actually start singing?
Anandra George:
That's a wonderful questionâbut not being a developmental child psychologist or child linguist, I can't answer that with any kind of authoritative stance. But I can answer from my own perspective.
When I was a child, my mother told me that I was humming to myself all the time. She would always ask me, "What are you singing? Wh...
Relationship decisions: Is it my heartâs guidance, or simply my trauma talking?
When you allow a lover to really get close, to rub up on your tender spots, do you tend to fight, flee, or freeze? Do you avoid or cling?
Ignited by a series of interactions Iâve had and witnessed recently, Iâm sparkling with insight about that critical decision-making moment in a relationship. I feel excited to outline some specific ways that a vocal/sound/mantra practice can help us transform our patterns towards embodying the intimacy we all yearn for.
1. Foundational self-awareness
First of all, when we have a self-awareness practice that cultivates the gap betw...
Completing the Stress Cycle - Burnout & Emotional Digestion
In their book Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle, twin sisters Emily and Amelia Nagoski (sex therapist and singer, respectively)Â brilliantly cite evidence-based research on stress.
One of the key points they elaborate on is the difference between eliminating a stressor and completing the stress cycle. Completing the stress cycle means letting it run all the way to the end so itâs not getting trapped in your body.Â
Resilience Recipe: Magic Mung Soup
Buying a Harmonium: Where, How, and What to Look Out For!
Almost no two harmoniums are alike! Your harmonium might become your new best friend for your chanting practice, and is an essential if you want dive deep into nada yoga training to learn to lead Sanskrit mantra chanting or kirtan, but they can also be tricky to buy. I'll show you pictures of all of the different types of harmoniums, and give you experienced, professional harmonium buying advice!
First of all... Do I really need a harmonium? Why would I want a harmonium?
Over the past 15 years of teaching sound healing yoga in India and online, I offer a lot of optio...
Is the Yoga of Sound Relevant for Today's World?
Between pandemic-related uncertainty, the deep unraveling of the racist patriarchal status quo through the #BLM and #metoo movements, the rise of "conspirituality" dividing the global wellness community, and more... we're in an unprecedented opportunity to cultivate a musical response.
Holding an empathetic space of deep listening in the midst of life's dissonant tension points might just be the superpower of the decade!
At a time when most of us are undergoing profound change, our Heart of Sound family is applying the sound-based yoga skills right where they count m...
