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Chanting for Peace in the Middle East: Can Sound Healing Help?

I attended a memorial for the victims of the October 7 Hamas attack last night, and it was REALLY good to be with community and feel the ripples of pain and prayers and hope for peace.

It’s easy to become numb and overwhelmed by the staggering numbers and each human being’s story is so… human. Shutting down is an evolutionary efficiency mechanism to enable us to survive, and I forgive myself that luxury sometimes.*

Right now I have friends, students, and friends of friends who died at Nova, who have fled Gaza, Northern Israel, and Lebanon, who are...

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The Power of Sound Yoga Therapy, featured in Yoga Therapy Today

As a yoga therapist specializing in sound & mantra therapy, I'm honored to be featured in their Yoga Therapy Today journal, a trade publication for yoga therapists!

Since the magazine itself is only available if you are a C-IAYT yourself, or for purchase online, they've given me permission to share our interview with our Heart of Sound community.

Sound yoga therapy is so potent!

I got another gushing thank you from someone who told me mantra saved their life, just yesterday. I am inspired to keep doing this work so people FEEL the FULL POWER of sound and...

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Top 3 Things I Learned Going to Yoga Festivals (funny, but true)

For over a decade I taught mantra workshops and led chant experiences, sound baths, and led kīrtan at some of the largest yoga festivals in the world. Yoga Fest Yokohama Japan, International Yoga Fest in Rishikesh India, Bhaktifest in California, etc.

Like most of us though, I stayed put during the pandemic, and have just started leaving my house again. LOL! Within the last year I attended a few festivals different countries, and my oh my... have things changed, or have I changed?

I learned A LOT about the zeitgeist in the wellness scene. Mostly, it was awesome to...

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Gayatri Mantra Spelling in IAST with Pronunciation Tutorial Video

If you love mantras, you know that finding properly spelled Sanskrit Mantra is really challenging!

This post is part of a series on accurately spelled Sanskrit mantras in IAST. If you're looking for reliable information on how to spell the Savitri Gayatri Mantra you'll find it below:

  • Gayatri mantra in Devanagari (or the Sāvitrī Gāyatrī mantra in Devanāgarī if we're being precise!)
  • Sāvitrī Gāyatrī mantra in IAST transliteration
  • The long form of the Sāvitrī Gāyatrī mantra with 7 bīja mantras (instead of the usual 3)
  • An image of Sāvitrī Gāyatrī
  • A quick video tutorial...
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Mantra saved my life: Suicide prevention sound therapy

The only reason I travel!

Outside of Frankfurt today someone threw themselves in front of a train.
So I’m an hour late to my destination.

Or a decade late, if we might have had a chance to help them feel connection, hope, empowerment, and that warm feeling of okay-ness that spreads from within… when the mantra sounds are tuned in to listening sensory pleasure and the voice vibration is massaging the heart.

Travelling is tiring and can be overwhelming. There’s nothing in the world I really want to see, no food I really want to taste.
But people, I want...

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Gayatri mantra FAQ: why is it so special?

The Savitri Gayatri Mantra (also know as "the Gayatri") is often celebrated for its profound spiritual resonance and universal appeal.

Here are a few reasons why the Gayatri mantra is so special:

  • The Sāvitrī Gāyatrī mantra is a great mantra for beginner / intermediate chant lovers, as it transcends religious and cultural boundaries, and serves as a powerful tool for healing and self-realization. 
  • The Gayatri mantra's essence lies in its simplicity and accessibility. It's a non-dogmatic invocation that calls upon the divine light to illuminate our minds and...
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What is Mantra Yoga?

Mantra yoga, a simple definition for ordinary people:

I was on the phone once with tech support for my web hosting service. The guy (who sounded like a nice Southern California surfer) was looking at my website, and asked, “What's a mantra?"

I said, “It’s a collection of sounds or words that you repeat over and over to yourself as a form of meditation, either out loud or silently in your mind.” 

And he said, “So kind a like ‘think happy thoughts?' "

Laughing, I replied, “Sort of. If...

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What's the difference between a Mantra and an Affirmation?

I can't tell you how many people have asked, "What's the difference between a Mantra and an Affirmation?" It's such a great question, since the terms Mantra and Affirmation commonly get used synonomously when in fact they're distinct.

The word "mantra" has been appropriated for different usages. For instance, saying "I can do it" or "I'm good enough, I'm okay just as I am" are affirmations. These affirmations, when repeated, have a mantra-like effect as they help protect you from negative thinking or self-sabotaging beliefs and behaviors.

However, the uniqueness of...

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The more you know, the more you know you don’t know…

 

The more you know, the more you know you don’t know… 

Is there any realm in which this is not true?

People.

The longer you know someone, the more you realize that you have no idea what is really going on for them deep inside. They hold multitudes of mysteries, complex trauma, perceptual, differences, patterns, and habits built on foundations that you can never understand fully, because you have not lived at yourself.

Mantra.

Are used to think that learning how to chant, more mantras, sing more songs, do more complex, and longer chance meant that I...

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10 Key Features that Define a Revolutionary Sound & Mantra Training

Not all sound healing and mantra trainings are alike! There's something for everyone in ALL of the bhakti yoga trainings, kirtan leadership courses, mantra teacher trainings, etc. but since this is our 10 year anniversary of creating the world's first and only 200HR yoga teacher training school focused entirely on the transformative power of sound, we're celebrating!

Here are 10 key features that make our Advanced Sound Training Course a one-of-a-kind, visionary evolution:

1
Reverent and Devotional:
We go beyond trends, offering a reverent and devotional...

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