Providing a service

A few weeks ago I had a private lesson with my yoga teacher. I brought a list of questions to ask her that had come up for me during the YTT, and she answered them all. One of my questions was about chanting and Kirtan. Several of the YTT teachers have been singing Kirtan to us, and I have felt resistance to it. As opposed to talking about the pros and cons of Kirtan in a yoga class, my teacher encouraged an investigation into what the root of my resistance is about. I was happy to enter into that discussion. It made perfect sense to me that my harsh opinions of a yoga teacher who sings during our savasana, could be projections of my own fears about how I sometimes think I appear when I am singing with my band on stage. Since I can change my own thoughts and actions, and not the actions of someone else, it is best for me in this case to focus on myself.

Without getting into exactly what my opinions of the Kirtan-singing-yoga-teachers were, or the psychology that we uncovered, I will share the advice my teacher gave me for my musical performances. She encouraged me to set an intention for my performance before we start our set of songs at every gig. Just like we set an intention at the beginning of a yoga class, and then remind ourselves of the intention throughout the class. She said that when I sing, I am providing a service to the audience. People come to see live music because they enjoy it, it soothes them, it heals them, or it makes them feel expressed. For anyone who is listening, I am giving them the gifts of our music. I am sharing my voice and songs.

On Friday night my band performed at The Hotel Utah bar in San Francisco. During our sound check, I talked with my bandmates about our devotion to our music and how performing is providing a service to the audience and to each other. I said we are opening up our hearts, and giving to each other and the audience from our hearts. For whoever would be listening, I would be singing to them and that is one of the greatest gifts that I have to give.

My bandmate said that he felt grounded after our talk. I felt grounded, too. I felt good, inspired, secure and optimistic. The performance went well. I was able to maintain the intention of GIVING and SERVICE. It helped a lot! I felt connected to my bandmates, to the people in the room, and I felt grateful to be there and to be a part of the expression. This is an example of how tools learned through yoga can be applied to other parts of life.