Bobbie Mims has been practicing yoga and meditation for longer than I have been alive. She is a dedicated and enthusiastic yogi and Kirtan lover, and has been an inspiration to so many people in her short life. Two years ago this May, she was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer, a devastating blow to the lives of all who have been touched by her faith and devotion to her guru, her practice, and helping others.
In a passing comment one day after her diagnosis, and during the first round of her treatment, she let it slip that she would really love to have a recording of Mala to listen to if her health began to deteriorate more quickly.
Initially, we rallied and made the Mala: I Love You CD because we thought our dear friend, mentor, and guide was going to pass away very quickly. From The Bhaktishop Yoga Center's very beginning she has supported us in every possible way, and has always been right there in the front row at every kirtan we have ever done, loving us like there’s no tomorrow.
We reached out to our community, with whom we have a wonderful relationship of loving support, and they responded. Nancy Codrescu, a professional musician here in Portland, was touched by the situation and immediately said she would record us. Between Bobbie's situation and Nancy's "know how" everything just fell into place. Those two women are forces of nature! From there, we planned the details of the recording, organized the equipment, got all the guest musicians together, and gathered 70 of our most loyal and loving kirtan singers to circle up in The Bhaktishop on November 7th, 2009, and sing their hearts out.
We all found our voices and did single take, live recordings of these songs you hear on the CD. There is no engineering, no producing, nothing. Raw, live, totally real and capturing the moment we all shared. There were a LOT of tears that night, but it was an amazing grace that it all happened so fluidly. And Bobbie and her family were right there, in the front row, singing their hearts out.
Bobbie’s husband Jim and her daughters Kari and Abby are part of our extended family too, and they all helped to support this endeavor. A lot of people helped from all over Portland’s vast community of seekers: Diana Hulet, my partner in The Bhaktishop, Lolo Woods, the woman that I started the kirtan collective with more than 7 years ago. Tasha Danner, Monicka Koneski, Molly Padulo, and myself make up the band. We have guest musicians often, and the ones that played on the record are Cameron Flint, Matt Nelson, Jeanie Songer, and Hari-bhakti Timm. Other local “bright” stars include Curtis Kidwell, owner of Bullseye Disc, who traded us yoga classes for CD replication. Designer Dana Bruington who created the CD cover and sleeve, Stumptown Printers, the local printshop that gave us a screamin’ deal on the printing of the sleeves—we are indebted to all these folks. And now, The Hospice of Washington County, Bobbie's former employers, (and, by the way, a totally underfunded organization that she dedicated her life to) has now been the recipient of thousands of unsolicited dollars in donations from the sale of the CD's.
As for how the collective began, I began singing kirtan publicly about 8 years ago in a small satsang at another studio (with what I like to joke was a spoon and a saucepan to bang on). There were like six of us and we just came together to chant. We had no talent, no skill, but were deeply called to sing and chant together. None of us had any training and really... just sang from our heart (and often it was bad, but full of love). It evolved over the course of a year, and after spending a kirtan retreat with Jai Uttal in 2004, I taught myself to play harmonium (and now ukulele too, the only kirtan band I know with a uke!) Then I met Lolo Woods, who would teach me scales in Indian music, rhythm and ultimately join me in singing every month. After that, we added members slowly, as they got up their skills (and guts) to sing with other people. Now we are six, and occasionally when we have guests, 9 members. We have guitars, violins, djembe, mrdngam, kartals, harmoniums, cellos, ukuleles, the works!
About four years ago Diana and I opened our own center, to better address our vision of service to the community through yoga. The Bhaktishop kirtan community continues to grow every day. People show up monthly and sing their hearts out every 2nd Sunday, often with more than 100 people each gathering, raising between $300-$1000 every evening. We now run a small non-profit called The Bhakti Soul Fund, which takes the money we raise in kirtan and directs it to the needy people right here in our own hometown. Over these 7 years we have raised more than $25,000 in donations and just given it ALL away. Because we are not professional musicians, just servants, we have never sung kirtan or sold anything for profit. We continually are grateful to our teachers and guides, and seek to continue to serve in this way for a long, long time.
The best part of the story is that as of April 2011, Bobbie is still with us. She continues to surprise us and enjoy each day as it comes, her face beaming with purpose and love. We are all blessed to know her and to have had the opportunity to share our days with such a beacon of love and light. The CD was our gift to her, and it will continue to provide loving service to the Hospice, her charity of choice, long after she goes. For this gift, we are grateful.”
We are a Yoga Center and a labor of love, hatched over years of wanting to bring a celebration of the gifts of this deep and divine tradition that is yoga to as wide a community as we can reach. This practice comes in so many colors, shapes, and paths, and for us, the truth is the practice that resonates with you, the practice that calls you over and over again to the mat, and opens your heart is the practice that is right for you! Diana and I share a deep love and respect for the poetry of life, the richness of the traditions of Hatha and Bhakti yoga, and the many mystical cultures from around the world that come together to shape a personal journey within. We aim to honor and revere yoga in all of its diversity, with an attitude of grace and a willingness to allow the profound openings that are possible to pour forth from all of our hearts. With this grace and the resolute devotion to service to humanity, we humbly serve the notion that all beings everywhere deserve happiness and freedom!
Our studio offers a place in which your truth, beauty, and courageous spirits are brought out and celebrated—we deeply honor and respect your amazing path to your deeper self! Our teachers all share different forms of vinyasa yoga, which is the yoga of conscious flow with the breath from one shape to another. We offer wanderers and wonderers alike an abundantly joyful and divinely love-filled opportunity to dive deeply into their own mystery, encouraged on the yoga path by asana, pranayama, meditation, singing, community spirit, and opening in new and delightful ways.
Our CD is available on our website, www.thebhaktishop.com, and all the proceeds go to The Hospice of Washington County. Spread the word, and Haribol!
The Bhaktishop
2500 SE 26th Ave
Portland, OR 97202
(503)244-0108
The Bhaktishop Yoga Center, Lisa Mae Osborn, Karma, Bhakti, Jnana, Yoga, Yoganomics, Compact Disc, Compact Disc manufacturing, Jai Uttal, Kirtan, Music of India, Portland Oregon, San Francisco, Valentine’s Day, The Bhaktishop
