Kirtan Chant Event

Kirtan is a traditional Indian call-and-response, devotional, participatory singing practice. In my style, we integrate listening exercises, mantra repetition, song, and silence to understand the energy behind the Sanskrit sound. Studios may showcase this class as an expansion of the definition of yoga, highlighting bhakti, the devotional nature of chanting. Kirtans give us access to the bliss body and mantra chanting can create mental stillness essential for meditation. When Marla teaches kirtan, participants feel safe and confident pronouncing the mantras and they are able to investigate the “yoga” of chanting by diving deeply into the sound current contained within each word.

Nada, or sound, is a universal experience, linking people together no matter their culture, experience, or needs. Experience the beauty and meditative quality of your voice with our exercises in vocal toning & tapping into the nad. Our voice is a way that we create in the world. It’s a way that we express and experience our own identity. Nada is the sound current that lives inside of us as a part of the universal sound current of life or of the divine. When we link listening, the universal sound current, and our own voice, we have a deep experience of harmony. And when that all stops, we have a unique experience of silence. This is something you must experience to understand.

Sound & Chakras

Expand your knowledge of chakras with sound-based yoga. In this immersive practice, learn mantras that will unlock the potential within your own chakras. With toning & mantras we will create a resonant, internal sonic massage with your own voice. Led by Marla Pelletier, a second-generation Indian-American and a certified 500-RYT in nada (sound) and mantra yoga, this class offers a unique approach to harmonizing your energy centers and releasing deeply held blockages.

Do you have a harmonium in your closet that you crave using, but don’t know where to start? Marla is a 500 hour RYT in Mantra and Nada Yoga and chanting Sanskrit mantras have been a part of her family’s spiritual practice since birth. Learn the basics of how to play the harmonium, finding your tonic note, and learn a simple three tone Vedic style chant that you can practice at home as a japa practice with the support of the harmonium. Find out the difference between nada, japa, mantra, bhajan, kirtan, and all the other Sanskrit words you may hear in conjunction with chanting & bhakti practices. This class works well with the workshop series Sanskrit for Chant Lovers if you want a deeper understanding of how to pronounce mantras correctly. It is recommended to purchase the itablapro app for home practice, as Marla will be using this app and give a quick tutorial on it. (We will have one extra harmonium for students who want to attend but don’t have a harmonium. We also welcome you bringing a keyboard if that is what you have)

Are you a yoga teacher, Sanskrit mantra lover or someone who enjoys to learn new languages?

Learn an embodied way of understanding Sanskrit.

We will learn the Sanskrit alphabet, refine our sounds, learn the system of transliteration to better understand the subtleties of Sanskrit pronunciation that are not in English.

In Sanskrit, the pronunciation is the meaning and as we chant the sounds of Sanskrit, we invite the energy into our space and body.

This class is designed to ignite your practice of chanting. And deepen your cultural understanding of Sanskrit as a heard & inspired language of the yogis.

Finally, we will practice the deep listening and pronunciation of a single Sanskrit mantra. The mantra we choose will be inspired by the group who attends class. So if you have a mantra that you work with, or you want to better understand the energy of a mantra, come to class to give your input.

Sanskrit Workshop

Learn the alphabet, correct mouth positions to pronounce with precision and magnify and intensify your chanting practice. Learn the mantra purusha practice to bring the Sanskrit sounds into your own body with a somatic exercise. Sanskrit is a body based language. Participants may also enjoy learning how to correctly pronounce the cakras. Include this workshop as your studio’s Sanskrit requirement for a Yoga Alliance TTC.

A hybrid teacher training certification in mantra, nada/sound yoga healing. Live Zoom classes and on-demand modules.

Studios: do you currently have a yoga teacher training program at your studio? Would you like Sanskrit to be a part of your program. Differentiate your program from others with an authentic perspective. Teach your teachers to respect the Indian culture through a deep dive into Sanskrit with the online 101 course and have Marla teach a workshop for your group.

Musicians: Interested in Indian music? Take the online Nada 101 and have Marla teach an in-person module where we can go through scales on your harmonium, learn an Indian song, or the recitation of an ancient Vedic mantra.

Yoga Teachers: 200 and 500 hour Nada and Mantra Yoga teacher training is available virtually with a local study group. Learn new skills in the online course and get feedback from Marla to complete your contact hours. Learn harmonium, raga-based kirtan, Sanskirt, empathetic listening & nada successfully from a traditional perspective.

Contact us to learn more

Description Forthcoming

Held on days like Sivaratri, Navratri, Diwali or full or new moons to harness align and smooth out the edges of change.

Mantra Yoga workshop

Entrain the body and mind for peace through practice. The gentle and consistent repetition of the mantra can release old mental patterns. We teach Sanskrit mantras that you can use for a daily chanting practice called Japa. This is a great workshop for those who want to learn proper Sanskrit pronunciation, learn a skill to train the mind, and even include the proper tones to include an instrument in your mantra yoga practice.

Held at Assisi Yoga.