I am a singer. Music pulses through my veins. I am that person on the Path train who is not afraid to dance to the music that is blasting through my iPod.
I practiced yoga for several years before I ever heard someone chant in Sanskrit. And now when I think about that, I laugh because my asana practice has become synonymous with chanting. I don't feel right if I get on my mat without chanting!
It wasn't until my first class at Devotion Yoga several years ago when one of my teachers played some "weird" music that I never heard before, but something in my soul was curious. My mind started to race: "What is this noise? Why do I feel so good? Why do I ache to sing along? Should I be singing these things; I'm not Hindu?" I kept attending classes and would sing quietly in my head until I found a teacher who told us that we could sing out loud! "Sing?...in yoga...and I'm not going to get in trouble?! I thought we all had to stand here in silence!"
And then, I attended my first kirtan and I have been hooked ever since. At first I had no idea what I was chanting or what the words meant. And, frankly, I still don't know what a lot of the chants mean, but I think Krishna Das captured exactly what I want to express:
"The words of these chants are called the divine names and they come from a place that's deeper than our hearts and our thoughts, deeper than the mind. And so as we sing them they turn us towards ourselves, into ourselves. They bring us in, and as we offer ourselves into the experience, the experience changes us. These chants have no meaning other than the experience that we have by doing them. They come from the Hindu tradition, but it's not about being a Hindu, or believing anything in advance. It's just about doing it, and experiencing. Nothing to join, you just sit down and sing."
By some Divine intervention, I was blessed with the opportunity of being up at Kripalu during the weekend when it would have been Swami Kripalu's 100th birthday! I was able to attend several kirtans where I could sing and dance my heart out. I realized that I chant now because I have to! It is important for me to share that with the world, and I can start on that mission by sharing it with my students. So, the next time you are in my class, don't be shy and feel free to sing if that is what your heart needs!
Jai!!!!!
Sarah Anfora teaches Wednesday mornings at 9:30am and Sunday mornings at 10am.
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