Nina Rao
Tuesday, April 19, 2022
Can’t make it live? After each class, video and audio recordings are available to download and watch anytime.
Experience the transformational, heart-opening benefits of an intentional chanting practice, and receive guidance on how to create your own — to find a sanctuary of divine love within your own heart, again and again.
Chanting is the vehicle, the path, and the destination.
— Nina Rao
If it’s true that your energy flows in the direction of your intention, how do you ensure that your focus is where you want it to be?
Our lives are full of distractions that pull us away from what truly matters to us, and thrust us into stress, anxiety, and yearning for an unattainable fantasy life that lures us through television, movies, and social media.
What if the best of all possible worlds dwells within the sanctuary of your own heart...
... and you could continually find your way there through a dedicated chanting practice?
For seeker and chantress Nina Rao, it’s the disciplined and magical practice of prayer through chanting that provides an always-available place of refuge, and a vehicle to express your deepest longing for universal love.
Chanting can help you refocus and connect to yourself — to meaning — and with devotional attention, it can help you navigate the world with a sense of ease.
Join Nina on a calming, heart-opening, and musical 5-week journey, where you’ll discover how chanting can lead you back to the foundation of your being and help you recommune with what resonates authentically in your heart.
Under Nina’s guidance and her rich, soul-stirring voice — together with your co-participants — you’ll sing and chant mantra in Satsang (a community of truth-seekers) week after week...
... and along the way, she’ll demystify the practice by introducing you to the original texts from which they were born.
Nina is in a unique position to interpret the meaning of the mantra for our modern world and help you claim and personalize the practice for yourself.
Chanting and kirtan — Bhakti yoga of devotion — are part of Nina’s roots. As a child, Nina grew up chanting with her grandfather on visits to India. In their ancient origins, chant practice was always meant to be gender neutral. However, there has been a patriarchal, male-dominated takeover of the practice, and, as a result, recent generations have rebelled against it.
When she moved to the U.S. and became immersed in Western culture, she rediscovered the practice through a new, evolved lens and started singing with Krishna Das. Westerners had absorbed the Indian tradition and filtered it through the Western mind...
... incorporating the psychological and emotional impact of what a practice can do for all people.
Nina will share her depth of knowledge about what the texts can mean to you — and how they can become an integral part of your life.
She brings a traditional and yet accessible way to recite and sing... teaching you the correct pronunciation of these mantras and prayers as a way to honor the tradition and potency of the practice.
Nina explains how these prayers act as a petition to the Divine — helping you relax, enrich, and focus your inner world. They’ll guide you towards aligning with the elements of nature so you can experience the flow and grace of the Universe with a peaceful, clear, and patient mind… and an open, generous heart.
With regular practice, you can clear an energetic pathway to meet challenges in a productive and meaningful way. The divine influence of these sacred prayers have the ability to deeply permeate your being… cultivating within you the trust to say “Yes!” to life.
Nina will present the chants through a rich lens of femininity — immersing you in the textures, colors, and tones of both words and melodies.
You’ll experience a kaleidoscope of names, deities, and traditional intentions, leading to a pattern or combination that resonates for you — to cultivate and cherish as your own daily practice.
Nina will share her own relationship to practice and her journey with her guru, Sri Siddhi Ma — and how she integrates them both into her daily life.
In this powerful, musical, and highly experiential course, you’ll:
- Enjoy singing and call-and-response chants with Nina every week to experience their peaceful and joyous influence permeating your whole being
- Bathe in the mind-calming and heart-expanding benefits of a devoted chanting practice — and receive guidance to confidently create and commit to your own
- Find a sanctuary of divine love within your heart, which you can return to again and again
- Discover how to set intention by the way you present yourself to the practice, even amidst the busyness of your daily life
- Come together to pray through song — for the earth and your part in its healing
- Explore chanting as the vehicle, the path, and the destination to a more intentional life
- Learn about the origins of mantra practice to tap into the joy and wonder of this sacred tradition
- Demystify the practice of prayers and chants to make it more accessible in our modern world
- Be part of a supportive Satsang
- Learn the correct pronunciation and interpretations of the chants to honor this tradition and the potent transformation it enables
- And much more...
What You’ll Discover in These 5 Weeks
In this 5-week transformational musical journey, Nina will guide you through the fundamental skills you’ll need to experience and personalize the calming and heart-opening benefits of an intentional chanting practice — to find a sanctuary of divine love within your own heart.
The Power of Livestreaming Video
You’ll connect with Nina and experience her teachings through livestreaming video via any connected device. This connection is easy to use and will enhance the impact of Nina’s transmissions. Or you can listen to just the audio by phone.
