Let our Body and Soul sing !
Union of body, voice and heart
with Uma Lacombe and Yves Oberlin
July 28th – August 2nd 

Pir O Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan said: “Music can teach us harmony.”

In India it is said that singing is the basis for dance, for painting, as well as for sculpting. We can add that hatha yoga should come before singing, preparing our bodies and minds to music and to all forms of art.In India, dance, vocal and instrumental music are all understood under the word “sangeet” that we translate with music, and hatha yoga has been compared to a mystical dance! During this week together, we want to harmonize our singing with our body movements, with yoga asanas and experience it all as “sangeet.”

The many ways that unite the human and the divine in us are also called yoga, and at some point all those paths meet into a unique one. During this workshop with Yves and Uma you are going to integrate different forms of yoga or paths: there will be hatha yoga and nâda yoga which will be meeting and supporting each other, but we shall also encounter raja yoga, bhakti, yoga, gyana yoga, mantra yoga and karma yoga included in our practices.

Any form of yoga will strengthen our concentration which will lead us toward peace and toward happiness as clearly stated in the Bhagavad Gîtâ (ch.II, verse 66).Dhrupad singing is understood as a spiritual path, as nâda yoga, and the posture for singing is the one for meditation; in this, hatha yoga will be of a great help. Surely through singing we shall work on our breath but the practice of pranayama which goes with hatha yoga will prepare our breath so that it will flow gently and smoothly in music. To breathe well leads to liberation, as the Hebrew word for liberation is suggesting, for, when literally translated this word means ‘to breathe large and wide’. Thanks to the asanas (yogic postures), our bodies will become well tuned instruments ready to let God sing through them.
During this time together, we are going to make our body and souls sing!

Uma Monica Lacombe: At an early age Uma already had a deep interest in yoga, which led her to undertake a journey to India to deepen theory and practice with the heirs of this philosophy. Then, she spent two years in a Tibetan village in the Himalayas, where she was initiated into Chinese medicine. Uma has been studying dhrupad in India (where she has been living for more than 20 years) under different music masters. Uma has been an integral part of the Zenith Summer Camp teaching staff for many years.  She also gives workshops on singing and offers concerts in India and Europe.

Yves Oberlin has spent nearly 20 years studying and practicing yoga, including time with the Iyengar family in Pune, India. His original, dynamic and challenging teaching style combines Yoga and Sufi teachings, giving insight into the practice of yoga as a self-development and healing system. Yves is a certifies Iyengar instructor and speaks French, English and German.

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