Music Review: Kirtan: Yoga for the Heart by Ryan Brewer

Artist, musician, and teacher Ryan Brewer’s debut album transcends genres and generates a universal love that is felt from the moment you hit play.  His devotional voice is a perfect match for the catchy melodies that allow listeners to learn after only the first or second repletion of the mantras.

After years as a personal trainer, Ryan developed his personal yoga practice and began incorporating yoga into his clients’ programs.  Eventually, he began teaching yoga, and faced his fear of singing in public.  His love of the path of bhakti —kirtan and chanting — shines through on every track here.

“Gopala” is a stand out track.  Beginning from the potent energy of the first notes of the flute, the music builds into a powerful crescendo.  A soul-driven version of “Funky Ram” is the best kind of soul food and a variety of tender moments and raw emotions are evoked in a particularly soft version of “Jai Ma,” featuring Erinn Selkiss.  Beloved teacher and kirtan artist Govind Das lends his talents on the sweet “Rama Bolo” as well as a beautiful rendition of the universal mantra “Hallelujah.”  A true soul rising occurs from the effect of the vocal layers combined with harmonium, strings and rare percussion beats.

Ryan Brewer can be heard singing live every Tuesday at 6:30pm at Bhakti Yoga Shala in Santa Monica.

Ashley Wynn

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Early on, Wynn studied and taught at Bhakti Yoga Shala and opened her home to friends for ongoing “Share-tan” or informal call-and-response kirtan sing-alongs. She returns to SoCal to continue to be a joyous participant at Bhakti and Shakti Fests. In this, her debut album, she collaborates with a number of her LA-based teachers, mentors, and fellow practitioners whose voices and sounds weave together with a sense of smooth devotion.

The tracks on the album alternate between traditional Sanskrit mantras, such as “Aum Namo Bhagavate” and “Namah Shivaya,” and the English-language “Love is the Answer.” The commonality they all share is Wynn’s slightly breathy, yet deeply loving, voice that reveals her dedication to the practice in its subtlety, melody, and unabashed charm.

In “Loka,” an arrangement of the traditional Loka Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu mantra, Wynn and friends break into a chorus of “I’m so grateful for my friends,” a sentiment echoed by many of us who share our practice with others. Wynn’s release, Love is the Answer, expresses this beautifully and abundantly.

Felicia M. Tomasko

Felicia Tomasko has spent more of her life practicing Yoga and Ayurveda than not. She first became introduced to the teachings through the writings of the Transcendentalists, through meditation, and using asana to cross-train for her practice of cross-country running. Between beginning her commitment to Yoga and Ayurveda and today, she earned degrees in environmental biology and anthropology and nursing, and certifications in the practice and teaching of yoga, yoga therapy, and Ayurveda while working in fields including cognitive neuroscience and plant biochemistry. Her commitment to writing is at least as long as her commitment to yoga. Working on everything related to the written word from newspapers to magazines to websites to books, Felicia has been writing and editing professionally since college. In order to feel like a teenager again, Felicia has pulled out her running shoes for regular interval sessions throughout Southern California. Since the very first issue of LA YOGA, Felicia has been part of the team and the growth and development of the Bliss Network.

www.blissnetwork.com

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