Sacred Voice, Dance and Frame Drumming
With Krishangi Lila, Johnny Doyle and Ziya Tabassian
“Awaken
And listen to the magic of your voice…
Let the song of your soul dance on your lips….
Let the rhythms of your heart embrace your whole being…..
And may you be carried by the wings of music
To the highest realms of Divinity.”
Join us on this journey through the landscape of your voice and rhythms to the realm of sound and movement healing.
This retreat gives you an opportunity to participate in voice healing and drumming workshop, where the voice and rhythms become the healers through song and movement. As singing and drumming is known from the ancient times as best medicine for the soul, we will enter into the sacred circle of music with discovering our voice and sacred rhythms of sufi drumming.
The participants are introduced to a deep voice work on all energy levels using voice as a healing instrument to activate 7 chakras in the body; that helps you to develop the ability to feel free in your vocal expression and discover your soulsong .
Voice carries in itself a tremendous power to heal and awaken the energies in our body and purify the mind. During the retreat you will be introduced to voice toning meditation that is a powerful and ancient form of healing which has been used for ages in order to evoke certain effects in the surroundings and in the human psyche. Toning itself is a simple process of releasing the vocal sound with a vowel ( either a , e , i , o , u ) and directing it towards a certain chakra area in the body. Each chakra corresponds to a specific vowel, tone and colour which links to a specific anatomical area of the body. By toning on certain vowels we awaken the blocked areas in our energy field and release the negative emotional patterns that has been restored there for many years.
Our body is like a symphony of sounds where every organ, vessel, cell etc has its own frequency of vibration. The main focus of this vocal work is to free one’s voice while releasing tensions from the body and opening up to the vocal sound vibration in our body.
Based on nada yoga practice, you will be taught the conscious focus on the voice movement in the body.
In vocal improvisation part one will be lead to find one’s own soulsong; song that lives inside us; song that can be accessed by deep meditations; song that appears from the silence; song that flows from the open heart; song that unites the essence of one’s being with the body.
One will be guided through prayers and meditations to connect with one’s heartsong, to connect with different elements in nature to find their song.
As song and dance go always hand in hand, then morning and evenings the body will be nourished by different movement meditations and dance mandala with Johnny Doyle.
Drumming sessions with Ziya Tabassian will teach you the power of the frame drum through the Sufi rhythms, learning basic techniques to be able to accompany yourself while singing, and expressing through improvisation.
Different kinds of frame drums will be available, but if anyone has one already, please bring your own.
The Retreat will be held by Krishangi Lila as a voice healer and singer, Ziya Tabassian as a percussionist and Johnny Doyle as a dance Mandala facilitator.
Krishangi Lila
Krishangi Lila, originally from Estonia, is a singer, songwriter and a voice healer giving sacred voice workshops all over the world.
She started her musical career as a singer of western classical and medieval music after graduating from Norwegian State Academy of Music in 2000 where she studied under Barbro Marklund.
Her musical interest changed after coming in contact with Indian spiritual practices in bhakti yoga tradition and Indian mantra singing tradition became prominent singing style in her life during those twelve years she lived in ashram in Radhadesh, in Belgium.
During last few years she has been studying Dhrupada with Gundecha Brothers in Bhopal, India. Her devotional life is reflected in her music. Mantras, bhajans (devotional songs) ,prayers from the
holy scriptures in Sanskrit and dhrupada style are the main sources of her inspiration for her compositions.
In 2008, she released her first album called “Divine Love” together with Kalindi dasi. This CD, commissioned by Bhaktivedanta College, was mainly inspired by the Holy texts of the Divine Rasa Dance from the scripture Bhagavata Purana.
Next CD will be soon released by an ethnic fusion project called “Lila” where Krishangi Lila as a singer collaborates with Jonathan Kay on esraj and saxophone and Ziya Tabassian on Sufi percussions.
As a voice healer, she is focusing on the healing aspect of the voice; how to find your natural voice and stay connected to it with its healing potencies and full resonance in your body. Her workshops offer an opportunity to work on the breathing techniques; to practice the voice toning meditation that helps one to awaken and heal the 7 chakras of the body through chanting on different vowels; to come in contact with one’s soulsong; to be guided through voice and movement meditations to the deeper healing aspects in oneself.
Since 2014 she is engaged as a teacher in harmonium and vocals in Kirtan Course at Bhaktivedanta College, Radhadesh, and has been giving voice healing courses in Estonia, Sweden, Belgium, Holland, Thailand and Taiwan.
Know more: www.krishangilila.com
Ziya Tabassian
Ziya Tabassian began playing the tombak (Iranian drum) at the age of ten. After a brief initiation period in Iran, he continued his autodidactic training in Montreal, his adopted homeland. From 1994 to 2001, he studied classical Western percussion with Julien Grégoire and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in percussion from the Université de Montréal. In 2003, during a residency at The Banff Centre for the arts, he explored the contemporary music repertoire with Iranian percussion instruments. A tireless explorer, he continues his personal research and had advanced courses with Bahman Rajabi (Teheran), Aziz Alami (Fez), Trichy Sankaran (Toronto), Mısırli Ahmet (Istanbul), Shree Sundarkumar and Yogesh Samsi (India). As a percussionist, Ziya Tabassian is professionally active in early music (medieval, Renaissance and Baroque), as well as contemporary and world music. He performs with many ensembles, including Ensemble Caprice, Regard Persan and has performed concerts in more than 40 countries in some prestigious festivals and concert halls. Ziya Tabassian has many albums to his credit on some major labels with great ensembles and artists. He recently released his second solo album, “The Circle of the Cycles”, stemming from his researches on the rhythmic cycles and new techniques on the tombak.
Krishangi Lila and Ziya Tabassian are performing together as an ethnic fusion music group called “Lila”. Their music is carrying the traits from Estonian spiritual folk music tradition, indian ragas and sufi rhtyhms on tombak or daf. At the present moment they are working on their new album in collaboration with Jonathan Kay on esraj and saxophone.
Know more: www.ziyatabassian.com
Johnny Doyle
Johnny Doyle has been involved in Movement Arts for more than 40 years, beginning with yoga, martial arts, post-modern & free style dance. Currently he lives in Thailand where he facilitates DANCEmandala sessions regularly. He’s also an advanced Rolf Structural Bodywork practitioner and loves teaching Living Anatomy for massage therapists, yogis and dancers.
Know more: http://rolfingcontracosta.com/JMD.html