Integral Yoga Kirtan

Kirtan is the chanting of Divine sounds or names. The entire Integral Yoga ecumenical kirtan is presented here with translation, pronunciation guide, and notated melodies. Also included is a section giving helpful guidelines to leading a chanting sessions.

Kirtan and yoga are spiritual practices that originated in the mystic East. In fact, kirtan - singing for the Divine - is a form of yoga that engages the heart, evoking emotion and joy. The Yoga of Kirtan will introduce readers, many for the first time, to this blissful yogic tradition. Here we learn of kirtan's history and origins, its different musical forms,and the instruments used in its performance. But, most importantly, in The Yoga of Kirtan we hear the voices of kirtan yogis from ages past. They reach out to us through the hearts and minds of their present-day representatives, such as Krishna Das, Jai Uttal, Deva Premal and Miten, Snatam Kaur, Vaiyasaki Das, Ragani and David Newman, among others. Through the insights of these modern-day chanters, we get a peek into the ecstasy of the chanting process. By allowing us to eavesdrop on their intimate conversations with Vaishnava scholar Steven Rosen, they unlock the mysteries of this age-old yogic tradition, helping us to see why chanting is indeed yoga and how easy and pleasurable it is to perform.

This clear and comprehensive yoga manual, prepared by the world-renowned yoga master Swami Satchidananda, is the only one you will ever need! Clear, concise and accurate information and illustrations make yoga practice easy for everyone, even through to the most advanced level.

As identity and authenticity discourses increasingly saturate everyday life, so too have these concepts spread across the humanities and social sciences literatures. Many scholars may be interested in identity and authenticity but lack knowledge of paradigmatic or disciplinary approaches to these concepts. This volume offers readers insight into social constructionist approaches to identity and authenticity. It focuses on the processes of identification and authentication, rather than on subjective experiences of selfhood. There are no attempts to settle what authentic identities are. On the contrary, contributors demonstrate that neither identities nor their authenticity have a single or fixed meaning. Chapters provide exemplars of contemporary research on identity and authenticity, with significant diversity among them in terms of the identities, cultural milieu, geographic settings, disciplinary traditions, and methodological approaches considered. Contributors introduce readers to a number of established and emerging identity groups from sites around the world, from yogis and punks to fire dancers and social media influencers. Their conceptual work stretches from the micro-analytic to the ethno-national as authors employ a variety of qualitative methods including ethnographic fieldwork, interviewing, and the collection and analysis of naturally-occurring interactions. Several of the chapters look directly at identification and authentication while others focus on the social and cultural backdrops that structure these practices – what unites them is the adoption of social constructionist sensibilities. This book will appeal to anyone interested in understanding identity and authenticity.

The mantra and kirtan (call-and-response devotional chants) of yoga practice sometimes get short shrift in the West because they aren’t well understood. These chants are an integral part of most every Eastern spiritual practice because they are designed to provide access into the psyche while their underlying mythology helps us understand how our psychology affects daily life. Sacred Sound shares the myths behind the mantras, illuminating their meaning and putting their power and practicality within reach of every practitioner. Each mantra and kirtan includes the Sanskrit, the transliteration, and the translation. Clear retellings of the pertinent myths highlight modern-day applications so that readers discover their own personal connection to the practice. Alanna Kaivalya has refined her teaching over a decade with tens of thousands of diverse audience members. Her unique and popular approach to human connection and self-knowledge turns a time-tested tradition into a versatile and potent tool.