Sedona Yoga Festival 2019

The human psyche craves harmony and abhors disharmony or discord. This fundamental truth of each of us determines the course of our life, and we take on an expansive and happy life only when we find the state which is always harmonious. This highest state is called Yoga, union with the absolute Self (which when known within is also known without).

If we look at this craving and aversion around harmony and discord we see that it enters every aspect of life, and when we dive deeply within we see that it is vibrational - it is both the nature of sound and the nature of our thoughts. The entire science of Yoga is rooted in the understanding that the great Yogis, sages and seers have shared about the nature of these vibrations, and how to use them in order to uplift our life, from the depths of materialism to the heights of absolute Consciousness - Satchidananda - Existence, Wisdom and Bliss Absolute. Each aspect of this inner science of awakening fits together to uplift the vibrations that we call thought, and thus also our speech and our action.

Mantra Yoga, or Japa Yoga, is one of the most pure and direct methods of upliftment within given us. The simple act of chanting takes us out of our worries and cares, helping us to be present in the moment, with more joy, resilience and resource in our lives. Moments or ecstasy are typically experienced in chanting Japa and Kirtan, and the mind itself is re-wired, centering us more and more within the great peace. Kirtan has become very popular in the west, not so yet Japa (repetition of Mantra). In this workshop we will both explore the theory behind Mantra chanting as well as techniques, while we join together to chant various sacred Japa Mantras.