“To do kirtan is to cut through discursive thought and subconscious gossip. It means to cut through conflicting emotions and conceptualizing. Outwardly it’s the Sing Along Club. It appears to be a concert or a show but it’s really the deepest inner temple. We use the energy of our voice to transcend the energy of our mind.”
Bhagavan Das
"Chanting is one of the most traditional and first Yoga practices.
It helps to open the throat area and is a great way to learn some Sanskrit and the Yoga Sutra."
Patanjali
Today, it is uncommon to attend a yoga class and experience chanting. First off, the preferred yoga class appears to prioritize dynamic movement over other yogic practices. Secondly, classes have shortened so much in recent years to accommodate everybody's busy schedules that it is sometimes even hard to include three OMs, much less longer chants. Granted, a few yoga schools still do. Lastly, in the west, yogic chanting is sometimes mistakenly perceived as a solely religious practice. In the yogic traditions, however, chanting is a spiritual practice similar to meditation and asana (physical postures). This post portrays the importance of chanting and how it can add to your practice of yoga. I always remind my students that yoga is an ancient tradition much richer than the physical asana practice that we experience when we take a class today.
"Chanting is a way of getting in touch with yourself. It's an opening of the heart and letting go of the mind and thoughts. It deepens the channel of grace, and it's a way of being present in the moment."
Krishna Das
What is Kirtan?
Kirtan is an old yogic tradition with roots in India. During a kirtan, we chant ancient Sanskrit mantras in a repetitive call-and-response manner. This fills the space with our voices and the vibration that is produced has the very powerful ability to calm the mind, open the heart, and release fear and tension from the body. This can be a purifying and uplifting experience. It also offers the benefits of a yoga class or meditation session without the challenges of concentration. Singing is an all-immersive experience with few barriers of entry.
"Chanting is a significant and mysterious practice. It is the highest nectar, a tonic that fully nourishes our inner being. Chanting opens the heart and makes love flow within us. It releases such intoxicating inner bliss and enthusiastic splendor, that simply through the nectar it generates, we can enter the abode of the Self."
Swami Muktananda
Kirtan is not just music—it's an immersive musical experience that employs chanting and sound to lead us to a very peaceful and healing state of awareness. After all, according to the Indian yogic tradition, sound is healing and sacred. It is also believed that sound is one of the most powerful forces. During a kirtan, we can chant a single mantra for up to forty minutes. This can sweep us out of our worries and mundane concerns and help us land in the present moment. As we chant, we deepen our awareness. We can also experience a deep connection to the musicians, the people singing around us, and also ourselves. When the music stops, the mind is quiet and we can feel vibration all around. It is not uncommon to cry, laugh, feel goosebumps, and/or experience your heart open wide. Research studies have shown that uplifting music can benefit our mental health, reduce anxiety and pain, and increase memory. Music therapy has even been used to help people recover from brain injury and treat seizures.
"Everything in Life is Vibration."
Albert Einstein
Einsten's law of nature states that everything has a vibration. You might recall from chemistry class that everything is made up of atoms. These atoms are in a constant state of motion, and depending on their speed , elements present as a solid, liquid, or gas. Sound is also vibration, and so are thoughts. Ultimately, what kirtan has the ability to do is reconnect us with everything that surrounds because everything in nature (including us) is made up of vibration.
At its core, kirtan is a method of meditation that supports us in moving past the thinking mind and into a pure experience of being. In this way, kirtan can be a process of opening the heart. Another beautiful quality of kirtan is that many different voices chant together and create one composite sound. This experience lifts us past the distinctions of the ego and well beyond our conceptions about what it means to have a rich, resonant voice or sing out of key. In this way, chanting is spiritual—we sing past the limitations we associate with the individual self, the ego, and the mind.
"But now I have learned to listen to silence.
To hear its choirs singing the song of ages, chanting the hymns of space,
and disclosing the secrets of eternity."
Khalil Gibran
So what are these mantras we chant?
Mantras are repetitive sounds used to penetrate the depths of the unconscious mind and adjust the vibration of all aspects of your being. Mantras are vibrated through spoken repetition, chanting aloud, mental practice, or simply by listening to them.
"When you recite a mantra, you make yourself positive, pure and your vibration is very penetrating."
“By vibrating in rhythm with the breath to a particular sound that is proportional to the creative sound, or sound current, one can expand one’s sensitivity to the entire spectrum of vibration. It is similar to striking a note on a stringed instrument.
In other words, as you vibrate, the Universe vibrates with you.” Yogi Bhajan
The Sanskrit word mantra derives from: “man,” which means mind/ to think, and “tra,” which means 'instrument of thought' but it is sometimes translated as 'to transport'. In other words, a mantra is like an instrument—a powerful sound or vibration that you can use to enter a deep state of meditation. It is said that when practiced in constant manner, mantras have the ability to help alter your subconscious impulses, habits, and afflictions.
