Cathy Johanson

 Cathy Johanson (Ananda) has studied and is a practicing Bhakti Yogini (The yoga of devotion) for over 12 years. Her kirtans are an upbeat and semitraditional style with a nice warm meditative buzz. She leads Kirtan throughout the year at such places as;  Woodstock Yoga, Key To Joy, Yoga Monkey and Namaste Yoga. She has accompanied Kirtan leaders at Kripalu and Omega, has played Kirtan for special events and celebrations, opened For Wah and has performed on the Gary Goldberg radio talk show (In The Spirit) 91.5 WRPI. Cathy Johanson teaches yoga, kirtan and meditation workshops through out year.  She has also released a Kirtan Album: "Connected To Divine".The Yoga Of Devotion continues to be such a blessing.

Kirtan is the singing of God's name with feeling. Such  singing and prayer has a benign effect on both the physical and subtle bodies. Kirtan provides an excellent method of soothing the nerves and directing emotions to a positive goal. Kirtan mantras are in Sanskrit, the most ancient of human languages. It is also known as Devanagari: the language of the God's sound which is made up of vibrations and is pure energy. A Sanskrit Mantra is a mystical energy encased is a sound structure. To release the energy from the sound, we learn to repeat it as a certain rhythm. When you start repeating a Mantra, it creates a specific thought pattern. The energy literally manifests itself.  The teachings of Swami Sivananda are evoked in the practice of Kirtan with Cathy Johanson. 

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