I love kirtan, but when I was new to the practice it alienated me. I didn’t start practicing yoga to find a new religion, so chanting the names of deities I knew nothing about felt awkward. I recently wrote an article for Inner Fire about non-religious chants teachers can use to be inclusive of all yogis:

So much of the kirtan and mantra chants presented in some yoga classes call upon Hindu deities. These chants are inspiring and evocative for those they resonate with, but they may exclude yogis committed to different religions or to non-religion.

When I chant the mantras I discuss in this article, they remind me of the teachers I learned them from and of the other lessons they taught me. Om shanti shanti shanti and Om mani padme hum were the first and last chants I learned in my yoga teacher training with Shakti Mhi. She made yoga philosophy accessible to me and guided me into a practice beyond only movement, breath, and focus. Asato Maa Sad-Gamaya reminds me of my mentor, Les Leventhal, leading this chant in his deep baritone voice at the end of a delicious, sweaty vinyasa class. He taught me how to sense, explore, and embody the principles of yoga on and off the mat. Lam vam ram yam ham om reminds me of a healing practice I did with Diego Del Sol when my body was profoundly misaligned. He is the only teacher I know who watches students carefully during pranayama and provides detailed feedback about the quality of their breath. His teaching supported me in feeling like there was still a place for me in public yoga classes when I had to heavily modify my asana practice. Lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu is chanted in one of my favorite songs on a kirtan album one of my students recommended to me when she got tired of me playing MC Yogi all the time. Chanting it reminds me that my students are some of my wisest teachers.

Read more about these chants in my article over at Inner Fire.