 Japa Kaur, originally from Maine, came to California after high school then studied music, art and communication for four years, graduating with a double degree from Stanford University. During her junior year, she found Kundalini Yoga, a practice that she resonated with right away and engaged in through workshops in the San Francisco Ashram, weekly classes in Palo Alto, and 3HO summer and winter solstice events. In 2002 she completed her Level I yoga teacher’s training with Sat Santokh Singh and Prahbu Nam Kaur in San Leandro, California and began teaching Kundalini Yoga right away. Since then Japa has studied increasingly on the musical aspect of the tradition, focusing her training on vocal technique, pronunciation and rhythmic understanding of the mantras used in the practice. In 2008 she completed a Sound Healing Program from Globe Institute in San Francisco, California, giving her a broader understanding of specific musical techniques used to harness and transmit through the healing power of sound. Taking this to an experienced musical trainer and voice professor, she has worked to develop, refine, and strengthen her voice to where she is now ready to step out onto the world stage. Her first project album, The Aquarian Sadhana, is a beautiful rendition of the morning mantras prescribed by Yogi Bhajan, as well as a testimony to her talent and a preview of the kind of music to come. Right now Japa is working on her next album, a set of chant-along mantras, as well as a third project, a set of Japa originals. Currently Japa continues her practice through the participation in Level 2 Kundalini Training modules, while teaching regularly at a homeless shelter for women in downtown San Francisco. She maintains a professional Astrological practice writing columns and doing private chart readings, while also teaching occasionally at her very first yoga class on Tuesday nights in Palo Alto, now known as One Heart Yoga. Japa performs Kirtans and other musical events throughout the Bay Area as well as the rest of the United States and the world! She performs with other teachers, also traveling and sharing through workshops and retreats, adding the element of music to performances, talks, and festivals. She draws on her diverse cultural, spiritual, educational experiences to color and invigorate her music, making it a powerful, healing, upbeat, joyful and unique experience for all. |
