Holland-based Shabad Deep found kundalini yoga when she was teetering on the cusp of burn out. Already composing and singing, she brought the sacred kundalini yoga mantras into her work as a sound healer. Meet Shabad Deep…
How did you get into kundalini yoga, Shabad Deep?
Kundalini Yoga came into my life after being confronted with a burn out. My inner voice kept telling me: ‘Yoga’. Guru Deva Kaur’s flyer immediately spoke to me, it said: ‘Shift will happen!’
How has it changed your life?
Practicing, studying and teaching kundalini yoga and the power of mantra has made me a better version of myself. It guided me to Be more than I ever thought was possible. It aligned me with who I really am and to live this truth of myself. Working with the elements (especially water) has opened me up to innate wisdom and ancestral knowledge. Now I integrate yoga and shamanic ways in a natural lifestyle.
What does your yoga practice look like now?
First of all, the yoga is so much integrated in my life, way of being, thinking, speaking, singing, relating to life… it is not a separate practice any more. Inner peace I find through inner values of gratitude, unconditional love, forgiveness, humbleness, speaking your truth and connecting daily to the creative universal consciousness.
I am very practical about practicing yoga: asana, meditation, pranayama and mantra. I use it as a tool or healer for any physical, mental, emotional or spiritual imbalance. Usually I practice yoga for about 30 minutes in the morning (asana, pranayama or mantra) and I finish the day with a mantra meditation. 40-day meditations are a regular practice to keep committed.
What’s your favourite meditation?
The Meditation To Act, Don’t React. It is part of my daily practice. Because it keeps me centred and aligned in any situation or challenge.
And what’s your favourite mantra or shabad?
At this moment Ong Sohung. I love how it aligns to purity, serenity and the divine truth.
What’s been the most powerful practice you’ve ever done?
40 days Long Ek Ong Kar chant for 2.5 hours. It gave me a strength, focus, determination, calmness and belief in my true self. And I was very much grounded. This was the most powerful experience of transformation through meditation or mantra in a 40 day meditation.
Beyond what I could ever have imagined to be possible.
Has adopting your spiritual name Shabad Deep changed you?
Yes. It gave me a deeper understanding of my life’s path. And of my potential.
I had been a singer from when I was a little girl, growing up in a musical family. The name Shabad Deep made me realise that this sacred ways of sound and music are a calling for me. As I understand, it means Shabad (the sacred prayer that we sing or the hymn), Deep (that brings light). As the Shabad relates to the sound current, It triggered me to discover more about the sound current in multiple ways.
So besides working with mantra as my personal practice, studying it and sharing the knowledge and wisdom through concerts or teachings, the sound current guided me into another way of using my voice. Creating angelic and shamanic sounds, with crystal and Tibetan bowls, that (according to experience of others) have a deep effect on the body, mind and the consciousness.
My name made me realise we all have a divine mission in life. Beyond what is obvious. It is like a gem, hidden for us to discover. And to this day it keeps showing me deeper layers and angles to see the name and how it relates to my journey.
By the way, I use both of my names. As my birth name, Patricia Pattinama (indigenous name) also grounds me and has a spiritual meaning (as keeper of the waters) for me.
Fave quote? Live Laugh Love
Place? Live Nature, Forest, Ocean.
On your altar? Shells, Crystals, Sacred Water, Talking Stick.
Teacher? Divine Teacher called Life
Kundalini yoga music? Snatam Kaur, Nirinjan Kaur
Breakfast? The classic: Glutenfree oats, apple, dried fruits, ginger and oatmilk/coco milk or vegan yoghurt with fruits and nuts
Visit www.medicineofpeace.com to learn more, or visit Medicine Of Peace and Shabad Deep Sings on Facebook. Listen to her version of Mul Mantra here.