Chanting

My yoga teacher hosts a group meditation session once a month, and this month we tried chanting, which was something new for me. We were accompanied on the harmonium, a sort of cross between an organ and an accordion, played by one of the participants.

I felt a little odd about it at first, then became more comfortable as I settled into what was essentially musical performance in an extremely unfamiliar genre. We had three men and three women, so it was a good mix of voices. I kept feeling the urge to play an instrument, since I rarely sing without one unless I'm driving. After we were done, it was very easy to settle into our usual meditation. I might have to experiment with something like this at home. All in all, a very positive experience, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I'll bet it gave my teacher's neighbors something to talk about, though, since we had the windows open and I'm sure we were clearly audible for some distance.