About the experience
Kirtan Collective Heart-Jam is an opportunity to build skills to draw upon for your at-home devotional chanting practice and/or confidence for the possibility of eventual sharing of music and mantra with others. It is also a space for those who already carry musical confidence to do more of what they love and support the up-and-comers.
Instrumental to Centre of You's schedule of offerings are regular Kirtan events. Over time the intention is to build a bank of musicians that arise from within the jam community and deliver opportunities to play within the devotional bands of COY.
Note: this gathering is offered for the Centre of You community at no cost. As it is capped to keep the learning environment intimate and manageable please cancel your spot if you decide to no longer join so someone else can take your place.
What to expect
Heart-Jam will resemble the vibe of a rehearsal. Stop, start, feedback, discussion, etc. While there will be call and response elements, this is not a Kirtan event.
We will drop-in with warm-up exercises before flowing through a semi-structured heart-jam. Chords/words will be provided. You may have an opportunity to lead if you choose with the aid of amplification of your voice and/or instrument. Hearing your voice and/or instrument amplified from the delivery vantage point of facing kirtan responders is a practice in accumulating self-confidence for the possibility of eventual kirtan leadership.
We will bring into our common language the acknowledgment of arising energies such as nervousness, changes to breathing patterns and narratives of the inner-self when exploring the action of sharing self with visibility. Herin will lie an opportunity for self-regulation practices and being energetically held by community support.
What to bring?
Firstly, your voice! If that is all you have know that is perfect and more than enough. If you do have a relevant instrument such as a harmonium, guitar, ukelele, tabla, sitar, tambourine, djembe, etc bring it along. There are plenty of percussion-type instruments available for you to use at Centre of You such as sticks, drums and shakers.
About your faciltator: Grace Elizabeth
You will be guided through this experience by founder and director of Centre of You, Grace Elizabeth. Sharing song was instrumental to Grace's identity in her high school days as captain of her school choir, Stacella, an acappela choir centred around tribal, world and devotional music. During Shamanic Breathwork training in 2019, Grace found immediate resonance with the practice of shamanic/medicine drumming and chanting. Drum chants led her into mantra chanting where she fell in deep resonance with kirtan (devotional call and response singing) which led her into singing heartsongs. Grace is continuing her journey towards reclaiming and regaining trust, acceptance and love for her voice predominantly through the devotional route of kirtan after shutting it down for two decades. Upon this personal journey she has come to the realisation that the desire to befriend one's voice, spoken or sung, is a collectively shared one.
Things to note:
Centre of You has plenty of bolsters, blankets, and cushions for you to get cosy with. We recommend wearing comfortable, loose clothes to enable deep breathing and sitting/laying upon the floor with ease. A journal is recommended as are any familiar personal items that will aid you in feeling grounded (crystal, teddy, scarf, etc).
Arrival: Endeavour to arrive between 4:15pm - 4:30pm. We ask that you find understanding and consideration for the timebound nature of the container and make every effort to arrive on time.
Driving: Know Centre of You is on Chapel St and ample time to find a car spot is best to be factored into your plans. Park in Anchor Place, the open-air parking lot in the side street that runs opposite Centre of You (unmetered after 4pm).
Public transport - tram: Both the number 6 tram & 78 tram stop on the corner of High St/Chapel St. This is stop 31 on the number 6 tram (Moreland/Glen Iris) & stop 45 on the number 78 tram (North Richmond/Balaclava).
Public transport - tram: Both the number 6 tram & 78 tram stop on the corner of High St/Chapel St. This is stop 31 on the number 6 tram (Moreland/Glen Iris) & stop 45 on the number 78 tram (North Richmond/Balaclava).
Public transport - train: Both Prahran & Windsor stations along the Sandringham Line will get you walking distance to Centre of You.
Finding Centre of You: Centre of You is nestled within the arcade that Chapel St Bazaar is in (217 Chapel St). It is up a flight of stairs with a wide landing at the half-way-point. Unfortunately, this current version of Centre of You does not have a wheelchair accessible lift. If you could use support in getting up the stairs or would like to discuss ways to make your experience at Centre of You more comfortable, please reach out via grace@centreofyou.com.au or via DM over on Centre of You Instagram.
Accessibility: At COY we aim to ensure our community and events are inclusive and accessible while alongside upholding the needs and responsibilities of our business.
This gathering is offered for the Centre of You community at no cost. As it is capped to keep the learning environment intimate and manageable please cancel your spot if you decide to no longer join so someone else can take your place.
Questions? Email grace@centreofyou.com.au or reach out via Instagram DM.
Tickets: FREE EVENT. Register via Eventbrite below.