Sankirtan is the Svarupa (essential nature) of God. Dhvani is sankirtan. Sankirtan is the essence of the Vedas. The four Vedas originate from sound. There are four kinds of sound, viz., vaikhari (vocal), madhyama (from the throat), pasyanti (from the heart) and Para...
Nada Yoga
Yogi Hari is a master of Hatha, Raja and Nada Yoga. He is well known and respected around the world as an exceptional and inspiring teacher. Yogi Hari comes from the Sivananda lineage. When he met his gurus, Swami Vishnu-Devananda and music master Swami...
Chanting from the Soul: An Interview with Krishna Das, Part 1
Profiled by Time magazine and nominated for a Grammy, Krishna Das is regarded as America’s leading “chantmaster.” Each year Krishna Das gives a workshop in Yogaville and he graciously agreed to be interviewed. Krishna Das talks about his Guru, his path, and falling in...
Music and Spirituality: A Real Connection
In this interview, Rivers Cuomo, the popular frontman for the wildly successful band Weezer, talks about growing up and going to school at Yogaville East, discovering that there can be creativity without angst, and shares the meditation technique that has enriched his...
The Yoga of Kirtan
Steven J. Rosen’s book, The Yoga of Kirtan, offers interviews with 21 musicians—including Krishna Das, Jai Uttal, Deva Premal, Snatam Kaur, David Newman, Ragani—leading the kirtan revolution. The book focuses not only on kirtan but on the lives of those being...
The Sonic Technology of Yoga
Largely unknown in the West, yet developing alongside Hatha Yoga, Nada Yoga is a 2000-year-old spiritual system. The Yoga of Sound, Russill Paul’s comprehensive book on the subject of Nada Yoga, makes this ancient and mystical science accessible to all. In this...
Music of the Universe: Our Relationship with Sacred Sound
Everything begins with a seed. The ancient scriptures describe this seed, or bija, as sonic in origin. They paint mystical pictures of a primordial sound from which the entire cosmos sprang. They describe planets, stars and galaxies as being magically strung together...
Jai Uttal: Singing to the Inner Vastness of the Heart
Jai Uttal’s eclectic East meets West sound has put his music at the forefront of the world fusion movement. Jai’s musical roots embrace a rich variety of cultures and traditions that span the globe and the centuries. From the hillbilly music of the Appalachian...
Chanting from the Soul: An Interview with Krishna Das, Part 2
Profiled by Time magazine and nominated for a Grammy, Krishna Das is regarded as America’s leading “chantmaster.” Each year Krishna Das gives a workshop in Yogaville and he graciously agreed to be interviewed. Krishna Das talks about his Guru, his path, and falling in...
Kirtan and the World’s Sacred Chant Traditions
If we look into creation narratives from different cultures, in almost every case the world is said to come into being through sound, through chant. Kirtan is the essence of Yoga, for by chanting the holy names, we experience a linking, a union, with the Divine. In...
The Healing and Transformative Power of Chanting
An internationally acknowledged master teacher, Jonathan Goldman has studied with masters of sound from both the scientific and spiritual traditions, including the Dalai Lama’s Chanting Gyuto and Gyume Monks. In this interview he gives an overview of some of the...
Artist Spotlight: Karnamrita Dasi
“Enchanting”, “haunting”, “utterly sublime”—just a few words that do not even begin to describe "Dasi," the first album by Karnamrita Dasi. Karnamrita has been chanting since early childhood. She has the voice of a gandharva (angel) and her songs of women saints are...