Mantra Sangha with Sparrow

*Please note the change of venues below!

If you had a chance to attend a screening of the movie Mantra - Sounds into Silence recently, you may be as excited as I am to participate in a sangha or community of healing sound lovers.

Luckily, if you live in the Edmonton area, here is your opportunity!

Along with local music therapist, yogini and songwriter Sparrow (Tiffany Brulotte), I'm thrilled to be participating in a new project we call Mantra Sangha.

Weaving various forms of Japa, Kirtan, Meditation and Chanting into a tapestry of sound, silence, and spirit, Sparrow and I welcome you to experience for yourself the healing benefits of Mantra.

Currently, the dates are as follows:  October 19, November 2, November 30 and December 14, all at Shanti Yoga (10459 145 St) starting at 7 pm

Please note* We are adding and updating events so to confirm accurate dates, times and venues, you can check back here at Kali's Kitchen or visit Sparrow's Facebook page.

If you would like to book an event in your space, please contact either of us.  We will be happy to discuss it with you.

In the spirit of inclusivity and cultivating generosity, the fee for the events is based on Daana or "pay what you can".  We hope this will inspire you to come and bring your friends to share in the resonance of unity and harmony.

You do not need to be a singer or experienced meditator to join in.

"Come, come, whoever you are... Come, yet again, come." - Rumi

Chant for World Peace: Om Namo Narayanaya

Swami Vishnudevananda chanting Om Namo Narayanaya

Summer Yoga and Meditation Summary

Big thanks to all of you who attended my classes this summer at Yoga Within!

Here are a few links to past posts I mentioned in case you'd like to delve a little deeper.

In June: We practiced a Tibetan meditation of Taking and Giving known as Tong-Len which includes asanas and breathing to offer the six perfections or Paramitas for the benefit of others. (Ahem.. and ourselves!)

In July: We practiced a "loving-kindness" meditation and worked with the mantra Soham, I Am That.

And last Sunday: We practiced Sun Salutations, or Surya Namaskar.  I chanted the mantras as well as their translations and the affirmation poem my Mom and I composed a few years ago.  You can find it all here: Surya Namaskar - Salutation to the Sun.

I also introduced you to japa, or repetitive chanting of mantras using a mala, or string of 108 beads.  Curious about that sacred number?  Check out Kali's Kitchen's Post Number 108!

Hari Om Kirtan with Narayan Jyoti

Even if you can't make it to the live events during Raja Yoga Summer Camp's first Nine Nights of Sacred Sound, there are plenty of ways you can enjoy devotional chanting and uplifting vibrations.

I'm currently hitting replay over and over again on this Hari Om Kirtan with Narayan Jyoti!

Narayan Jyoti is one of my dearest bhakti brothers and fellow students, son of my teacher Sita Chaitanya of the Sivananda Yoga Retreat, Bahamas (now Swami Hridayananda), and direct disciple of Swami Vishnudevananda who gave him his name!

All his life he has been immersed in sacred sound.  Listen, you will feel it.

The Power of Sacred Sound, July 19, 2014

Saturday, July 19, from 2-4 pm join me again at Yoga Within to experience the Power of Sacred Sound!

Nada Yoga, the Yoga of Sound, uses mantras, chanting, singing and storytelling to purify our hearing and speech, raising our vibrational resonance in the world and within.

Nada Yoga embraces the notion that the basic stuff of the universe is vibration. 

By attuning our resonance with it, using verbal, instrumental and subtle sound as a medium for meditation, we can not only enjoy, but elevate our lives.

No musical experience necessary!

The Power of Sacred Sound, June 27, 2014

Tibetan Singing Bowl, with Engraved Tara

This Friday, June 27, from 7-9 pm join me at Yoga Within to make some joyful noise!

Nada Yoga, the Yoga of Sound, uses mantras, chanting, singing and storytelling to purify our hearing and speech, raising our vibrational resonance in the world and within.

Nada Yoga embraces the notion that the basic stuff of the universe is vibration, and that by resonating with it, using verbal, instrumental and subtle sound as a medium for meditation, we can not only enjoy, but elevate our lives.



No musical experience necessary!

Om Shri Dhanvantre Namaha: Mantra for Healing

Click here to listen to this mantra by Deva Premal on YouTube.

"Salutations to Dhanvantari, the embodiment and power of healing!"

Dhanvantari is the 17th avatar of Vishnu, physician of the gods, and the father of Ayurveda. 

