Understanding Kirtan
“Mahadeva Shambo”
For me, these words have no meaning. Yet I sing them over and over again in a room with strangers. Together we are practicing Kirtan; as individuals we are improving our health. This may sound like a New Age hoax, but yoga instructors, renowned wellness centers, and devotees of the practice attest that Kirtan is a profound vehicle for improving health of the mind and body.
I was first exposed to Kirtan at Kalani, a wellness retreat center in Hawaii, where I was volunteering for three months. Initially, the whole concept did not appeal to me. The Sanskrit words above are actually the names of Hindu deities, and chanting the names of gods in a language I did not understand sounded like a cult practice to me. But I decided that I couldn’t criticize what I hadn’t experienced, so I gave it a try.
Sitting with a group of about 15 people in a circle on the floor of Kalani’s yoga studio, my first Kirtan was about to begin. Sheet music was passed around and a few individuals had shakers and drums. The instructor, Candice Ipshording, welcomed everyone and explained that chants take the form of call and response. She sang one line and then the rest of us sung the same line back. In one hour we sang just 6 chants, adhering to this routine. Somehow these repetitive lines of indecipherable meaning forced my eyes to shut, my body to rock, and my mind to be still.
After one hour I was hooked. For me, it wasn’t about praying to God at all. It was about these beautiful voices coming together to create positive spirit. According to Ipshording, “The words are the symbols, but the energy behind the words is where the magic comes from.” I see the words as gibberish, which allows me to focus on the meditative aspect of the practice. This meditative state is impermeable to stress and anxiety, leaving only room for deep relaxation.
People often forget how important relaxation is for maintaining health. Illness is frequently associated with negative emotions and influences, and the September 27th, 2004 edition of Newsweek devoted over 30 pages to this notion of how the mind affects the body. Relaxation is not about watching TV with your feet up; it’s about freeing your mind from worry and obligation. Kirtan shifts the mind’s focus off what happened this morning and what will happen tomorrow and turns it to the repetition of obsolete words. Suddenly the mind is in the present. This is what yogis deem “stillness of the mind” and this state represents the essence of total relaxation.
Jean Marie Youngstrom, a Ph.D. student in energy medicine, an intuitive, and yoga instructor, also explains that research proves that song has a tremendous affect on our emotions. Many devotees find an emotional uplift in Kirtan. Connie Baxter, a personal yoga instructor for the last 25 years says, “There is something very special about the vibrational sound of Sanskrit.” She further describes the practice as, “incredibly energizing and grounding at the same time. It’s a joyful practice. You just feel really good when you’re doing it.”
As an adult, singing in a loud voice, especially in a room full of people, is a rarity. According to Baxter, we feel good when we sing and there is a sense of happiness attached to vocal expression. Kirtan provides a forum to sing free and to have it appreciated by everyone around. In addition, Baxter explains that singing causes increased exhalation, which is good for the system. As anyone who has taken yoga can attest, breathing practices are done deliberately to expel this stale air retained in our system. Singing allows this to happen without conscious thought and is another healthy byproduct of a fun activity.
However, people unfamiliar with the practice are often put off by the idea of chanting foreign words in a circle with strangers, much like I was initially. Elise Christensen experienced her first Kirtan not too long ago. “My initial thoughts about Kirtan was that it would be more like chanting and less like singing,” she says. To many people, chanting is what protestors do and that does not sound meditative at all. But Kirtan truly is singing. The chants have melodies and instructors have lulling voices. Musical instruments instinctively begin to play. Often people find themselves uncontrollably tapping their feet to the music. Chants start out slow then crescendo into a fast paced, rhythmic, body shaking dance party. But everyone’s attention is drawn inward. Concentration is on how the music makes you feel and makes your body move. You don’t even have to dance, clap, or move; you can just sit there with your eyes closed and listen. There is no right thing to do and no judgment. Just feel. Christensen reflects, “I left there feeling peaceful and connected.”
The original intention of Kirtan was based on the Bhakti yoga practice, or devotional yoga, and a means to create a spiritual connection with the divine. Like all yoga practices, Kirtan stems from the Hindu religion and in Hindu there are many names for God. These various names were created thousands of years ago because of the vibrations the mouth creates as these words roll off the tongue. These vibrations stimulate the chakras, creating the energizing joy and magic described by devotees.
For Ipshording, “Kirtan is the opportunity to put pure devotion to God into a sound vibration in the physical realm. It soothes my soul, opens my heart, and integrates energies in my body.” Ipshording is not Hindu, but for her, the idea of praying to God transcends religion and she enjoys the sound of Sanskrit. Similarly, Youngstrom says, “Yoga and chanting is my connection to the divine.”
This religious association can be a deterrent for potential chanters. Baxter says, “People see it as a new age turn off and as contrary to their religion.” She in fact wishes her students were more open minded so that she could incorporate chants into the physical, Hatha yoga practice as they do in India. Youngstrom, however, points out that physical yoga was novel at one point and now it is widely adopted. She suggests that perhaps since yoga works so well for the body, once people try out Kirtan they will incorporate it as part of their healthy lifestyle.
It only took one session for me to become a full-fledged Kirtan addict. I attended every weekly chant for the rest of my three-month stay in Hawaii. Upon returning home to Boston, I was eager to continue my Kirtan practice. It was more difficult than I anticipated to find a place to chant, but I finally came into contact with Back Bay Yoga. Lynn Begier, a yoga instructor at the studio, says, “We love Kirtan and no one was doing anything, so we were committed to having something.” Back Bay Yoga has been offering Kirtan from when they first opened two and a half years ago. “I found Kirtan at Kripalu where I have spent a lot of time,” says Begier.
Kripalu and Kalani are not that different. Both are respected wellness retreat centers in remote areas with a focus on yoga. Other similar retreat centers such as Eselan and Omega also feature Kirtan. People make pilgrimages to these distant places to spend a week or more engaging in intensive yoga, practice meditation, or making spiritual connections. These establishments are paradigms of the quintessential yoga lifestyle and leaders in promoting health and well-being. This provides reason to believe that Kirtan is more than just an aspect of the Hindu faith..
Quite simply, Youngstrom says, “Chanting is magic.” Whether you choose to interpret that based on the spiritual connection, meditative aspect, or vibrational sound found within Kirtan, it has a positive affect on all those who sing. Imagine how silly standing on your head must have sounded to people introduced to yoga for the first time. Perhaps chanting is the continuation of the acceptance and faith westerners have in the power of yoga to calm the mind, body, and spirit in effort to lead healthier lives.
