Do, Re, Me, Fa, So, La, Tee...

Wah!performing at Bhakti Fest September 2009


Ahem...I clear my throat as I begin to write this week's thought as it's all about singing. Yes..I love to sing and have always loved to sing. I have held the vision of being on stage in front of a throng of screaming fans, firing up their lighters as we all sing the chorus to my worldwide, #1 hit song...

I have no idea what the song is, or what it's about, but the image of leading people into an elevated and altered state is intoxicating. For those of you who know me, being a rockstar remains a fantasy as my career certainly didn't take that path. Or did it?

As a child I was very shy and unwilling to speak up. The actual idea of speaking, much less singing in front of people was simple- avoid it at all costs. As I have evolved, public speaking has become something that I enjoy and embrace. The singing has taken longer.

When I didn't know much about the practice of yoga, I heard that some classes had chanting. Given my history, I thought that was something that just wasn't going to be for me. As I began to dive deeper into the study of yoga, I was at a teacher training and was introduced to this unknown world...that of chanting and kirtan (call and response). I stood in the class, with my eyes closed, hands placed at my heart in a prayer posture and listened as Deva Premal's recording of "Om Mani Padme Hum" wove its way throughout the group.

In that moment, I decided to take a chance and let her fly. I sang softly, focusing on the unfamiliar words. The instructor said to focus on the energy, the "jewel" in my heart and allow it to rise up. I began to cry. It was so primal and beautiful. So fundamental to being human...hearing and expressing the sound of my own voice through song and vibration.

It was in that moment that I fell in love with chanting. I was the "anti-chanter", fully surrending to something I thought I would never enjoy. And truthfully, I have always sung, to songs on the radio, my favorite LP's as I studied the lyrics. I sing in the shower and even louder in the car. I've turned to music when lifes challenges seem insurmountable. I've taught group exercise classes for 28 years...all to music! I was a music lover who discovered her own voice. Have you discovered yours?

I may not be fronting a rock band, but I sing every morning prior to meditation. I attend concerts, listen to Sacred Sounds radio and seek out as much "yoga" music as I can get my hands on. The more I study mantra, chanting and kirtan, the deeper the connection becomes to something that has been spoken, sung and passed down through generations. I feel that my voice is perpetuating the same vibration that was first plucked thousands of years ago, far off in India.

The greatest thing about the singing is that I don't care if I sound good or not. It not only makes me feel good and puts a smile on my face, but it reaches down and touches my soul.

So, all together now...inhale and do, re, me, fa, so, la, tee...