Kirtan Immersion with Asha at the Holistic Health and Healing Expo - NJ

About this event

Immerse yourself in the enchanting world of Kirtan, a devotional practice of call and response chanting of the Holy Names of the Divine! Held in the CRYSTAL 3 room (see picture below for layout); kirtan workshop will begin at 12:55pm to allow for setup and everyone to settle in the room. Floor seating is encouraged, (please bring a cushion if you like) however, chairs will be available for those who cannot join us on the floor. Shoes are optional and can be left at the front door :) Kirtan is a limb of Bhakti Yoga, meaning to glorify the transcendental nature and qualities of the Divine, and can be done via speech or song. In this case, it will be musical chanting of simple and traditional Vedic mantras in a call & response form. Whether you are new to Kirtan or a seasoned practitioner, this event is open to all and promises to be a soul-stirring experience! So, mark your calendars and get ready to embark on a transformative journey of self-discovery and spiritual awakening. All are welcome! About the facilitator: Asha, aka Anuradha dasi, was born and raised in the Gaudiya Bhakti Yoga tradition, in a kirtan-focused family. As a small girl of duo-races of Indian and African-American descent, she gravitated towards percussion, specifically of the mridanga, a clay drum hailing from West Bengal, India and used in traditional Gaudiya kirtan. She hopes more women will learn the art of mridanga playing, as it fosters a combination of both grace and strength. "Kirtan is the most immersive and transformative means of crying out to the Divine, in unison. It does fit within a genre. It is it's own genre." When Asha is not engaged in Kirtan and Bhakti events, she works as a doctor of physical therapy.