The Sound of Stillness: An Evening with Krishna Das

Have You Ever Felt Music?

Have you ever heard music you felt deep in your bones? You can feel it in your chest, your spine, and even the space behind your eyes. That's what happens when Krishna Das begins to chant. His buttery, gravel-rich voice carries the depth of Eddie Vedder, a little bit of Eric Clapton and a steadiness that settles in your body.

Each year our West Door Yoga community spends a Saturday evening hearing him live. We meet at the Babylon LIRR station, ride the train into New York City, and spend the night surrounded by sound, vibration and off the charts energy.

This year’s outing: Saturday, November 22, 2025

Event: NYC Retreat Weekend with Krishna Das

Location: St. Paul & St. Andrew United Methodist Church

New York NY, United States

Details and RSVP on our West Door Yoga Events Page.

Kathy, Jen, Dee and Lisa from West Door Yoga during our annual evening with Krishna Das in NYC.

Who Is Krishna Das

Krishna Das was Jeffrey Kagel, a Long Island musician rehearsing with the band that became Blue Öyster Cult. Fame was close, but the life around it was heavy. He was battling depression, numbing it with drugs.

When he met Ram Dass, he spoke about a teacher in India named Neem Karoli Baba, he said he finally heard about someone who was pure love. In his words, “I was sinking. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I heard about this man in India who was love, and I needed that.”

So he sold what he owned, left the band, and bought a one-way ticket to India. There he met Maharaj-ji and found what he had been missing.

When he came home, he began sharing that experience through kirtan, devotional chanting that turns sound into a direct path back to center.

“When we sing these names,” he says, “we’re calling out to the love that already lives inside us.”

Learn more at krishnadas.com.

Krishna Das during a live kirtan performance, sharing his steady voice and devotion through song.

First Time Chanting

I didn’t know what to expect. I thought it would be quiet. The room started to vibrate instead. The harmonium and drums began together, and everyone started to sing along. I didn’t know the words, I was stunned, not sure if I was breathing or about to cry. The noise in my head stopped, and for a few moments, I wasn’t managing or planning anything. I was just there.

Why Sound Heals

Sound moves through the body faster than thought. Chanting and humming stimulate the vagus nerve, steady the heartbeat, and help the body reset. The vibration reaches the nervous system before the mind has time to interfere.

The body recognizes vibration as safety.

At West Door Yoga we teach this every day through breath, movement, and presence. Chanting carries the same effect through sound.

The room alive with sound, voices rising together in rhythm and devotion

What to Expect

We will meet at the Babylon LIRR station at 4:00 PM and travel together for the Saturday evening session of the NYC Retreat Weekend with Krishna Das.

You do not need to know Sanskrit or be able to sing. Just come ready to listen.

Bring water & wear comfortable clothes. We will ride home afterward, calm and settled, still feeling that low hum in the body.

Join Us

It’s why we keep returning. You feel its effects long after, the tension eases and the mind chatter fades.

Join us for this special evening with Krishna Das. Listen, chant, breathe, and feel the sound.

Learn more or register on our West Door Yoga Events Page.

With gratitude,

DeeWest Door Yoga