Kirtan in Swansea, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire
Healing Mantras of Bhakti Yoga
What is kirtan?
Kirtan is a heart-opening mantra practice from Bhakti yoga - the yoga of devotion - and is often a deeply transformative experience. A form of active meditation, in kirtan we come together as a group to sing sacred mantras, with a focus on the heart and associated feelings of love, devotion and connection. Chanting mantras can help unlock the places where we have become rigid, opening us to a depth of feeling which we sometimes struggle to connect with in the hustle and bustle of modern life. The repetition of mantras also helps still the mind, enabling us to become less identified with our thoughts and emotions and to feel the presence of something greater beneath. This state of openness helps us to connect with whatever we each hold highest and to experience ourselves as part of the Divine web of life.
Ultimately, trying to describe kirtan to those who have never experienced it is like trying to describe water to someone who has never had a drink. Words, and even videos, can be inadequate in conveying the powerful energy created during a live kirtan - you have to try it yourself to experience the effects. No singing or chanting experience is necessary – complete beginners are welcome.
To read more about my own journey with singing and mantra, see this blog post.
A video of a past kirtan in Murton, Swansea.
To listen to tracks from my kirtan album, Calling From Within.
Guru Purnima Kirtan with Louise Thorndycraft - Friday 12th July - 6.30pm - 8.00pm
Swansea Wellbeing Centre
Guru Purnima (Purnima = full moon) is celebrated every year in yogic traditions and is an opportunity to recognise and appreciate the guru tattva or principle within each one of us. The Guru principle incorporates wisdom and the removal of ignorance and this principle may be embodied in a teacher, alive or dead, or as the wise inner voice which can be heard when the mind is quiet. Ultimately, the purpose of any external Guru is to help us remove the darkness of our own ignorance, so we can fully embrace the Divinity within.
Our venue is the lovely Swansea Wellbeing Centre, Walter Road, Swansea, SA1 5PQ.
All bookings via advance bank transfer please - contact Louise at lou@blueskyoga.co.uk to book your space.
Early bird price: £13 until Friday 14th June. Full price: £15 (cash on the day or bank transfer in advance please).
Concessions available - please get in touch. All bookings are non-refundable and non-transferable.
Kirtan in Narberth
Next date to be confirmed...
What to bring
*Cushions, meditation stool or whatever you need to sit comfortably on the floor – chairs will be available for those who need them
*Bottle of water
*Eco cup if you have one - there weren't enough mugs last time!
*An open mind and willingness to join in
*Friends and family
*Cash if you would like to buy a CD (£12) - £2 from every CD sold goes to Amnesty International
Our venue is the lovely Narberth Natural Health Centre, Narberth, Pembrokeshire, SA677AX. We sing for the first hour and a half then finish with tea and sweet treats for the last half an hour.
Bookings via bank transfer please - contact Louise to book your space. Advance bookings made before Friday 8th March are £13 and £15 thereafter. Concessions available - please get in touch.
*Please note that all payments are non-refundable and non-transferable*
*Cushions, meditation stool or whatever you need to sit comfortably on the floor – chairs will be available for those who need them
*Bottle of water
*Eco cup if you have one - there weren't enough mugs last time!
*An open mind and willingness to join in
*Friends and family
*Cash if you would like to buy a CD (£12) - £2 from every CD sold goes to Amnesty International
Our venue is the lovely Narberth Natural Health Centre, Narberth, Pembrokeshire, SA677AX. We sing for the first hour and a half then finish with tea and sweet treats for the last half an hour.
Bookings via bank transfer please - contact Louise to book your space. Advance bookings made before Friday 8th March are £13 and £15 thereafter. Concessions available - please get in touch.
*Please note that all payments are non-refundable and non-transferable*
Filmed by Duncan Mann at the Beltane Bhakti gathering 2016
You can see my kirtan listing and those of other UK devotional musicians on www.ukbhakti.org - A virtual home for Bhakti yoga in the UK. Here is a recent article from the South Wales Evening Post. The newspaper interviewed me about overcoming my fear of singing.
Testimonials
What a wonderful, fun, inspiring, beautiful evening with Louise, doing Kirtan chanting and singing. I absolutely loved every minute of it. I sang to my hearts content and it smiled back at me. What a glowing feeling this has left me with. Thank you Louise and all who were gathered there tonight. The sounds of all our voices, the music and the words all playing and creating together, well, it's left me speechless to be honest, which is a first. Amy, Swansea
Your singing voice takes me to a place where love exists. Can't wait for your CD! Phil, Swansea
What a wonderful, fun, inspiring, beautiful evening with Louise, doing Kirtan chanting and singing. I absolutely loved every minute of it. I sang to my hearts content and it smiled back at me. What a glowing feeling this has left me with. Thank you Louise and all who were gathered there tonight. The sounds of all our voices, the music and the words all playing and creating together, well, it's left me speechless to be honest, which is a first. Amy, Swansea
Your singing voice takes me to a place where love exists. Can't wait for your CD! Phil, Swansea
Yoga in Swansea, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire - call 07917 724983 for more details
