200 hour Yoga Teacher Training

Drawing upon her Indo-Trinidadian roots, Rishima Bahadoorsingh shares her knowledge of sacred Indian music based in Nāda Yoga, the yoga of sound. Growing up, she frequently stayed in an ashram in South India to learn from her Guru, where she was immersed in daily spiritual practices. Rishima initially sang Indian songs rooted in the temple traditions of mantra, bhajan, and kirtan, then later studied formally in Western and Indian music such as piano, vocals, harmonium, and some percussion. Rishima’s main teachers include local Elena Steele (Western repertoire) and Neeraja Aptikar (North Indian vocals), and other musical institutes. Her perspectives on the depth of Indian music was transformed when she attended a workshop on Dhrupad an ancient meditative form of singing that originated from the Sama Veda and rooted in Nāda yoga. So, in 2016 Rishima shifted all her attention to learning Dhrupad with Manish Kumar of the Bihar Brothers duo, of the Dagarvani gharana.

Rishima teaches based on her experiences with her gurus and culture. She has performed and taught at cultural and charity events, spiritual centres, yoga studios, temples, international festivals, television, and teaches internationally in English and Spanish. Rishima works as an elementary school teacher in Vancouver and holds a Master of Education in Curriculum and Development. In her off time, she volunteers as the founder of Sol Community Education Society, an education society that runs an education program in Northern Peru. For fun, she is learning Kathak, a form of classical Indian dance. She is also the proud (and busy) mother of two.