Hanuman Happy Birthday

My little baby is ONE year old!  It's so unbelievable.  What a beautiful, strange, exhilarating, exhausting, frightening, joyous, thrilling, phenomenal year it has been.  The best of my life and without question the most transformative.

She dances and loves to look at the world upside down (she does a LOT of baby downward dog).  She giggles and laughs all the time and has a real sense of humor already.  The world and everything in it is completely amazing and amusing to her.   I could not be more grateful or feel more blessed to be celebrating this huge milestone and the magic of this beautiful little being that has come into our world.

Speaking of magic and beautiful beings, I really love Hanuman. He's always been one of my favorites in Hinduism.  Often known as the "Monkey God," he helps out his BFF Rama when Rama's wife Sita is kidnapped.  But, beyond loyalty and devotion, I really like that Hanuman has no idea of how powerful he actually is.  The son of a wind God, he has to be reminded of his magic and strength (by a bear).  And then he uses that power to help those he loves, powerfully leaping across the Indian ocean to find Sita and bringing back medicines for Rama's dying brother.   He may not be overtly the sharpest tool in the shed (there are some funny moments in the Ramayana that point to this), but Hanuman is the one you want having your back.  He is genuine, loyal and I mean, come on...he's a monkey!

And speaking of monkeys, if you continue through Daniel Tucker's lessons, you'll find that in addition to squirrels playing guitar, his wardrobe also includes (drumbeat....) sock monkeys playing guitar!   I think I am as intrigued to keep up with the lessons for his whimsical fashion as I am learning the harmonium! :)  

After a few weeks of learning and practicing all the scales, sarghams, learning the basics, I ventured into the actual kirtan chants last night.  My very first song I chose was Babu Hanuman, from Krishna Das' album. It is so beautiful - the melody speaks of a long standing devotion.

Last night after Bodhi went to sleep, I was able to begin playing this for the first time (about 3 minutes into the video is the section I am learning).  It felt truly exhilarating. I still am shy and unsure about my voice (embracing my non singing voice is a whole other scary, but liberating aspect to this journey) but I am working on it and just trying to let the truth and the light shine through.

Harmonium History - First Lessons

Oh, how I love this instrument! My lifelong love of piano has easily transmitted to this beautiful, compact little Indian gem.  Except one of the first things I've learned in taking my Kirtan lessons is that the harmonium is actually a European instrument and not originally Indian.  It was made as a tiny organ (standing with foot bellows instead of on the floor) in Denmark and Paris, used mostly in churches.  The British brought it with them to India and the Indians loved it so much, they made it their own, putting it on the floor and nixing the foot bellows for hand ones instead.

The harmonium became so popular among folk singers and musicians that trained Indian classical musicians banned the instrument because they felt it wasn't "refined" and sophisticated enough.  This division caused the harmonium to be used prominently in kirtan (worship) and that's why it became one of the main instruments used and associated with yogic chant!   So fascinating!

So far, I am really impressed with Daniel Tucker's lessons.  I had originally wanted to go to Kripalu and take his training, but the timing right now just won't allow that, so his online courses at the Bhakti Breakfast Club are just perfect for me.   Every night after Bodhi goes to sleep, I take a lesson or two.  So far, I've completed three courses, each with several lessons a piece.  I really like Daniel's teaching style (and especially that he wears t-shirts with squirrels playing guitar on them).  He is the kind of teacher I'd want to have locally if I could, so I feel grateful that I found this alternative.

The last thing I must mention - the sharp Ma (what we know as F Sharp) was banned in medieval times because its sound was so menacing, church authorities were certain it was the Devil's note.  Church composers were forbidden from using it in any of their music.  This is why in the history of western music, you don't have a lot of F sharps!   I love it.

And I love the harmonium and getting to know it.  I'm still such a newbie to it, but feel like I'm slowly becoming acquainted with it and can't wait to learn some real Kirtan songs and someday share them with others in my yoga classes.   If you're reading this, I'd like to ask you to think about an instrument you'd like to learn and why.  What's stopping you?