(Can’t make it live? No worries! After each class, the video and audio recordings will be available for you to download or stream in a high-quality format at your convenience.)
Weekly Sessions Tuesdays at 5:00pm Pacific
This course will feature LIVE teachings, interactive training sessions, experiential practices, and Q&A with Nina. Each session will build harmoniously upon the previous ones, so you’ll develop a complete holistic understanding of the practices, tools, and principles you’ll need to create a daily, intentional chanting practice of your own.
Module 1: Beginning Again & Again — Mantra & Chant Practice Through Recitation & Singing (April 19)
The spiritual practices of India can be an inauguration into many interconnected ancient systems of practice.
In this opening module, Nina will warmly welcome you to the path of chanting. You’ll begin to understand the vast scope and depth of this practice — to help you express your deepest longing for love.
Through stories and images, she’ll share about her journey into this practice of chanting the divine names and mantras from the Indian Hindu tradition.
Hearing Nina’s story will help you gain more insight and confidence in finding your own path and creating a practice.
You’ll explore how each of us has our own individual spiritual path, and the way your practice will unfold isn’t always clear from the beginning. You can learn to receive clues and guidance from your inner guru each step of the way.
An important part of Nina’s path has been her relationship with her guru, Sri Siddhi Ma, and she’ll weave the wisdom she has gained from this connection throughout the course.
In this session, you’ll:
- Enjoy a session of singing call-and-response chants to calm your mind and open your heart
- Explore mantra practice and its origins to tap into the joy and wonder of this sacred tradition
- Gain clarity on the importance of having a spiritual practice in your life — and set an intention to design a daily practice to create an inner sanctuary of the heart
- Discover why chanting and mantras, especially in Sanskrit, can resonate deeply within you
Module 2: Hanuman — Bowing Down to the One Who’s Fully Surrendered (April 26)
Many people know Nina for her rendition of the Hanuman Chalisa on Krishna Das’ Flow of Grace album, as well as a variety of melodies she sings on her own album Antarayaami.
The Hanuman Chalisa is a 40-verse devotional prayer to Hanuman, which invokes his (and our) qualities of wisdom, compassion, courage, surrender, and devotion.
In this session, you’ll have the opportunity to read slowly through the Indian language Avadhi with English transliteration and review pronunciation.
Nina will share some stories from the Ramacharitmanasa — Tulsidas’ Ramayana, one of the largest ancient epics in world literature… consisting of nearly 24,000 verses. It’s referred to in the Hanuman Chalisa and the Bajrang Bān.
Both of these longform prayers are said to have been composed by the poet-saint Tulsidas. The Hanuman Chalisa is practiced far and wide and the Bajrang Bān (the arrow of the thunderbolt-body of Hanuman) often acts as a super-boost in circumstances that require you to get unstuck.
These kinds of sacred stories have been told for thousands of years, and the enduring blessings of the teachings from these stories are encapsulated in the Hanuman Chalisa and bring us into a devotional space.
You’ll also explore your inclinations in this life, as you’re being called by your inner guru.
In this module, you’ll discover:
- The experience of chanting of the Hanuman Chalisa with slow repetition — a great opportunity to refine your pronunciation
- A sense of the meaning of the Hanuman Chalisa as it pertains to Ramayana
- Why this prayer resonates with so many people, even before we know the meaning
- What the word “surrender” means in these texts and why it’s such an important part of Bhakti yoga
Module 3: Vedic Chanting of the Gāyatrī Mantra — The Roots of the Chanting Tradition (May 3)
One of the most widely practiced mantras in India, the Gāyatrī mantra, invokes our inner sun to illuminate the clarity needed to make the decisions that best serve ourselves and others.
While you may have been singing kirtan for a while, Nina will take you to the roots of chanting in a more traditional form. You’ll learn some of the differences between kirtan with music and Vedic chanting — the oldest sacred texts from India.
You’ll practice the recitation of the Gāyatrī mantra in the Vedic tradition, with an emphasis on the true pronunciation and svara (notes) and chandas (meter).
In this session, you’ll:
- Engage in a full 108 rounds of mantra repetition (or japa) to create a deep meditative space
- Practice a more traditional way of chanting that’s different from what’s most commonly sung
- Address some misconceptions about what mantra is and what we’re invoking when we chant
- Learn why the Gāyatrī mantra is one of the most widely practiced mantras in India
- Receive insights on creating an altar and making offerings in a simple way
- Discover how to set intention by the way you present yourself to the practice in the midst of your busy day
Module 4: Prayers to the Goddesses Durga, Lakshmi & Saraswati — She Who Is Auspiciousness (May 10)
During the annual Hindu festival Devi Navratri, the celebration of the daily prayers are sung to the goddess in her various forms.
