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Our lovely friend and UDAYA musician, Spring Groove – has opened up a vocal training and meditation studio- Bhakti Bungalow. Spring leads her students through mantra, meditation, and vocal technique- to empower themselves, tap into their inner peace, and create vocal confidence.

Bhakti Bungalow is a space for cultivating your vocal skills, incorporating yoga and spiritual practice… is that a good summation?

Yes it is. At the Bhakti Bungalow I am fusing my training as a Broadway singer with my Yoga Teacher Training. I get to help people step into the power of their voice by using vocal exercises as well as meditation & breath work.

What else could you tell us about your studio and what we could expect?

I always try to meet people where they are at. Some professional musicians come to the bungalow looking for coaching on the material they are working on. They’re also curious and want to incorporate meditation and/or mantra into their lives. The Bhakti Bungalow is proving to be a safe space to offer and customize these new practices. It’s beautiful to see how the musicians expand as a result. Others arrive with a meditation practice but want to dive deeper. Here we explore many more options from pranayama to guided meditation to kirtan.

The Bhakti Bungalow also offers seniors, who are not able to travel to my studio, Bhakti Therapy- calm, playful practices for growing gracefully. I am doing this work for groups in senior centers, as well as in private homes all around L.A. These practices include movement (chair yoga), music, mediation, and working with mudras and mandalas. These sessions are so potent. I can’t recommend them enough. So much light is cultivated. It’s a gift for both the seniors as well as myself and I am just loving it. http://springgroove.com/bhakti-seniors

How has yoga, mantra and meditation affected your vocal & musical experience? Has it all become one for you?

Yoga, Mantra, & Mediation has expanded my musical experience. I see my music
now more as a service than a performance. This is far greater than me. It’s about connection. It’s about cultivating positive contagious energy.

Much of the music I am writing now has both sanskrit mantra and english lyrics within it, so I guess you can say that it has become ONE. The idea, however, that we are all ONE is in fact what is fueling my creative process.

What music, spiritual guides or yoga teachers are currently inspiring you?

I’ve been a bit obsessed with Deva Premal for a while now. I pretty much listen to her daily. Its like a great drug for me that keeps me calm in a far too busy world. I simply love how much space her music creates, which in turn allows me to breathe deeper.

I also own many of the Deepak Chopra meditation series, and am also doing these daily. They are a bit addictive, because they are so practical and easy to incorporate into your life, making the day brighter and lighter. Who doesn’t want that?

As a teacher, I now know how important it is to also stay a student. Then it just becomes a process of sharing experience. Someone teaches me something that really resonates with me, and I can then pass that excitement along.

Denise Kaufman- an incredible, inspiring musician and yogini, taught me three great physical movements if you’ve only got time for three. I think of her often as I share these three with my senior friends weekly. They are: 1. Hip circles 2. Forward bend, drop, hang & breathe 3. The squat.

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