Cynthia Snodgrass has devoted herself to the sacred sounds of Sanskrit, having trained extensively at the American Sanskrit Institute, where she is the Senior Instructor, and at Harvard University. She is founder of the Sacred Sound Institute, dedicated to education and advocacy concerning the spiritually therapeutic benefits of sacred sound and music.  She is author of The Sonic Thread: Sound as a Pathway to Spirituality and producer/artist on Waters from the Son/Moon: An Altar of Sound and Dream Chants, CDs that combine Gregorian chant from the West and Sanskrit chants from the East. She has recently inititated the Essential Sanskrit Series (Vol. I Essential Sanskrit for Yoga Posture Pronunciation; Vol. II Sanskrit Prayers and Invocations).

Workshop: Applying the Healing Sounds of Sanskrit

The ancient sacred language of Sanskrit is the language of mantra, yoga, and healing. Many of the world's scriptures that concentrate on consciousness and healing are chanted in Sanskrit, and were orally transmitted through this vibratory medium.

Through careful alignment with these sounds, directed through proper placement, the vibratory qualities of Sanskrit can have a profound affect on the body, on the emotions, and on the spirit. Awareness of this practice refines your inner hearing, aligns the energy fields around you, and thus, increases your ability to produce these sounds for healing purposes.

Awareness of the subtleties of even the simplest sounds can increase your ability to perceive how these sounds are made and how, when chanted, they can bring healing and alignment to others. An ancient and sacred practice, the chanting of Sanskrit continues to transmit its ability to heal, to soothe, to energize, and to align us today.

Goal: To deepen your awareness of the sounds of Sanskrit and refine your chanting of mantra.

Learning Objectives:

 · Understand the correct placement of the sounds of the Sanskrit alphabet,

· Align the body's energy fields through the chanting of mantra, and

· Refine your inner hearing with the awareness of how the sounds of Sanskrit can bring healing and alignment to you and to others.