Daniel Stewart
If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out
“MUSIC IS ONE OF THE FIRST WAYS that we worshipped God,” says Daniel Stewart, co-owner, with Claire Hartley, of Rising Lotus Yoga in Sherman Oaks. “The emotional vibrations of sound speak directly to our soul.” A Yoga teacher, retreat facilitator, kirtan leader and life counselor working in private practice, Daniel shares the powerful heartbased components of Yoga and music in his classes and kirtan (devotional, call-and-response singing) events.
“In this practice of focusing on a mantra [sacred syllable] and singing joyfully, we are led away from thinking, back to feeling and embodied awareness. Really, the only way we know anything essential is through the body and the powerful feelings that rise in the realm of our heart, not our head.” According to Daniel, the practice of Bhakti Yoga (Yoga of devotion) is considered to be the most immediate pathway to this experience of union with the divine aspect of our psyche and self.
Bhakti Yoga, as described in the Narada Bhakti Sutra, is the thread of love that binds the heart of the devotee to divine consciousness or God, as Daniel explains. Kirtan, an ancient form of devotional chanting, is a vehicle to this union. Chanting divine names inspires the ability to live with an experience of feeling grounded in the moment while simultaneously encouraging profound heart opening, ultimately facilitating what Daniel sees as a desired goal: experiencing our natural state of wholeness.
“Bhakti and music together create a state of ego surrender, where we effortlessly experience the inherent wholeness of the psyche and rest in our natural state of bliss,” Daniel describes.
The effectiveness of this is evident in kirtan’s massive current popularity “Even during this economic downturn,” Daniel says, “Yoga and kirtan are exploding. The feeling of community and unity grows as we resonate with the archetypal energies in mythology sung as mantra…these stories symbolize our inner dance to reconcile the powerful energies at work in our own psyches.”
Daniel utilizes music, song and voice to draw students in – to the practice and to themselves – at the beginning of a class. Aside from its ability to still the mind and return a practitioner to the present moment, Daniel honors kirtan for its healing abilities in his own life and the lives of his students.
“As I developed my personal practice and my work as a life counselor and teacher, no matter which lens I looked through – my studies in Carl Jung’s work of depth psychology, Eastern wisdom traditions, ecstatic poetry or Yoga – I saw that we all long for the freedom from suffering that only occurs when we embrace ALL the split-off aspects of our selves. We are called to connect, again and again, with our vital life-force as it cries out for expression.”
“The musical meditation of kirtan is a powerful way to experience this profound healing and transformation in an immediate, embodied way.”
Daniel was initially uncertain about how to integrate his love of music and his practice. Insecure about his singing voice he realized that his own faith in the process he taught needed to be his touchstone as he explored his own truth. “I loved singing so much, that I knew I had to embrace the practice despite my doubt. When we surrender our fear in the service of growth, we allow the wisdom of the unconscious to come through us as teachers. Then there is nothing to judge about the individual voice or leader, only the bhav or bhakti rising in the ecstatic communion of the group”
“Here’s the thing,” explains Daniel. “I was led because I followed. The ecstatic poet Rumi said that if we follow what we love, it would lead us home to our selves. I was always called to music, so I followed it. Yoga became a saving grace for me because it was the embodiment of spirit, and during a difficult stage in my life, depth psychology opened my eyes to the powerful autonomous archetypal energies of the unconscious. The more I surrendered to the call of my truth in the integration of these practices, the more I had to let go of my ego. This led me to my path. It might not have been the path I expected, but it is so much more beautiful than what I could have imagined.” Finding joy in these moments and trusting the universe gave Daniel the courage to share his voice.
“My teacher Jai Uttal reminds me that the goal is to get out of the way,” Daniel explained of his singing. “If you open up and become transparent, something arrives from the unconscious. For me, it was the courage to finally have faith in my voice as a vehicle for transformation.”
The creation of Rising Lotus is another vehicle for transformation and expression of Daniel’s voice. At the studio, Daniel’s gentle masculine spirit and musical expression joined with Claire Hartley’s feminine shakti and her gifts as director of teacher training to make the studio part of a vibrant community, contributing to the lifting energy in the valley. Rising Lotus, celebrating its third year, has recently added a second asana room and is flourishing. Even when Daniel’s not singing, the walls hold the vibration of the sacred sound.
“The music brings joy, not only to my students, but to me. I bathe in it when I am singing; feeling the gift of this music and the community it creates. I ask myself how all of this could be happening? And then stop and say, ‘Yes, let it happen!’”
Daniel Stewart leads retreats and teaches at Rising Lotus Yoga in Sherman Oaks where he celebrates kirtan regularly: risinglotusyoga.com.
When not sitting at her computer writing, jamming in the SoCal music scene, or practicing Yoga, Lori Denman is frequently seen on a surfboard, inhaling the salt air, and riding the waves.