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May 13-15
Spring Ecstatic Chant
Awakening the Heart of Joy

Course 1102-626/Tuition $325

Celebrate spring with a weekend of inspiring musical prayer. Known in India as kirtan (Sanskrit for “devotional chanting”), the call-and-response, rhythmic quality of these unifying prayers kindles a joyful mood and can lead to profound states of deep meditation. In India, kirtan is accepted as one of the surest paths to enlightenment.

Gathering together with harmonious rhythms and sacred chants, we experience divine inspiration and infuse our heart center with the safety to open, trust, and heal so we can truly give and receive love.

Join us as we sing a variety of traditional and new chants in an array of chanting styles, accompanied by contemporary and ancient instruments, including the harmonium and tabla—standards in Indian classical music.

This ninth annual program is a spring version of Omega’s Labor Day weekend.

Program ends Sunday at 12:30 p.m. Performers are subject to change.

Performers (see the complete list of performers)

Wah! blends a seductive spiritual sound with a unique mix of pop, world music, reggae, and yogic traditions. Her many CDs include Love Holding Love and The Greatest Yoga Music Ever. Over more than 10 years, Wah! has developed a large, dedicated following. wahmusic.com

Russill Paul, a musician, teacher, and author of The Yoga of Sound, pioneered the understanding of yoga’s sonic aspects in the United States 25 years ago. He combines years of mantra training in India as a monk and yogi and has published several mantra CDs, including Mantra Magic. russillpaul.com

Shimshai is a California-based, internationally touring musician with a wide variety of styles and influences. He has opened for Joan Baez and shared the stage with artists such as Michael Franti, David Grisman, Mickey Hart, Jai Uttal, Ram Dass, Deepak Chopra, Bhagavan Das, and many other gifted musicians. shimshai.com

Gina Salá is a vocalist, composer, teacher, and kirtan leader with a repertoire spanning 23 languages. Her performance credits include Cirque du Soleil, the United Nations, and more. With warmth, humor, and devotion, she offers Indian classical singing, Sanskrit, stories, and tantric sound in classes, CDs, kirtans, and retreats. ginasala.com

Sheela Bringi sings and plays the Indian classical bansuri (bamboo) flute, harmonium, and harp. She has trained extensively in north Indian classical music traditions over the past 15 years and has studied with masters and renowned jazz faculty at the California Institute of the Arts. shebrings.com

SRI Kirtan (Sruti Ram and Ishwari) have performed at many national chant festivals, including Spring and Fall Ecstatic Chants at Omega, and they have harmonized with Jai Uttal, C.C. White, Shyamdas, Gaura Vani, and many others. SRI Kirtan’s second CD, Live Your Love, reached #10 on the Billboard World Music Chart. srikirtan.com