Kirtan Leader Blog

Check out the May 2020 issue of Yoga Journal for a fun article titled The Harmonium for Beginners. This article chronicles KLI student Jennifer Davis Flynn’s journey through our Level 1 (Launch Your Home Chant Practice) in...

Vocalist, voice teacher and Kirtan Leader Institute instructor Dawnia Dresser has a beautiful way of describing the difference between singing and sacred chant.

1. The External Loop 

Dawnia has been singing since age...

June 2019 I visited the Bay Area to work on new tracks and participate in a 4-day Integral Unfolding retreat.

I’m very lucky to have a beautiful and welcoming home in which to stay while in town. One evening I...

In May 2017 Yoga Journal published their first article on the Enneagram. Titled Who Am I? Use the Enneagram with Yoga to Find Your Answer, this well researched article was one of the first efforts to document the integration of...

Folks often ask me about how to pump their bellows effectively and appropriately. Each harmonium is unique, and the key is to refrain from over, or under pumping the bellows. Hand placement and airflow management...

In November I wrote a blog post on how to pump your bellows – aka, left hand technique (assuming you’re playing right handed).

This blog post offers a few do’s and don’ts for your right hand...

A COMMON STORY

Seems like every week I hear a story with the following elements from one of our Kirtan Leader Institute studente:

Part 1:    I bought my harmonium a year ago in the hopes of learning how to chant at...

I frequently receive questions about the connection between Kirtan and yoga, which is confusing for many. Below are a few thoughts. 

1. While most in the West associate yoga with physical postures (asana), yoga has...

It was her first lesson, and very first time playing the harmonium.

I instructed her to place her thumb on the middle C, and pinky on the middle G. She squeezed the bellows with her left hand. A broad smile...

A Kirtan and Bhajan are closely related. Both are sung, with musical instruments, use Divine Names or Scriptures, and are oriented towards creating connection with the Divine. 

I like to think of Kirtan as a short phrase...