Gina Sala

Gina Salā is a vocalist, composer, teacher and chant leader who has been chanting since early childhood. She began devotional chanting and mantra at age 3, living in a Hindu ashram in Canada with Swami Sivananda Radha. She deepened her practice in a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Nepal (Kopan) in 1992. She then spent several months alone in the Himalaya and came out to meet her advaita guru, Papaji (H.W.L. Poonjaji), of the lineage of Sri Ramana Maharshi. She has also studied Sanskrit, tantra and Indian classical voice in India, with teachers including Vagesh Shastriji and Pt. Ritwik Sanyalji.

Gina leads interfaith, participatory chanting evenings (kirtan, mantra, bhakti, japa and naada yoga) in many places. Anyone can come as they are and join in as they like, with no experience or particular belief system needed. As she puts it, "Who is singing when we sing?" Her repertoire spans many languages, and her performance credits include the United Nations, Cirque du Soleil, festivals and ashrams. She performs with an ensemble of two to six musicians, and her voice and compositions appear on a number of studio recordings.

She has led workshops on voice and healing since 1995, and has taught classes, workshops and international retreats for over 25 years. Her teaching covers bhakti chant, raga, Sanskrit mantra, sound for wellness and sound tantra. She is known for helping even reluctant singers find freedom in their voices. Her retreats include the River of Sound tour in India, which she has led regularly since 2006, a chant, raga, rhythm and yoga retreat in Hawaii, and the Ocean of Devotion retreat in Yelapa, Mexico. She also teaches the year-long Awakening Voice Power of Love Sound School, which draws people from four continents. She co-directs Sound Healers of Washington.

Gina teaches with warmth, humor and devotion. Her passion is helping people sing themselves awake to who they are.