Blog
Sheela Bringi: A Lifetime of Evolving the Indian Traditions of Mantra, Music & Bhakti
A Heartfelt Exchange on the Power of Sound and Tradition
In this episode of Mantras for Peace: A Widsom Gathering, Anandra joyfully welcomes Sheela Bringi, a musician, teacher, and “lineage keeper” of sacred sound traditions from India. Over the years, Sheela has dedicated herself to preserving the wisdom of these traditions while breathing new life into them in America.
Sheela Bringi, MFA, is a sacred music artist and educator. She is faculty at Naropa University in Boulder, CO, where she teaches courses in Indian Devotional and RÄga Singing. She is a...
Om or Aum? How to Chant Primordial Sound for 14 Mantra Yoga Therapy Benefits!
Chanting OM in a yoga class or kīrtan is practically ubiquitous. Everyone chants OM all the time, it seems! It's certainly the most well-known mantra.
But are you one of those (many!) folks who shyly mumbles along,
not really sure what you're supposed to do or how you should be feeling?
Or are you one of those chant lovers who thrills at the chance to tune into this potent, primal sound and lets it ring through their bodies with full resonance before you dissolve back into spacious silence and peace, becoming fully attuned and aligned with your whole self in JUST....
Mantra Therapy First Aid Kit: Sound Therapy Survival Skills Everyone Should Know!
Just the other day a student in the most outrageously horrible situation I've ever heard (worse than a TV drama!) called to GUSH about how the Heart of Sound skills had changed their life and made it possible for them to navigate it with awareness, responsiveness, and grace.
In contrast, I've also seen situations devolve into unnecessarily tragic outcomes because people didn't have these simple sound survival skills that we teach in the Sound Yoga Training Course.
This Mantra Therapy First Aid: Masterclass is my effort to distill the MOST...
The Healing Power of the Medicine Buddha Mantra
I feel in love with Tibetan mantras on my first trip to the HimÄlayas in 1997. I trekked (in plastic sandals, silly 19-year-old me!) to Namche Bazaar then to the Tyangboche monastery. There I was blessed with an audience with the 80+ year old Rinpoche Tyangboche and his gaze, his voice, cut straight through the fuzz in my chaotic mind.
I felt, for the first time, the clear still infinity that is the result of a long-time sound-based meditation practice. It inspired me from then on to make inner knowledge my priority (over other "normal" goals like partnership,...
Why Are Mantras Chanted 108 Times?
Have you ever wondered why mantras are traditionally repeated 108 times? In all of my years of teaching Sanskrit mantra meditation to beginners and at workshops & festivals all over the world, this is one of my most common frequently asked questions. Normally, I just say that "it's traditional" because to delve into all of the reasons why mantras are changed 108 times is kinda nerdy, and to some people, kinda woo-woo! (And I like to keep things fact-based, evidence-based, and rational when I'm working with the therapeutic power of sound and mantra.)
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Signs You're in a Cult and How to Leave (and Heal Yourself)
Unfortunately I see A LOT of people in the wellness/yoga/spiritual world exhibiting cultish behavior (not to mention in American politics!) and it seems to be getting only worse and more widespread.
I was about to publish this blog today and happened upon a Facebook post by a friend Barbara Bones. It was so well put I'm copying it here:
A cult is a great devotion to a person, idea, object, or movement.
High on Kirtan? The Good Drugs our Brains Make When we Chant with Dave Stringer
The Neuroscience of Kirtan Chanting
I had a lovely conversation with Dave, who is a Grammy nominated producer, musician, songwriter and Kirtan leader. He explains the good drugs our brains make when we chant, whether we believe in it or not.
Dave Stringer, a Grammy-nominated producer, musician, and songwriter, is widely recognized as a leading voice in the modern Yoga movement, including sound healing, mantra chanting, and nÄda yoga. As both a captivating singer and profound public speaker, he merges the worlds of neuroscience, yoga philosophy, and art into a...
Travel Hacking Genius: Fly Free to our Kaua'i or India Retreat!
Aloha!
You may or may not know that I'm a super nerdy travel hacking geek in addition to being a mantra nerd! My sister and I got smart about it earlier this year and we've gotten 1,000,000 bonus miles between us, just by spending what we normally would on our lives and businesses.
Maybe you've got money flowing in abundance (yay you!) but if you're like most people (like me anyway!) and want to do your favorite things but have to be careful about finances, I want to turn you onto the FIRE community and the concept of travel hacking.
I already feel like I'm winning...
Panchakarma in India: What to Expect for your Ayurveda Detox Treatments
I’ve done pancha karma in India several times over the past 15 years. In this post, I tell you a bit about what getting panchakarma in India is *actually* like, and how to prepare for your Ayurvedic treatments in India.
Since I've lived in India on and off since 1997, one of the questions I get from people who want to learn nada yoga and mantra with me -- who know have gotten several panchakarma Ayurveda treatments in India and countless Ayurvedic massages -- are:
"Where should I go for the best panchakarma in India?"
"What is panchakarma in India like"...
Chanting for Peace in the Middle East: Can Sound Healing Help?
I attended a memorial for the victims of the October 7 Hamas attack last night, and it was REALLY good to be with community and feel the ripples of pain and prayers and hope for peace.
It’s easy to become numb and overwhelmed by the staggering numbers and each human being’s story is so… human. Shutting down is an evolutionary efficiency mechanism to enable us to survive, and I forgive myself that luxury sometimes.*
Right now I have friends, students, and friends of friends who died at Nova, who have fled Gaza, Northern Israel, and Lebanon, who are...