In this module, Nina will share some simple mantras and longer-form prayers to three manifestations of the goddess — sung to music and rhythm — while reading the transliteration and translation. Singing these mantras helps you tap into the qualities of the goddess that you’re invoking.
Nina will also share some stories of Devi Navaratri that were told in her guru’s temple, as well as some excerpts from the Chandi Pāth (700 verses in praise of the goddess).
Chandi means “she who tears apart thought” — referring to our thoughts of too little and too much. In this ever-balancing middle path, we have to traverse in each moment, allowing the universe to act on our behalf.
In this session, you’ll:
- Invoke auspiciousness to enter to the space of the goddess through the singing of prayers
- Invite the goddess into your being
- Develop confidence to explore and practice these longer-form prayers
- Learn the meaning of the prayers and get a stronger sense of what they can mean to you as you practice
Module 5: Connecting With Great Mother Nature — Being One With the 5 Elements (May 17)
Most of us are aware of the current climate crisis, and, in this closing session, you’ll spend time connecting with Mother Nature through practice.
Since the beginning of time, humankind has revered the Earth through prayer. However, in our modern world, many of us have lost sight of her sacredness.
Even when you’re not forest bathing, swimming in the ocean, or planting in soil, you can become more and more aware of your natural surroundings... and keep in your consciousness that everything we have and all that we are comes from the Earth.
Nina will share some readings about the embodied forms of the five elements.
She’ll guide you in the recitation of the Vedic Bhū Gāyatrī mantra. You’ll also sing kirtan to Bhūmi Devī. Bhū translates into “Earth, Mother Earth.”
As with all mantras, the names are not different from the form — and as you chant the mantras you’ll invoke Her presence from whom all things arise and return to in the cycle of life.
You’ll also have the opportunity to make a natural mandala of our own from your whatever’s around you — to place upon your altar.
In this module, you’ll:
- Learn how to set an intention in your mantra practice to transmit healing to the planet
- Chant second Vedic mantra, as Nina explains the meter and svaras (notes), as well as the meaning of the mantra and how to connect to it
- Come together to pray through song for the earth and your part in her healing
- Explore your own identification with the 5 elements of earth, wind, water, fire, and space
- See how dakinis (energetic beings in female form) and celestial sky-dancers embody these elements
The Sacred Traditional Mantra & Chant Practices Bonus Collection
In addition to Nina’s transformative 5-week virtual course, you’ll receive these special bonuses with leading visionaries and teachers to complement the course and take your understanding and practice to an even deeper level.
Ocean of Ram, Sita, & Hanuman
Video Dialogue and Chanting With Nina Rao and Krishna Das
In this personal video, Nina Rao and Krishna Das discuss how they each learned the Hanuman Chalisa, a Hindu devotional hymn in praise of Hanuman. They share about their journey on the Path with this prayer, then together sing a Hanuman Chalisa. As a participant in this course, you’ll be among the first ever to see this video. Krishna Das has been called “yoga’s rock star” and has taken call-and-response chanting out of yoga centers and into concert halls, becoming a worldwide icon and the bestselling Western chant artist of all time.
Learning the Hanuman Chalisa
10-Module Audio Course From Nina Rao
In 10 concise modules, you’ll journey through this 40-verse hymn, the Hanuman Chalisa, a devotional prayer that’s chanted widely throughout India and around the world. The modules include pronunciation guidance, spoken-word repetition, and singing the lines as call-and-response with musical accompaniment. By way of listening and repeating small groups of verses and cumulatively adding them to each other, we will build the foundation for learning the whole prayer. In the last two modules, you’ll have the full-spoken pronunciation of the prayer and also a musical rendition of the prayer to sing along with in call-and-response style.
Nina’s Written Music for Some Favorite Chants
Series of PDFs and Audio Recordings From Nina Rao
Nina has no formal musical training and has rendered her music and chants as a natural flow of mantra into melody on her two albums. Over the years, many people have asked for the sheet music for some of their favorite chants. In this guide and recording, Nina shares the chords and melodies for her chants via sheet music for those who would like to play on harmonium and sing on their own.
What People Are Saying About Nina Rao
— Bestselling Author Mirabai Starr: “Nina Is a Master
of the Spiritual Practice of Call-and-Response Chanting”
“[Nina Rao’s] chanting is rich with timeless longing... calling us to live in the love that is our true being.”
From deep in the heart-cave Nina calls us...Her chanting is rich with timeless longing... calling us to live in the love that is our true being.”
