Sing Your Heart Out in Paris

For Kirtan junkies and those new to the practice, July is going to be loud

Hot singing, hot lips © Design + Know-How

When was the last time you sang, full-throated, at the top of your lungs? For fun? The shower doesn’t count 😜

There is something deeply satisfying about singing with a group of people. Whether it’s the national anthem before a sporting event (Allez les Bleus! Let’s go Giants!) or chanting Om at the beginning of a yoga class, the sensation of contributing to — and being enveloped by — radiating waves of sound is elemental.

Singing is “just like talking, except longer and louder, and you move your voice up and down.” —Buddy the Elf

And of all the types of singing, Kirtan may be the simplest as it begins with call-and-response. No lyric sheets to memorize, no melodies to know off the bat, no need to even be in tune. You follow the guide’s¹ words and sounds, and repeat them back, again and again, in wave after wave of vibrations. Kirtan is a form of yoga, and is thought to incite feelings of devotion (bhakti) and create the same sense of calm as a meditation or yoga session.

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After the jump: two mega Kirtan events and a selection of Paris studios that host more budget-friendly Kirtans on a regular basis if you’re looking for weekly sing-a-longs 🎶