As a participant at YogaFest Amsterdam there were many classes to be enjoyed, but one to particularly look forward to was Leah Kline‘s Savasana concert. In a modern culture where our senses can be overloaded and certainly at a Yoga Festival where there is so much to take in, it was a wonderful experience to be able to find a safe spot to just close your eyes and relax and take in what the music had to offer with meditative intentions.

Choosing a mat on a windy day with a warm feeling surrounding us, it was wonderful to have the opportunity to listen to Léah and her band. We were told to take whatever position we found most comfortable even if it meant sitting with our backs to Léah and the band.

The music and soothing voice of Léah slowly started to fill the space. The music struck a sympathetic chord. You could literally feel the music resonating through the floor. Slightly taken by surprise, ones thoughts could wander to how deaf people are able to feel music through the vibrations, or about cymatics and with palms to the floor, one could explore those sensations further.

With the second track came an awareness that it was not so much that the different instruments pulsated in different parts of body, and that the music touched a different place and different way with each of the songs played, with the nourishing sound of Léah’s voice bringing it all together as one pleasing whole.

With the third song came a recognition that with the low notes there was some tingling one may feel more towards legs and feet and perhaps with the high notes they tended to be more towards the face, neck and chest. By the time the “monkey mind” started to relax, there were colors to be perceived which associated with the sound led to a very meditative experience just floating there in between the notes.The air seemed to pulse and flutter as if it was also swinging and swaying to the music.

Léah reminded us that we were free to change positions if we wanted, and having done so, I realized that my perception of the music changed as well. As we all instinctively closed our eyes when we’re trying to listen intently for a quiet sound, I felt something change when I opened or closed my eyes. With them open, I heard but did not experience the same sensations as when I had them closed where I was much more actively listening. I felt completely wrapped up in a blanket of sound. After what felt like just a few more songs it was time to open our eyes and we were able at last to give the band the applause they well deserved.

The concert was a completely restorative experience. If you love Jazz and yoga, you should check out one of Léah Kline’s Savasana Concerts. It gave a whole new meaning to the phrase “I just came for Savasana”.

Leah, in addition to being a gifted jazz vocalist, is also a passionate yoga practitioner. While busy making the CD, Léah was asked by a friend of hers to listen to some classical music he had been practicing and while doing so laying in Savasana she realized the music came to her in a way she had not previously experienced it and that gave her the idea of a Savasana Concert. The band supporting her at the YogaFest was made up of Cord Heineking, Klaas van Donkersgoed and Mateusz Pulawski. The songs played are available on her CD – ‘This Precious Life’.

Ticket reservations for future concets: TheatricsProductions@telfort.nl

léah kline’s savasana concert at the yogafest in amsterdam