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.
Embark on Nina's calming, heart-opening, and musical 5-module 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.
With Nina’s course and her rich, soul-stirring voice, you’ll sing and chant mantra in Satsang (a community of truth-seekers) session after session...
... and along the way, she demystifies the practice by introducing 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 shares 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 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 presents 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 shares 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 5-part transformational musical journey, Nina guides 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.
This course features step-by-step teachings and experiential practices from Nina. Each session builds 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. Your purchase includes 24/7 ongoing access to your course content, allowing you time to review the materials at your own pace and integration.
The spiritual practices of India can be an inauguration into many interconnected ancient systems of practice.
In this opening module, You will be warmly welcomed 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, Nina shares 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 weaves the wisdom she has gained from this connection throughout the course.
In this session, you’ll:
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 shares 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:
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, you will be guided 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:
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 shares 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 also shares 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:
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 shares some readings about the embodied forms of the five elements.
You’ll be guided 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:
In addition to Nina’s transformative 5-module 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.
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.
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 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.
— Bestselling Author Mirabai Starr: “Nina Is a Master
of the Spiritual Practice of Call-and-Response Chanting”
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
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
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. 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
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
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
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
Experience a unique opportunity to learn from seeker and chantress Nina Rao from the comfort of your own home. Each session includes a streaming video 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.
In addition to the high-quality videos and MP3 audios, you’ll also receive session transcriptions. You can then review, print, and highlight the most important insights and practices you were given.
Between sessions, you’ll have the option of completing related exercises, practicing new tools, and answering questions to accelerate your learning and integrate each lesson.
We feel honored that Nina Rao has chosen to partner with The Shift Network to offer this exclusive online training. This is a unique opportunity to learn from 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! 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 2 weeks from your date of purchase and we’ll happily issue qualifying customers a refund.
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.
Q: What is your refund policy?
A: Your satisfaction with The Shift Network and this course is our highest priority! We offer a satisfaction guarantee for a full two weeks so that you can try out the course risk free. The deadline to receive a refund is two weeks from your date of purchase. To request a refund, please click here to submit your Refund Application Form. Your refund will be processed within five business days and we will send you an email confirmation when your refund has been completed. 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 [email protected], and we’ll be happy to help!
Q: How long will I have access to my Course Homepage and materials?
A: Your purchase includes 24/7 ongoing access to your course content — online via your Homepage — unless refunded or otherwise specified. We currently don't have an expiration date for our online materials. This will allow you time to review the materials at your own pace and integration.
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.
A: This course was pre-recorded. Is the content still relevant?
Q: While this is a pre-recorded course, the teachings remain as relevant and impactful today as when they were first offered. We’ve selected these programs because their wisdom, tools, and practices continue to resonate deeply with our global community.
