Although asana-based yoga practices abound in the US, with an estimated 36 million Americans practicing yoga regularly, the use of mantra in personal practice is not quite as common.

We’re thrilled to bring Sanskrit scholar, Claudette Evans, to the festival this year. She’s sharing her in-depth knowledge of this ancient language and of specific mantras on Saturday and Sunday of the festival.

During these often challenging modern times, we’re especially drawn to her workshop titled, “Finding Inner Peace - An Introduction to the Dashashantayah or the Ten Shanti (Peace) Mantras.”

Claudette explains that “Peace or shanti mantras in the Vaidika tradition are the most ancient alambana (support) to help the mind become still and travel on an inner journey without interruption. This popular genre from the Veda are recited to calm the mind and one’s immediate environment in order to become ever-more receptive to life's blessings.”

While many of the more familiar shanti mantras are recited at the beginning of the Upanishads, there are a wealth of peace mantras and suktams that appear in other parts of the Veda. In this workshop, you’ll explore them in a systematic way, learning about their significance, as well as where they appear in the Veda.

More about Claudette…

Claudette Evans (E-RYT 500, YACEP) is passionate about the study and practice of yoga, as well as the training and mentoring of its teachers. As a yoga student and educator, Claudette fell in love with yoga philosophy. Already trained in western classical voice, she was naturally drawn to study the Sanskrit language, Vedic Chanting, and eventually, Indian Classical Voice.

Claudette's classes create a space for self-expression through body and voice, cultivate a clarity of focus, and foster the gift of embodiment. Claudette is grateful for the many teachers she’s studied with over the years, particularly her early Sanskrit education with Vyaas Houston’s American Sanskrit Institute (ASI), where she was a teacher for the past decade.

Today, her main teachers are Shantala Sriramaiah, Dr. Varun Khanna, and Dr. Douglas Brooks. Claudette shares the beauty of Sanskrit, Yoga Philosophy, and the Veda in weekly classes, workshops, and yoga teacher training programs throughout the Pacific Northwest and online.