This mantra can help us find the path to healing and direct us to the best health practitioners for our situation.  It may be chanted during cooking to charge the food with healing vibrations, to prevent disease and benefit those who are ill.  In addition to physical dis-ease, this mantra can be chanted for any situation that needs to be healed. 

Remember that the path of healing is not always what we expect!

Om Namo Narayanaya: Chant for World Peace



Image Source: Sivananda Ashram, Uttarkashi

Raja Yogis and Yoginis!  Remember a couple of months ago when we gathered together to write the mantra for peace, Om Namo Narayanaya in Sanskrit?

Our friend Jenny was embarking on a voyage to the Himalayas and kindly agreed to deliver and "deposit" our prayers to the Swami Vishnudevananda Peace Bank near the Sivananda Ashram near Uttarkashi. 

Well, check out this beautiful update from Jenny!  Blessings from the Himalayas!



"Hope everything is going peaceful and smooth for you all <3 I have been thinking about you and our night writing Om Namo Narayanaya - the peace mantra - to send along to the Himalayas.  Here's a short story about the travel of our little love letter:) ...  

So when I left Edmonton there was snow across Canada and the flights were all delayed.  I missed every flight except the one out of Edmonton and got rerouted twice on the way to India.  My bag, which had the peace mantras in it (because Tara was totally right - they'd keep the bag safe) also went on its own adventure, spreading peace and harmony wherever it went... then it came to meet me in Montreal so we could travel together to India:)  

Made it to Uttarkashi and the little village Netala... along the Ganges... The energy at the ashram and in the Himalayas is amazing.  And Mathaji, the spiritual mother at the Sivanada ashram there loved to receive all our writings for the peace bank.  She collects them from all over the world and organizes them to be offered at the entrance to the cave outside of Gangotri (the end of the road heading toward the mouth of the Ganges) where they fly to spread the peace all over:)  

Anyways, I feel so blessed to take the Peace Mantras part of the way:)  Hope to see you soon! 

Much love and many blessings to you and yours!  

xxox

Om Shanti

Jenny"

Thank you Jenny!  We can hardly wait to hear more about your adventures in India! 

Om Namo Narayanaya!

May All Beings Be Happy

Detail of Illustration by Mayumi Oda

Never mind what the calendar says, May is the real beginning of spring in Alberta. 

Birds return, the grass turns green, buds start coming out on the trees.  Our gaze shifts from inside to out, and our mood lifts. 

We marvel at nature, the miracle of rebirth and new growth.  We think about planting, how we affect our surroundings and the beings with whom we share them.

The mantra Loka Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu seems especially fitting at this time. 

It says, "May all beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering; may my actions contribute to the happiness and wellbeing of all."

You can read more about this mantra and its word by word translation in this article by Sharon Gannon of Jivamukti Yoga.

More about its meaning in this article by Amma, also known as the Hugging Mother.

And even more in these previous posts on Kali's Kitchen.

This is my wish and my focus this month,  "May" all beings be happy!

Mantras for Precarious Times

Deep gratitude to Deva Premal and Miten for this!  Listen here or see the video on YouTube. 

Om Mandala Painting

Beautiful inspiration for our Likhita Japa!

Om...

"The benefits of Mantra-writing or Likhita Japa cannot be adequately described. Besides bringing about purity of heart and concentration of mind, mantra-writing gives you control of Asana, control of Indriyas, particularly the sight and the tongue, and fills you with the power of endurance. You attain peace of mind quickly. By prolonged and constant practice the inherent power of the Mantra (Mantra-Sakti) will be awakened, which will fill your very existence with the Divinity of the Mantra."

- Swami Sivananda, an excerpt from the book, Japa Yoga.

Japa Yoga - Mantras for Peace

I am absolutely thrilled to be starting the second session of Meditation and Yoga Philosophy, Level One at Yoga for Today tonight! 

Those of you who attended the fall session will recall that Taruna (Tina) kindly brought us a handout on Japa Yoga from her priest to go with our new malas and mala bags from the Temple. 

Rather than make a hundred paper photocopies, I figured it was "greener" to share the handout here.

Heartfelt thanks again to our friend Taruna-ji, and to the Temple Priest for sharing! 

And thank you to all of you for attending!  It was a wonderful and once-in-a-lifetime kind of session that I feel truly blessed to have been a part of.  

I look forward to seeing you (and some new faces) again tonight, let the Japa continue!

... AND on to Yoga Sutra 1.5!  Hooray!

To all of the Yogis and Yoginis, past, present and future - JAI!  VICTORY!

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