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What is KÄ«rtan Chanting and Why is it SO Popular as a Global Phenomenon?
Georgia Wyss Filmmaker of MANTRA, the movie, speaks on the global phenomenon of kīrtan, what hooked her, and what the next evolution of mantra might be.
āAs a society we have lost the tradition of singing together and singing together is ā¦ when we are breathing together in one rhythm. Itās just such a beautiful phenomenon.ā
Georgia Wyss the director and co-producer of the film, Mantra: Sounds into Silence, which illuminates how mantra is both a meditative practice, and also as a growing musical āmovementā through kÄ«rtan. With a 20 year history in film, she co-found...
Mantras for Peace and Healing Through Ayurveda with Laura Plumb
Bridging Ayurveda and Jyotish into the modern life, she speaks about the connection of mantra to the elements and tissues in the body.
āThere are a lot of people who arenāt sure how to handle the world as it is today. So look, there is a possibility that we can awaken spontaneous peace in the world but at the very least we can create peace within and that peace will resonate out. That peace will bring more peace to more people. At least in your family and in your neighborhood. I think all of us can use that. I think the world needs that.ā- Laura Plumb
As a graduate...
Sound Healing Yoga Deepens Through Sanskrit Mantras
The Sanskrit alphabet is more than a collection of sounds. According to the mystical esoteric perspective, Sanskrit is the delightful creative play of consciousness into form. When the sounds themselves come alive in our direct experience, mantra is no longer a distant, mystical subject but a dynamic, harmonizing celebration of life.
An Energy-Based Language When you chant in Sanskrit, specific mouth and tongue placements result in certain neural pathways being stimulated. Because of this, you donāt need to understand the āmeaningā to feel the power of a mantra.
Th...
Tips for Leading a Great Chant Experience
Leading people into a meditative, prayerful experience of sound and mantra is a skill that anyone can acquire. We'll share a couple of key tips that will help increase the chances of your participants to experience a "magic moment" with the mantra.
- Start with something personal.Ā
Take 1 minute to let people know why you're offering the event. If you have something personal or vulnerable to share, even better, as it'll start the heart connection even before you start singing. For example...Ā "My daughter is on military duty in Afghanistan right now, and I wanted to gat...
Sound Healing Trauma With Voice and Mantra of Christine Masonās Journey
Christine Mason paints a picture of resilience through sound, voice, and mantra
Christine is the founder of Rosebud Woman. She has a deep interest in women's wellness and the liberation of all people. She hosts a weekly podcast, The Rose Woman, and writes weekly letters on love power and womanhood to more than 30,000 people. As a yogi, bhakta, tantrika and mystic Christian, Christine draws on ancient wisdom, while working with current modalities including neuroscience informed collective trauma healing. She's authored seven books, and is the co-founder of Sundari, an...
Sound Yoga Therapy vs. KÄ«rtan: Whatās the Difference?
A lot of folks assume I'm a performing kÄ«rtan musician like so many others out there... however I'd like to be clear that while I love kÄ«rtan and enjoy singing with people very much, my true and deepest love (and the thing I'm most experienced with) is being a sound yoga therapist leading a chant experience.Ā
KÄ«rtan vs. Sound Yoga Therapy: 4 differences
There are many differences between performing kÄ«rtan musicians and sound yoga therapists leading a chant experienceĀ here are four main distinctions.
What a Sound Yoga Therapist does:
- Prioritizes the participant's ...
KÄ«rtan Chanting and the Brain: Mirror Neurons and Direct Sensory Experience
KÄ«rtan is a call-and-response musical form that's unique!
I have been musing about this lately, and recently wrote a short piece about this I thought I'd share on my blog. :)
With call and response mantra chanting, participants in the chant experience get to enjoy both: ā
1ā
Listening to a leader sing or chant a mantra (and often accompanied by wonderfully skilled musicians in the kÄ«rtan band!) ā
This activates the mirror neurons or what I connect to the "guru principle", giving the participant a sense of aspirational elation when observing someone do something that's...
Vocal Empowerment for All! Transform Your Life through the Power of Sound with Chloe Goodchild
Chloe Goodchild is the founder of The Naked Voice, a pioneering vocal training program founded in 1990 that explores voice as a spiritual practice, sustained by conscious core practices, devotional music, and audiobooks that empower you to embody and express your authentic voice. The Naked Voice Charitable Foundation was established in 2004 to restore ethical, healthy, happy, and harmonious relationshipsāpersonal, global, and universal.
Chloeās seminal book, The Naked Voice ā Transform Your Life through the Power of Sound (North Atlantic Books, 2015), provides a compr...
Is there a Right or Wrong way to Chant OM? (The Most Frequently Asked Questions Mantra Teachers Get)
All About Aum...
This blog post is adapted from aĀ mini masterclass all about Aum. that I taught recently,
Known as the mantra of all mantras, Aum carries immense therapeutic benefits and is a cornerstone of mantra practice, a sound healing practice, most yoga classes, and definitely kīrtans!
This post compiles some of the most frequently asked questions I've received about Aum in my 10 years of teaching teachers (and nearly 30 years of being a mantra nerd!), along with some of my practical insights on chanting.
What Is Aum?
Aum is an audible echo of an inaudible ...
Can Chanting Make you a Better Person? Gemma Perry's Scientific Research on Mantra!
Psychology researcher, Gemma Perry, shares her doctoral research and personal experience with the use of chant and mantra sound yoga therapies for the body and mind. Her innovative research experiments explore the effects of chanting mantra by creating a sense of community, connection and a deeper relationship with self while motivating the practitioner to seek harmony by pursuing their potential.
Gemma Perry is a meditation and yoga teacher currently doing her PhD in the Department of Psychology at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. Gemma investigates the eff...
