Play Kirtan!

June 3 – 8, 2025

Hridaya Yoga France
Longeval, St-Just-d’Avray

This special workshop will deepen and refine both your musical skills and your spiritual understanding of the practice of chanting mantras, called or bhajan in Sanskrit.

While this practice in itself is simple and accessible to anyone, with no need for specific knowledge or training, its spiritual depth and spectrum of musical unfolding will benefit greatly from the guiding presence of one or several facilitating musicians with certain skills – and this might be you!

The workshop follows two main topics:

Expanding and refining your musical vocabulary, improving rhythmic firmness and variety, awareness of musical dramaturgy, tempo, and dynamic variations.
Deepening your metaphysical understanding of the power of devotion, the use of mantras, and the aspects related to each of the different deities.

Music, and in particular devotional singing, is an important element in spiritual traditions around the world. Being an art form that transcurs in time, it has the innate power to bind the mind to the present moment.

Singing happens by means of the breath. As air is the governing element of the heart chakra, the act of singing itself helps to open the Heart and to relate more intimately to its intrinsic qualities: love, devotion, tenderness, surrender…

In India, Bhakti Yoga, the yoga of Devotion, is one of the traditional main branches of yoga and is practiced widely, mostly in the context of the Hindu religion. Kirtan, the practice of devotional singing, has soon found its way into the hearts of many Western spiritual seekers and is now being practiced by yogis worldwide.

In this workshop, you’ll refine your musical skills and expand your knowledge through an integrated way of learning. There will be an emphasis on musical practice, with theoretical teachings blended in as much as necessary to help you understand concepts and advance in the practice.

Teachings about the metaphysical background of Bhakti Yoga as well as daily Hridaya Hatha Yoga sessions will help you to sustain the awareness and purity needed to transform a musical performance into spiritual practice.

As the most common instrument in Western kirtan circles is the guitar, it is essential that you have a basic knowledge of playing guitar to fully benefit from the workshop. This means that you know the basic chords (C, D, E, F, G, A, Dm, Em, Am) and can change between them effortlessly while maintaining a rhythm, and you know how to play a basic “campfire guitar” rhythm.

While the main musical focus will be on singing and playing guitar, the basics of playing harmonium and percussion for kirtan will also be covered.

The workshop will include:

Musical Teachings:

Comprehensive rhythmical training & how to integrate new rhythms: clapping, reciting, coordination, application on the instrument
Application on the guitar: picking, strumming, damping
Basic theory of chords & application on guitar and harmonium
Creating refined beauty: chord variations, singing harmony etc.
The art of guiding Kirtan: holding a band together, different moods of Kirtan, creating a playlist and an altar

Metaphysical and practical yoga teachings:

Self-Enquiry
Bhakti Yoga
Exploration of Hindu deities
Hridaya Hatha Yoga (specifically asanas for the Heart and Throat Chakras; Vowel Pranayama)

Daily Schedule:

Wednesday – Saturday

7:00-8:00 Meditation (optional)
8:00-8:45 Breakfast
9:00-12:00 Musical Practice
13:00-13:45 Lunch
15:00-17:30 Hatha Yoga Practice & Metaphysical Teachings
18:30-19:15 Dinner
19:15-20:15 Kirtan Rehearsal
20:15-22:00 Rest or optional activities
22:00 Mauna (noble silence)