Upstate Yoga Institute

With its emphasis on the visual and on logic, our modern culture and education system solicit primarily the left side of our brain. In addition, our mind is often caught up in past events and associations instead of being in a state of receptivity.

While cultivating intuition and creativity, chanting provides an enjoyable corrective experience which engages mind, breath, and voice.

There are a number of situations where chanting can be particularly beneficial: lack of confidence and doubt, fear of public speaking, limited ability to process auditory information, loss of memory coming with age, and minor speech impediments are just a few.

But more importantly, chanting provides each of us with an opportunity to tap into our inner strength and stability. After a chanting session, one generally feels lighter and more focused. Chanting has the subtle effect of bringing us closer to the "special source" that the ancients believed resides in our heart. When we chant in a group, we feel part of something greater and find a quality of intimacy and joy with ourselves and with others that is beyond the ordinary. Through sustained effort and determination, chanting can become a very powerful personal practice.

What is Vedic Chanting?

Vedic chanting comes out of the oral tradition of India. The hymns and mantras that we chant are selected from an ancient collection of texts which are known as "the Veda". Unlike singing or other forms of Indian chant, Vedic chanting is relatively easy to learn because it uses only three notes.

The word "Veda" has its origin in the sanskrit verbal root "vid", which means "to know". Vedic knowledge helps us experience a different realm of knowing and being. It allows us to connect more consciously with various aspects of the natural world as well as the higher aspirations of human beings. Chanting the powerful and beautiful sounds of this universal source of wisdom is both meditative and healing.

Who are the teachers?

Martine Burat and Kerry Koen were very fortunate to have been introduced to the practice of chanting early in their yoga studies, through their teacher, Mary Louise Skelton. Since Mary Lou's passing in 1995, Kerry and Martine have continued their study of Vedic Chanting with Sonia Nelson from the Vedic Chant Center in New Mexico, http://vedicchantcenter.org/ . In 2004, Martine and Kerry spent two weeks in Chennai, India, intensively studying chanting with Sonia and her teacher, TKV Desikachar.

TKV Desikachar's father, the famous master T. Krishnamacharya, is the one who opened the doors of Vedic chanting to women and to the world, by making it accessible to all those who were interested in learning and preserving this tradition. Krishnamacharya was convinced that Vedic Chanting was a universal tool for physical, mental, emotional and spiritual growth.

How do I start?

Periodically, Martine and Kerry offer free open classes. This is the best way to try Vedic Chanting. Everyone can do it, especially with the support of a group. Check our special event annnoucements on our home page for free open classes.