Yogawoman

I just watched Yogawoman - this wonderful documentary by Kate McIntyre.   For some reason, in all my research and reading on Yoga over the last 20 years, I have somehow just now become aware that there are all these great documentaries on Yoga out there!   I watched "Enlighten Up" a couple of years ago with the excitement of a kid on Christmas, so thrilled that an entire movie was filmed about Yoga!  I loved all the interviews with the teachers the most.

This was one of the reasons I loved Yogawoman - the one on ones with well known and respected teachers like Sharon Gannon, Angela Farmer, Seane Corn, Patricia Walden, Sianna Sherman, Nischala Joy Devi, and my favorite, of course, Shiva Rea.   Oh, how I wish I could just have the time and money to go study with ALL of them!

The documentary did a great job of illustrating the power of yoga in a woman's life and how it carries her through all of the stages - puberty, motherhood, menopause, etc.  I loved how they showed women in their 80s and 90s doing yoga, women who were cancer survivors, etc.  One of the most inspiring scenes to me was the teaching in the women's prison.  The way the one woman described how much yoga gave her and how when anyone got upset or angry, they'd do their OMs and feel so much better.  It really moved me, how they could find that power within themselves through Yoga.

Yoga just isn't a tool, it's a whole toolbox - a 5,000 year old, layered, dog-eared, myriad, tapestry of goodies to choose from.  The toolbox never empties, is always replenishing, always full of new ways to understand, be and learn.  There are so many ways to be a Yogi!

Hare Hare Harmonium

The package from India arrived all wrapped in shiny purple paper with tiny flowers, like the gift wrap of a really great seven year old's birthday party.   I set it down in the kitchen and began tearing off the packaging and after about a half hour of cutting through about ten layers of tape, cardboard, styrofoam and protective packaging (I am definitely impressed with the thoroughness and consideration to keep this baby safe on its journey from Delhi to Ohio), I could finally see the top exposed. A wooden rectangle, it looked like a shiny bald head still surrounded by the white styrofoam.  With this reveal, my speed increased - I couldn't wait to get this thing free!  I finally got the last bit of packaging loose and lifted the rectangle shaped instrument up out, a waft of sandalwood hitting my nostrils.  I set it in my lap, in awe of its beauty and potential.  After years of desiring a harmonium and months and months of research, asking fellow harmonium musicians question after question and online comparison shopping, I had finally become the proud owner of my own brand new shiny harmonium!

But I had absolutely no idea where to begin with it.   After I figured out how to open it (which took longer that I'd like to admit), I pressed down the middle C key and pulled in the bellows for the first time.   Urrrrrrrrr......  I smiled so big!  I was so excited! I spent about an hour just getting to know it on my own, playing a few keys and making up a little song, but realized quickly that just because I play piano doesn't mean I can't benefit from some specific instruction on this wondrously different instrument.

It came with a free (an aptly titled) "How to play Harmonium" booklet.  I sat down with the harmonium next to me and looked through it, but since the majority of it is in Sanskrit and it looks like it was printed in 1984, I knew my next step was to find a more modern, accessible instruction.   (Though I did find it very amusing that at the end of the book were several western sheet music pages for what were described as "popular songs."  These included Red Temperton's Baby, Come to Me, The Bangles' Eternal Flame and a random David Lynch song from the Twin Peaks soundtrack. So, I was right on it being made in the 80s.)

I had researched the Bhakti Breakfast Club at Kirtan Central awhile back and watched a few of the introductory videos.   I had first heard of Daniel Tucker through his Kirtan workshops at Kripalu when I was there.  I had thought that perhaps I could attend one weekend intensive, but with the baby and work, I knew that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.   So, here are several courses he teaches all online.  I signed up and am ready to go!   Ever the academic nerd, I can't wait to see what I learn!