— Krishna Das, worldwide icon and bestselling Western chant master
“Her vocal style is so pure and clear…”
I know Nina well through my role as Krishna Das’ music producer and guitar player. On our retreats I have also sat in with Nina for her own kirtan sets and workshops. Her vocal style is so pure and clear, and when she sings I am transported to the inner chambers of the Hanuman Mandala. She is also gifted at explaining the meaning and essence of these practices. I have learned a lot from Nina about the Bhakti tradition and consider her one of my teachers and a dear friend.
— David Nichtern, author and founder of Dharma Moon
“A combination of deep soul and melodious magic.”
Nina Rao has the voice of a genuine practitioner in her tradition. A combination of deep soul and melodious magic. She also comes from India and so has experience in that tradition since birth. Personally, I love her music and always have it with me. What an opportunity to have her at The Shift Network!
— Lama Tsultrim Allione, author and founder of Tara Mandala
“Nina’s chanting is an angel’s lullaby fused with the divine energy of awakening.”
Nina’s chanting is an angel’s lullaby fused with the divine energy of awakening. I listen to it in my car, in my office, on long walks, and after I meditate. It’s the soundtrack of love.
— Mirabai Bush, author and teacher of contemplative practices
“Nina's loving, soaring, ecstatic voice... lifts the soul...”
The first time I heard Nina chant live on her own, I thought I was in the presence of the late immortal Anandamayi Ma — transported instantly into a transcendently easy way of being right where I had always been. Now that I hear Nina's loving, soaring, ecstatic voice so beautifully recorded, I can echo back to that moment any time. It lifts the soul, stirs the unsought but welcome inner bliss, and is a wondrous gift that sweeps me into the clear stream of gratitude and devotion to the infinite yet gentle force of the clear light of love.
— Tenzin Robert A.F. Thurman, student of life, author, and grateful upholder of the Buddha teaching found in all ways of love and in every flower and blade of grass
“Nina’s voice is great; she creates a beautiful divine mood for yoga or for just enjoying being in a sacred atmosphere.”
Very lovely album. Nina’s voice is great; she creates a beautiful divine mood for yoga or for just enjoying being in a sacred atmosphere.
— MC Yogi, musician, author, and artist
“I’m extremely grateful for this gift she delivers through her beautiful singing.”
When listening to Nina’s chanting, I’m ignited with a deep longing for the Divine. I’m extremely grateful for this gift she delivers through her beautiful singing.
— Trevor Hall (Rampriya Das), musician
Join the Global Community
Sacred Traditional Mantra & Chant Practices to Find Your Way Home to Your Heart offers some of the most transformational online teachings available, within a thriving global community of learning and practice.
Join fellow students and practitioners to support and inspire each other as you integrate the teachings and practices Nina Rao will share in this powerful training.
You’ll be part of an international community that’s on the leading edge of a global movement of people manifesting a world grounded in principles of cooperation, harmony, and reverence for all of life.
Here’s What You’ll Receive
Five 90-Minute Class Sessions With Nina Rao
Experience a unique opportunity to be mentored by and learn from seeker and chantress Nina Rao from the comfort of your own home. Each class includes a livestreaming video option and guides you to discover specific skills and abilities to experience the calming and heart-opening benefits of an intentional chanting practice, and personalize your own — to find a sanctuary of divine love within your own heart again and again. Course sessions are on Tuesdays at 5:00pm Pacific.
Five Video Recordings of Class Sessions
After each class, the digital video will be available for you to download or stream in a high-quality format. You’ll never have to worry about missing a session, and you can watch anytime and anywhere at your convenience.
Five Audio Recordings of Class Sessions
After each class, the audio will be available for you to download in high-quality MP3 format. You’ll never have to worry about missing a session, and you can listen anytime and anywhere at your convenience.
Five Transcripts of Class Sessions
In addition to the high-quality videos and MP3 audios, you’ll also receive the entire class transcription after each session is completed. You can then review, print, and highlight the most important insights and practices you were given.
Interactive Exercises and Questions for Each Lesson
Between class sessions, you’ll have the option of completing related exercises, practicing new tools, and answering questions to accelerate your learning and integrate each week’s lesson.
Online Community
Our exclusive Facebook online community is the perfect place to continue your discovery process after each class. Here, you can continue the discussion about your course materials and interact with your fellow students to take your exploration to an even deeper level.
