Over the weekend the Satyananada Yoga ashram hosted an Akhanda Kirtan which is essentially a chanting marathon! For over 24 hours straight a roomful of people sang, played great music, danced and blissed out fuelled by chai!!! Gav was the sound engineer for them and I must say - it sounded bleepin' awesome! There were some fabulous singers, also clarinet, harmonium, bassoon, various drums, double bass, electric bass and guitar, bells, piano accordian.....a real musical smorgasbord. And all with the intention of (as one yogi put it when I asked him why he smiled so much - "How can I not smile? I am singing a love song to God!") celebration and devotion. We are not strictly hindu, buddhist or even that yogic, but it was a beautiful ritual to be a part of....
I sang happily in sanskrit (who woulda thunk an Australian girl raised by a Swedish mother and Dutch father raised in the Catholic school system and with a fondness for Nirvana would ever sing songs in sanskrit!) and had a pretty good boogie. My shaved head felt right at home as well. The boys drifted in and out, but had found a mate to play with so spent most of their time doing cartwheels and playing DS in one of the luscious huge carpeted yoga asana rooms. They always seemed to be around when the chocolates and chai were served however!
It was a truly juicy experience.....(no the boys and I didn't do the full 24 hours - we squeezed in a luxurious 10 hour sleep...) We love you Mangrove Ashram!!
It was a truly juicy experience.....(no the boys and I didn't do the full 24 hours - we squeezed in a luxurious 10 hour sleep...) We love you Mangrove Ashram!!
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