Donation Based Kirtan: Medicine for the soul!with April Bond and Sujata Martin
Saturday, June 25, 2022
6:00-7:30pm
Cost: Donation Based
cash/card donations accepted at the door
Description:
Kirtan is a Sanskrit word that means "to tell, narrate, call, recite, praise, or glorify. In Kirtan, it's not about being in perfect pitch or harmonious when signing and like most things, it’s not about what you do but the way you do it. It's typically practiced as a "call and response", where the leader of the Kirtan will call/sing out each line of the chant and the participants then respond/sing with that same line.
Kirtan is an important aspect of yoga and one which holds so much potential for awakening and transformation. It's a devotional practice in line with Bhakti Yoga, a branch of yoga that is centered in love and devotion to a power greater than yourself. It's important to note that you don't have to align with any specific religious beliefs to attend Kirtan. This is open to all yoga practitioners that want to experience an evening full of love, devotion, and rapture.
The vibrations from singing/chanting help to stimulate the Vagus Nerve, which regulates the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. This means that practicing Kirtan can help you enter the "rest and digest" mode where you feel less stressed and more relaxed overall.
About your Kirtan Leaders:
April Bond,
April Nicholle “Gauri” Bond grew up surrounded by music and from early childhood excelled as a singer. Song became her refuge in her teens, though she was not exposed to Sanskrit chant until age 18, while she was living at the Swami Satchidananda Ashram near Buckingham, Virginia. Though still uncertain of her path, she was immediately drawn to the ecstatic and community aspects of kirtan (group devotional chanting). Several years later, she was certified through the ashram as an Integral Yoga teacher. Music, though, was still the love of her life, and she continued to sing with various folk and rock bands, including People We Know, Cain & April, and the Unquiet Grave, in service to this love. She continues to compose songs and shares her love and knowledge of chant, weaving enchanting, internationally-inspired melodies with haunting harmonies, in an effort to inspire the soul-driven community. In November 2016, she released Sunidhi: April Bond Sings Vedic Chant, and she her Devi-inspired album will be released in early 2021. She currently appears in temple ceremonies, live-music yoga classes, public songwriter performances, and kirtan.
Sujata Martin,
Sujata is a Bhakti Yoga teacher, and a pelvic floor specialist at Pelvic Soul Pelvic Therapy & Sex Counseling. She was raised in India, immersed in the culture that gave rise to Yoga, Ayurveda, and the Tantra traditions. Sujata helps individuals & groups deepen their understanding of Yoga by teaching Yoga history & philosophy, and leads Satsang & Kirtan groups. She also provides Yoga-based mindfulness therapy and sex counseling to round off her healthcare practice.
Event Venue
The Lotus Pond Center for Yoga and Health, 6201 Lynn Rd, Tampa, United States
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