"Mantras are passwords that transform the mundane into the sacred."
Deva Premal
What are the benefits of chanting?
1. Chanting is healing!
Similar to meditation and restorative yoga, chanting is soothing to the nervous system. It stimulates the endocrine system, boosts immunity, and can relieve us from tension and anxiety.
As we chant, the body releases chemicals and hormones that have the ability to balance and heal us. The vibrations and cadenced articulation have a physical consequence on the body and relax the mind. As the mind relaxes, blood pressure decreases and ultimately the health of the heart improves.
2. Chanting makes you happy!
Chanting certain mantras puts pressure on tongue, vocal chords, lips, palate, and other connecting points in the body . The vibration from the mantra stimulates a gland called the hypothalamus. This gland is responsible for the regulation of many body functions, including the body’s immune response, as well as some 'happy' hormones. The happier you are, the stronger your immune system is. The vibrations from chanting also allow your body to release 'relaxing' hormones that keep depression at bay.
3. Chanting helps you focus and increases mindfulness & concentration!
If you've tried seated meditation, you may have experienced the mind jumping from thought to thought, making it difficult to focus. Chanting helps us focus the mind without too much effort. For many people, it is easier than seated silent meditation and offers similar benefits.
4. Chanting is an effective way to release emotion!
It's important to feel emotions and allow them to move through us. We process emotions in order to feel more liberated and not remain stuck in the past or embedded in a particular story line. Chanting is an excellent way to let go of these emotions through the throat and heart chakras. In essence, chanting can release emotions through self-expression, which creates space and opens the heart. From this place, we can live less fearfully and more fully.
5. Chanting has the ability to shift your perceptions and create change!
All sound affects us. The vibrations from mantras in particular have the power to rearrange our molecular structure. In fact, each mantra has a different effect. So, when we are stuck at a specific frequency through thoughts, feelings, or actions, chanting has the ability to shift and heighten our vibration. Similarly to an instrument which if not played falls out of tune, we also sometimes get stuck in patterns that lower our vibrations and potential. When we feel that we are not experiencing something, it is because we are not tuned into its vibration. When we are vibrating with the essence of something, we are tuned into it. Mantra chanting has the ability to realign us with our bountiful potential.
6. Chanting increases Radiance and is Empowering!
Chanting mantras is a conscious method of controlling our moods and, in turn, our frequency and radiance. It’s much like changing the station on the radio; sometimes all we need to change is a shift in perception. Chanting allows us to make that shift with relative ease. When we are stuck with our doubts, worries, and mental storylines, we forget the carefree radiance and joy of simply breathing and being alive. Chanting aligns our energy with the energy of the infinite, of consciousness, of the sacred.
7. Kirtan builds community!
There's nothing like attending a kirtan if you feel a little sad or lonely. Whether you live in a city or in the countryside, the world has become a very isolating and alienating place. Families are becoming smaller and smaller and live further apart. In general, we are very busy working and running around. We have also lost many of our community spaces and spend less time getting together in meaningful ways. Similar to a yoga class, participating in a kirtan also has the amazing potential to ground you and reconnect you to yourself and your community. Even if you are shy and hesitant to sing, I fully recommend attending a kirtan because you can always just listen to the chanting. You will certainly feel a positive vibration from everyone chanting and will leave feeling refreshed and renewed.
“What we see in the world around us is just a reflection of what is inside of us.”
Sharon Gannon
When we talk about blocks in the physical or subtle body, such as in the nadis (chanels) and chakras (nodes) where our prana (life force) flows, we are referring to areas that are vibrating slower than they could and where the flow of vital energy is obstructed. Chanting can help liberate you from these ingrained patterns and internal blockages that don't allow you to access your full potential. When you intentionally create higher vibrations, you then—both consciously and unconsciously—start reacting to them.
“Your beliefs become your thoughts,
Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.”
Mahatma Gandhi
As a yoga teacher, my aim is to provide students with as many tools as possible to access their full potentials. Because we are all different, there's no one solution that fits all. The benefits of meditation and asana practice have been known for millennia, but it doesn't always mean it's the most accessible route for everyone. I also believe in the expression 'the more the merrier.” In other words, don't be shy to take a holistic approach and try different routes simultaneously to learn about yourself more deeply and on different levels. This will accelerate your personal spiritual evolution while allowing you to feel more connected and at peace, which is the goal of all ancient yoga practices. Freedom and joy in the here and now. Samadhi.
"Kirtan is for all people. There are no experts, no beginners. The practice itself is the teacher, guiding us to ourselves.
Kirtan allows us to enter into a mystery world-a world where all the logic of our minds, all the condition and learning are left outside.
And in this mystery, we create a temple inside of our hearts, a place of refuge, a place of love, a place of just being."
Jai Uttal