Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Ecstatic Chant

Tomorrow, I head off for a trip to upstate New York, where I'll be attending the Spring Ecstatic Chant at the Omega Institute. As a Kirtan enthusiast, I'm very excited about this event, which features a rotating array of different chant leaders throughout the weekend. 

I attended the spring Chant last year and it was, in fact, my first actual Kirtan experience--and, as it turned out, a very powerful experience indeed. I had just completed a five-day workshop with David and Mira Newman designed to teach participants how to lead Kirtan, and the combination of the aptly-named Ecstatic Chant weekend and their excellent instruction launched me into a year in which I've now organized and started a Kirtan group at my yoga studio.

While I totally love leading Kirtan, I have to admit that it will be really nice to be just a member of the chorus for awhile. I tend to get swept away by some of the chants we have been doing, which occasionally makes my keyboard-playing, well, shall we say, "interesting"? So, I'm looking forward to being able to fully throw myself to the chant and not have to worry about whether my fingers are on the right part of the keyboard, which chant to lead next, or anything at all for awhile.

If I'm not totally in ecstasy all weekend, I will try to record a few videos to upload and share later. And, now: off to pack! 

Namaste

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