At Vinyasa Arts, we pride ourselves on the diversity of our classes and our instructors. As the studio has evolved over the last few years, we have added a number of new and innovative classes to the existing schedule. One of the latest offerings is the Thursday evening Gentle Flow with Shantaya. If you have not had the opportunity to attend this amazing class, you owe it to yourself to check it out. It can best be described as a mixture of Vinyasa Flow and Yin postures, combined with Kirtan chanting, while accompanied by live music. It is a fantastic blend of different elements that Shantaya weaves together into a unique Yoga experience.
Bhakti Yoga is known as the Yoga of devotion. It is an incredibly broad term that is open to interpretation. It can involve chanting, singing, live music, art, storytelling, dancing, or really any expression of human emotion or thought. It is a more spiritual type of Yoga. It incorporates Hindu mythology. There is less emphasis on the asana or the physical movement. It is more about connecting to the divine through other forms of human expression.
When I first got into Yoga, my motivation was to get into better physical shape. I viewed it as a form of exercise. I wasn’t really seeking any deeper spiritual meaning in my life. Coming from that perspective, I initially viewed Bhakti Yoga with some skepticism. To be honest, I didn’t see the point of chanting in Sanskrit, nor did I really want to learn more about Hindu deities. I was okay with the occasional OM at the end of a class, but I had no desire to delve any deeper into the spiritual aspects of Yoga.
I think that Bhakti Yoga is something you have to experience before you can truly appreciate it. It is kind of like going to a Grateful Dead concert or standing up on a surfboard for the first time. It is not an experience that you can properly articulate to an outsider. My initiation to this form of Yoga happened very recently. I attended a concert at Vinyasa Arts by Shantaya and the Radiant Soul Band. Their set consisted of songs based on Sanskrit chants which they blended with some more contemporary music. It was one of the more unique shows I have had the pleasure of attending. At some point during their performance, I had that Eureka moment where everything clicked into place. I got what it was about. I felt the powerful energy that comes from chanting. I was speaking the same words that have been said by millions of others over thousands of years of human history. I experienced a connection to the music and the performers and to every other person in the room that night. I felt that I truly understood Bhakti Yoga.
Shantaya’s Thursday night class takes that same Bhakti experience and adds movement to it. In her words, “it is more of a work-in than a workout.” It starts off with chanting, it moves into a Vinyasa Flow, it transitions into some Yin postures, and it ends with collective singing accompanied by a live Harmonium performance. If that last part sounds intimidating, don’t worry. Shantaya creates an atmosphere where everyone is encouraged to participate regardless of their vocal skills. I’m tone-deaf, I lack range, my voice is completely monotone, and I am horrified of singing in front of others. Despite all of those shortcomings, I really enjoy the singing part of her class.
If you want to experience Shantaya’s class for yourself, it is held every Thursday night at 7 pm at Vinyasa Arts. We are also hoping to get her full band back to the studio soon for another night of incredible music. Once the next date is set, we will post it on our website. Keep checking back for that as well as all the other cool workshops and events we have coming up.
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