The Sacred Traditional Mantra & Chant Practices Bonus Collection
- Ocean of Ram, Sita, & Hanuman
Video Dialogue and Chanting With Nina Rao and Krishna Das - Learning the Hanuman Chalisa
10-Module Audio Course From Nina Rao - Nina’s Written Music for Some Favorite Chants
Series of PDFs and Audio Recordings From Nina Rao
An Unprecedented Opportunity to Join the Sacred Traditional Mantra & Chant Practices to Find Your Way Home to Your Heart Online Training
We feel honored that Nina Rao has chosen to partner with The Shift Network to offer this exclusive LIVE online training. This is a unique opportunity to interact directly with a seeker and chantress whose powerful insights and pioneering work are helping us heal and awaken ourselves and our world.
If you’re serious about personalizing your own chanting practice — to find a sanctuary of divine love within your own heart again and again — then you owe it to yourself, your loved ones, and our world to take this one-of-a-kind training.
If you’re ready to take the next step in evolving yourself, click the register button below to reserve your space now.
Your Satisfaction Is 100% Guaranteed!
Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed! If you don’t absolutely LOVE Sacred Traditional Mantra & Chant Practices to Find Your Way Home to Your Heart — or don’t feel that it meets your needs — please submit your refund request form on or before April 26, 2022 and we’ll happily issue qualifying customers a refund.
About Nina Rao
Nina Rao learned traditional chants (bhajans) from her grandfather in a village in South India when she was nine years old. Her childhood was spent living in and moving between many countries around the world. Prior to rediscovering chanting with Krishna Das in New York in 1996, she worked in banking before switching to organizing and leading photographic wildlife safaris in Africa and India. For many years, she has been Krishna Das’ business manager and accompanist as well as a chant leader in her own right.
Nina tours with Krishna Das, playing cymbals and singing with him. In 2007, she recorded the track “Nina Chalisa” on Krishna Das’ CD Flow of Grace: Chanting the Hanuman Chalisa. In January 2013, she released her debut album, Antarayaami: Knower of All Hearts, which includes a duet with Krishna Das. Later that year, she was honored to accompany him at the Grammy Awards webcast performance. Her second album, Anubhav, released in 2018, was entirely crowdfunded.
For over 20 years she has supported conservationists in preserving the sacred wilderness and forests of India via her charity, Saving Wild Tigers. Nina regularly leads kirtan, chanting in Hanuman Chalisa workshops and retreats in her hometown of Brooklyn, New York, and beyond.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What’s a virtual course?
A: It’s a great way to engage live and pre-recorded teachings and each other from the comfort of your home! All you need is a computer, mobile device, or telephone. If there’s more than one person in your household taking the course, you’ll each need your own connection. We use Zoom video conferencing to make it just like an in-person event, where you can ask questions and deepen your exploration of the course themes.
There’s no additional charge for connecting to Zoom with your computer or mobile device. Please note that dialing Zoom from your telephone is a toll call; your telephone service provider will charge you according to your existing long-distance calling plan. International access numbers are available.
“I’ve never seen a course so well put together ever...”
I had never participated before in an online course. The packaging, presentation, inclusion, and Facebook postings created a wonderful, safe cocoon within which to participate. I’ve never seen a course so well put together ever — not in all the years of taking college classes — and I had my doubts about doing an online course. The wealth of organization and ease of learning materials and support made this fun as well.
— Claudia F., Medford, Massachusetts
Q: Can I get benefit from the course if I miss the live classes?
A: Absolutely! You can download the recordings and transcripts of all course sessions from our online media archive, so you never need to worry about missing live calls. You can also engage the full community and leaders on our private online community group.
Q: Can you tell me about the private online community group?
A: We’ll have a private online community group for all course participants on Facebook that will support you in making connections with others, sharing insights, engaging in discussions, and completing homework assignments that can supplement your transformational journey. You’ll have the ability to share your experiences, projects, and growth throughout the course.
Q: Are there scholarships available for this training?
A: Yes, we always make a certain percentage of spaces available for partial scholarships, for those who otherwise would not be able to enroll at the regular rate. If you’d like to apply for a scholarship, please review our guidelines, which include a link to our online application form.
Q: What’s your refund policy?
A: Your satisfaction with The Shift Network and this course is our highest priority! We offer a satisfaction guarantee so that you can sample the course risk-free. The deadline to receive a full refund is April 26, 2022. To request a refund, please click on this refund request form and submit your request. Qualifying refunds will be processed within five business days and an email confirming the refund will be sent. However, we’d love to have a chance to address and resolve your concerns first. If there’s something we can assist you with, please email us at support@theshiftnetwork.com and we’ll be happy to help! (No refund requests accepted after the above date or with scholarship awards.)
Q: How can I reach Customer Support?
A: Please visit our Customer Support Center, where you should be able to find the answer to your question or the solution to your problem. And if you can’t, you can submit an online request form and we’ll get right back to you.
