Ananda Rasa Kirtan
In-person | $20
Kirtan with wah!
$20 | In-person
Wah! performs Sanskrit mantra using Ableton Live. Loops, beats, samples, live vocals and harmonium create upbeat music for yoga and celebration. Her albums High Energy 1 and High Energy 2 showcase her work creating electronic mantra. Bring your jubilant Self!
Wah! has performed at festivals worldwide, including Bhaktifest, Ecstatic Chant, Floyd Yoga Jam, and Yoga Journal Conference.
You can expect:
- Loops and beats
- Sanskrit mantra and English lyrics
- A few words of inspiration
- Live singing by Wah!
- Upbeat, danceable electronic music
Many people know Wah! through her music. Her music is used worldwide for yoga, meditation and relaxation. She was featured on iTunes in 2011 with a compilation titled ”Greatest Yoga Music Ever.” In 2012 she started performing her multi-media relaxation event (“Healing Concert”) at planetariums, theatres, expos, conferences and universities throughout the country, including UC Boulder’s Fiske Planetarium, Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, Loyola Marymount University, and NJ State Museum in Trenton. Ladies Home Journal says she has a “natural gift of music to help people with healing.” wahmusic.com
Seva Through Kirtan
I hold a very special place in my heart for India and that is why I’m happy to help in whatever way I can during these challenging times. My work, practices and music have been influenced heavily by the richness of this culture. Traveling to Mother India has completely shaped my life and she has been very kind to me.
I think we are all quite aware of the ferocious wave of Covid that is devastating so many in India at the moment. That is why I am offering a Kirtan fundraiser to help. I have chosen 2 organizations (Indiaspora and GiveIndia) that are providing support and resources for critical patients and their families, and for boosting the oxygen supply and funding for life-saving equipment!
Many of you have been influenced in one way or another by the teachings of Yoga or Kirtan, transformative practices that stem from India. Both of these practices are based on relationship, interconnectedness, unity and love. Let your donation be a reflection of these principles and practices. Any and all support is essential at this time – no contribution is too little! Please join us for a Kirtan Fundraiser for India this Saturday, May 22 at 7:00pm PDT. Details HERE.
Thank you again for supporting our brothers and sisters in India.
Hari Om Tat Sat,
Astrud
Astrud has been teaching yoga since 2001 and sharing Kirtan internationally for the last 15 years.
She trained in NYC at Laughing Lotus, currently known as Body and soul Yoga collective and is a senior teacher and teacher trainer. She has studied the basics of yoga therapeutics and Vedic chanting with T.K.V. Desikachar in India. Her teaching has been inspired by her mentor and friend Mark Whitwell over the last 20 years.
Astrud’s classes and kirtans are warm, welcoming and all inclusive.
Her love and relationship to Bhakti Yoga, the yoga of devotion, is always illuminated in her teaching and music.
Astrud leads annual pilgrimages to India, has travelled internationally leading Kirtan, teaches Bhakti yoga to teachers in training and currently lives at the IYI in SF.
The Inner Side of Chanting
by Acharya Mangalananda
Ah! The joy and the power of chanting the Divine Names! Chanting the sacred Names of God is a viable practice in every genuine spiritual Path. From the “La Ilaha illAllah” of the Sufis To the “Baruch ata Adonai” of Jewish mysticism to the Jesus Prayer of the Eastern Orthodox Church, all Traditions revere the revealed Names of the Divine and their inherent transformational power.
The practice of Yoga comes from the ancient Indian Tradition of Sanatana Dharma, commonly known as Hinduism. The very foundation of Sanatana Dharma is the inner revelation passed down from the ancient Rishis (Seers) who heard the Divine Mantras, or sound formulas, vibrating as the basis of the Universe. Beginning with the sacred “OM” sound, branching out into the eternal Gayatri Mantra and descending down into the invocative mantras calling forth all the varied forms and attributes of the one Brahman, or God, these mantras are used for meditation, purification, and invocation. Countless generations of perfected and realized Yogis and Siddhas testify to their efficacy in bringing inner awakening and healing and ultimately the revelation of the pure soul of humanity deeply buried in the human heart. The Saints have told us that the Name of God is God, the Divine revealing Itself as sound (“Shabda Brahman” – God as sound).
In our yogic practice, we use them inwardly in silent meditation, chanting them mentally and tuning them to the rhythm of the breath. Sometimes chants are intoned in a basic monotone, feeling the vibration of the voice. But the most joyous way of intoning mantras is the communal chanting of these Names set to music. This is called kirtan and has become a very popular genre of music worldwide in recent years. In this practice, the mantras are set to music, usually using the traditional ragas or scales of classical Indian music and sung in a call-and-response fashion, led by a competent musician. In this melodious and enjoyable chanting, the deep healing vibrations of each mantra are experienced, and this brings an inner joy, and occasionally even an ecstatic feeling which accounts for the popularity of the practice.
I have been practicing and performing kirtan for over 40 years and love it with all my heart. I have studied music in India and toured the world presenting kirtan events. Join me and my full kirtan band on March 13th for an evening of kirtan. Details HERE
Whether an experienced kirtan chanter, or totally new to the practice, please join us and experience the joy and upliftment of this ancient, yet eternally new and relevant practice.
Jai Ma!
Acharya Mangalananda has learned by deep immersion the traditional spiritual music of India. His kirtan is couched in the mystical ragas of India and is full of the lively ecstatic joy of the Divine Names.
Mangalananda has toured extensively throughout India, Europe and the USA, presenting kirtan concerts, yoga classes and workshop retreats. He is an Acharya (an appointed Spiritual Teacher) of Ma Anandamayi Ashram in Omkareshwar / Indore in the lineage of Sri Anandamayi Ma.