Carrie Grossman

Carrie Grossman (Dayashila), MA, is a devotional singer, composer, and lifelong student of the mystical traditions. For over 20 years she has studied the art of sacred sound, guiding people into the sublime realms of the heart through her concerts, workshops, and retreats.

She first traveled to India at 21, where she was introduced to kirtan, the call-and-response chanting of mantras. The practice inspired her to sing, but shyness and self-doubt kept her music quiet for ten years. It emerged during a difficult life period. Worn out by a prolonged, mysterious illness, she learned to play the tamboura, an Indian drone instrument, and spent hours each evening surrendering into its sound. Grief came to the surface, her tears turned into music, and she began to sing freely for the first time since childhood. She bought a used harmonium and taught herself to play, and her debut album grew from those early experiments.

Her albums include Soma-Bandhu: Friend of the Moon (2010), The Ram Sessions (2016), Pranam (2017), and Homeward (2019). She also offers meditation, music, and courses as a featured teacher on Insight Timer, and leads retreats in Japan, where programs are taught in English with Japanese translation.

Carrie began as a scholar. She earned degrees in Religious Studies from Brown University (BA) and Naropa University (MA), then longed to experience the teachings directly. That led her to study with some of the world's great masters and to train and certify in yoga, mind-body medicine, and the healing arts. She is also a writer and the former editor of Common Ground magazine. Her longtime spiritual teacher is Amma, and she names many other guides and mentors who have influenced her.

Her current passion is spending time with people, sharing stories and singing, and exploring questions of self-love, separation, and who we are beneath the masks we show the world.