(GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.) – As the language of yoga – the word ‘yoga’ itself derives from Sanskrit — it is impossible to separate the practice of yoga from the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit. Upcoming language, chanting, and musical programs at Sruti Yoga Center draw upon Sanskrit, “the language of the gods,” with visiting teachers well-versed in “the yoga of sound.”
On Saturday, October 15, 2011, from 10:30 to 4:30, John Campbell, Ph.D., offers a daylong workshop entitled “Sanskrit: The Yoga of Sound.” In the course of the workshop, participants will begin to identify and vocalize the Sanskrit sounds using a traditional yoga-based method in which the Sanskrit alphabet itself becomes a vehicle of meditation and practice.
“Just as the physical postures of asana were developed to energize and heal the body, the very sounds of Sanskrit were phonetically engineered to transform and purify consciousness,” says Campbell, an assistant professor of Religious Studies at Seton Hall University in New Jersey who studied Tibetan Buddhism with the Dalai Lama and Denma Lochoe Rinpoche.
“I wish I had oriented to Sanskrit with John Campbell before studying it in India, as John is an exceptional teacher and bridge to this complex subject and experience,” says Amy Webb, founder/owner of Sruti Yoga Center. “I am completely looking forward to this workshop as another form of experiential yoga.”
Pre-registration is required for the Sanskrit workshop; call 413.717.5058 or send e-mail to info@srutiyogacenter.com for details.
The Berkshires’ own Carrie Grossman, who holds degrees in religion from Brown and Naropa universities, is a graduate of the Center for Mind Body Medicine’s Advanced Training Program and a registered yoga instructor and Kripalu Bodywork practitioner, will lead two music-based programs at Sruti, beginning with a Kirtan – a group call-and-response chant with music – on Saturday, October 1, at 7:30 p.m. Berkshire multi-instrumentalist Justin Hillman, also a yoga teacher, will accompany Grossman at the Kirtan. Grossman will also lead Shabda Yoga, a sound immersion workshop, on Saturday, November 5 at 7 p.m. This workshop will explore the power of Sanskrit mantra to heal the body-mind and uplift the soul. We will begin with a participatory puja (ritual) to release impurities and open the heart, followed by an extended savasana accompanied by live chanting. The program will conclude with kirtan and meditation.
Grossman, who has been a student of Sanskrit chanting for over ten years and is a writer and senior editor of Common Ground magazine, recently released Soma-Bandhu: Friend of the Moon, an album of devotional singing. “Like seeds shrouded in sunless soil, these songs began to germinate during a difficult period of my life,” says Grossman. “In need of change, I moved to a tiny, sky-lit cabin in the Berkshires. Sitting before my woodstove on winter evenings, the music that once lived invisibly inside of me took form, and nine months later this album—Soma-Bandhu—was born.”
Sruti Yoga Center, at 33 Railroad St., 2nd Floor, offers yoga for beginners, traditional Mysore-style Ashtanga yoga, Ashtanga Vinyasa, Anusara-based Vinyasa flow, Kundalini, qigong, meditation, and pre- and post-natal classes. Workshops are also held in breathing techniques, Sanskrit, Ayurveda, Reiki, and Shamanic studies. Private sessions and consultations are available in yoga and energy therapies..
For more information, visit the Sruti Yoga Center website; send an e-mail to info@srutiyogacenter.com; or call 413.717.5058.