Before Deva Premal, Enya, and today’s thriving chant music movement, there was first Singh Kaur. During the 1970s and the 1980s, Kaur was the best selling singer in the New Age music scene. She was the ever American Sikh musician whose songs and music beyond the 3HO (wherein the 3H stands for Healthy, Happy, and Holy, while O means Organization) Kundalini Yoga community. Her musical contributions greatly impacted the spiritual community.
However, before we get into the details of what Kaur was able to achieve during her lifetime, as well as contributions to the spiritual community, let us first provide you with a brief overview of Kundalini.
- Spiritual growth: The practice of Kundalini develops spiritual awareness more quickly than other yoga forms or to those that focus on physical poses. Kriyas is the term used for the combination of hand positions (mudras), body contractions (bandhas), yoga poses, mantras, breathing, and meditation. Through kriyas, yoga practitioners are said to be have the opportunity to overcome any spiritual, emotional or mental barrier.
- Physical fitness: Practicing Kundalini can bring about improvements in flexibility, endurance, balance, and strength. When under the guidance and instructions of a certified Kundalini instructor, the poses performed would be able to stimulate the glands, as well as tone and cleanse the body.
- Overall well-being: Since Kundalini can improve both spiritual and physical health, many practitioners have reported they feel more peaceful and they are happier with their lives.
Before she became known as Kaur, she was actually Laura Drew. She was a New Age vocalist, instrumentalist, and composer. Her prolific career started in the early 1970s and continued until the late 1990s. In her career as a musician, she released 23 different albums. Her voice can only be described as “angelic,” which she then combined with haunting melodies. She was known as a pioneer in the flourishing genre of Westernized interpretations of Indian chanting music.
With her soothing, angelic voice, she quickly gained the respect and the love of the Kundalini community. She has collaborated with several of 3HO’s yogi musicians. Many of her songs were directly taken from the Sikh scriptures. She has also released the extremely popular Crimson series albums. In addition to being used widely by KundaliniYogis, these songs are also played frequently in birthing centers, hospitals, holistic spas, and in other places where music is considered to have healing powers.
To learn more about Kundalini Yoga and Singh Kaur’s musical contributions, visit Yoga Technology now at yogatech.com.
Power of Music in Yoga 