ABOUT SHANTI
Short Bio
Shanti
Shivani is one of the few Western pioneers bringing the sacred
traditions of Nada Yoga and Dhrupad, the most ancient style of
Hindustani classical music, to the West. She brings a wealth of
vocal, meditative, movement and experience to her classes and
performances. She had the great fortune to be accepted as a parampara
student of the premier family of the Dhrupad lineage, the Dagar
family. Her first teacher was Dr. Ritwik Sanyal before continuing
her studies with his gurus, the late rudra veena maestro Ustad
Zia Mohiuddin Dagar and his brother Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar.
Their family has been passing on the Dhrupad tradition for nineteen
generations. Her studies with Ustad Rahim Fahimuddin Dagar enriched
her understanding of Nada Yoga.
She spent 8 years in India studying and practicing Shaivism and
Tibetan Buddhism along with her Dhrupad studies. On her quest
for healing and self-realization through sound, she also studied
with renowned Western musicians and sound healers such as Fabien
Maman of the Academy of Sound, Color and Movement.
Frédérick Leboyer, with whom she collaborated for
8 years, was a key mentor for her, as he helped her understand
the profound connection between voice, breath and movement.
Dhrupad occupies a very special place in her creative life, as
it induces a deep contemplative state, thus connecting the performer
as well as the listener with Divine Source. It is the basis of
her teachings of Nada Yoga the Yoga of Sound.
Shanti also dedicated herself to learning different forms of movement
disciplines (Hatha Yoga, Wholistic Body/Mind training, Qi Gong,
Wu Chi, Tao Yin Fa, Unity in Motion) with acclaimed European and
American teachers.
She has been teaching internationally at conferences, in retreat
centers, Ayurvedic centers, liberal arts colleges, schools, hospitals
and birthing homes and privately since 1986.
Shanti has been performing in concert and at festivals such as
the World Sacred Music Festival in Los Angeles since 1989. She
has several albums to her credit and has been recording as a solo
artist and in collaboration with many World Music artists since
1997. Shanti is currently living in Eugene, Oregon.