Yoga of the Voice Certificate & Workshops

(Scroll down for the October-November Module)

The Yoga of the Voice International Certificate is a 108-hour training in sound, consciousness, and embodied voice, developed over more than three decades through the Vox Mundi School, and is continually evolving with the shifting currents of social and environmental change. Rooted in Integral Yoga, sound art, and the universal language of music, this program invites the voice, sound, and resonance to become instruments of liberation, attunement, and spiritual engagement.

Unlike any other voice, music, and sound school program, this unique training bridges cultures and disciplines, integrating Western extended vocal techniques, contemplative practices, and the discipline and science of yoga with the deep listening and melodic sensibility of Indian ragas and medicine music like icaros and shamanic chants. The program is designed both for those seeking personal transformation through the sound and for artists, therapists, medicine circle facilitators, yoga practitioners, and educators who wish to develop a professional voice- and sound-centered practice.

For more than 30 years, the Vox Mundi School has evolved into a living creative community (sangha) of voice, sound, and music, offering training, retreats, and university-level teaching across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Students stay involved for many years, deepening their sadhana, becoming teachers, and co-creating an ongoing culture of shared learning and mutual mentorship. The annual Summer Retreat in the Santa Cruz Mountains serves as a sacred bridge for the international community, weaving together in-depth practice, contemplative immersion, and lifelong creative collaborations. In addition, through the Study Abroad Journeys, students and teachers travel together, learn and advance their studies with master teachers, and share transformative spiritual inquiry.

The Yoga of the Voice Certificate is structured in modular form, combining:

• Live Online Modules (small groups or pods, individual mentoring, practicum, and online forum)
• Weekend hybrid intensives and clinics
• In-person retreats 
• Study Abroad Journeys
• One-on-one Therapeutic Voice Clinics
• Recording and Workshop collaborations among the trainees and the teachers
• Immersive Residencies by teacher invitation; students have the opportunity to spend two or three weeks at the Vox Mundi School in Emeryville, California. The teachers will mentor and guide their practice, and students will complete a project that reflects their core interest in the shared field. 

Students at any level may enter through individual modules and accrue hours toward the 108-hour International Certificate or take modules independently for focused exploration. If the students decide to become teachers of the Yoga of the Voice, they may credit these Certificate hours toward the Vox Mundi School Teachers Training Certificate. All Certificates have Global access. Most teachers and students reside internationally.

The Yoga of the Voice is a comprehensive method that approaches the voice as sonic energy – a vital and primordial force – beyond cultural conditioning, level of musicianship, and performance anxiety. Through guided sound tools, vocal meditations, music listening, and somatic yogic practices. Students engage in mindful breathing practices designed to activate subtle energetic awareness and cultivate a spacious, receptive mindset attuned to the freedom of the imagination, dismantling hierarchical levels of experience. This is a training based on equality understood as purification of the mind and the path towards Integral Yoga. 

Key Characteristics:

• Voice as a portal to awakening Shakti (creative universal energy)
• Sound and silence as co-arising fields of awareness and consciousness expansion
• The “space between tones” as a site of subtle perception and expanded listening
• Integration of Indian ragas and Dhrupad-inspired tunefulness with modern vocal arts
• The voice as a vehicle for healing, contemplation, and liberation
• The voice is open as a deep listening tool, which is refined through creative projects, processes, and progress

When the voice is approached in this way, many students experience increased self-confidence, a more vivid musical practice, and the foundation for a sustainable professional practice, if that is their path.​ For over three decades, the Vox Mundi School has carried this living lineage, evolving continuously with the shifting currents of human sensibility and social change.

The Yoga of the Voice Certificate is designed with flexibility and depth in mind. Choose to take modules independently or accumulate hours toward the complete 108-hour International Certificate, and towards the Teacher Training Certificate, if the graduate wishes to dive deeper into becoming a teacher of the Yoga of the Voice. It can be completed between one year and 18 months, depending on the student’s pace.

This core training introduces the foundational principles and practices of the Yoga of the Voice, focusing on voice as sonic energy, spontaneous expression, and spiritual practice.​ The Focus is on liberating emotional constrictions and group facilitation techniques.

You will:

• Realize and refine the quality of your sonic presence in speech, chant, and song
• Become aware of and engage with the infinite space between tones, refine intonation, and expand your vocal range 
• Open to emotions as aesthetic expressions, depersonalizing the voice by attending to sound and the space of silence
• Learn to listen with the body and connect with the multi-sensorial source of embodied voice
• Receive an introduction to Indian ragas, mindful tone-breathing, the chant of Dhrupad, and medicine melodies
• Practice deep listening with sound tools that feel good, and encourage new portals of innovation and the facilitation of chanting circles
• Experience the joy of spontaneous self-expression beyond impediments 
• Discover the voice as a free flow of energy and as a sound that travels and heals.
• Learn foundational voice and sound healing applications 
• Create and manifest a transformative individual Project (a recording, gather a group that you will facilitate, or write a capstone paper that reflects the work that you love)
• Complete a Final Written Evaluation

This Module may be taken on its own or counted as 30 hours toward the 108-hour Certificate

For Admission and Payment Arrangements: voxmundi@yahoo.com

This course invites students to experience the generative quality and musicality of their voice combined with other instruments, an original repertoire of improvisation strategies, guided practices, recordings, and creative collaborations. The voice is sonic energy that can be liberating, tuned, and attuned to emotional balance and relational presence. Through playful, contemplative inquiry, students will explore voice as a musical instrument for community building, sound healing, and performance. The focus is on Healing.

When approached as a  Sound Healing instrument, the Voice becomes:

• An entry point to connect with life, energy, and vitality
• A medium to assess energetic disposition and health
• A primordial vehicle to release tensions and clear the mind
• A way of attunement that activates circulatory systems and supports nervous-system regulation
• A joyful journey into intuition, harmony, and resonance
• An instrument to cultivate happiness and physical and emotional well-being​
• Create and manifest a transformative individual Project that reflects the work that you love 

This Module may be taken on its own or counted as 30 hours toward the 108-hour Certificate.

SCHEDULE

Six Wednesdays: October 14, 21, 28, November 4, 11, and 18

4:00-6:00 PM PT – Tentative schedule

Final Schedule; Depending on the location of all registered students

Tuition Fees: $600 UD dollars – before September 1st, $800 after

Register Now!

Payments via:  

Venmo: @Silvia-NakkachKnapp

Zelle: voxmundi@yahoo.com – Silvia Monica Knapp – (415) 608-1535

Wise: @silviak244, Silvia Monica Knapp – +1 415 608- 1535

PayPal: extra cost $30 – available only to international students 

For Admission and Payment Arrangements, contact: voxmundi@yahoo.com

•  Rediscover Your Sense of Wonder: Embark on a journey to vocal freedom and musical creativity. Reimagine what “singing” and self-expression mean by breaking free from limiting beliefs—open yourself to new possibilities with your voice.
• Reconnect with Your Essence: Experience spiritual growth and deeper self-awareness through the transformative power of the voice. Discover how the voice functions as both a musical instrument and a potent tool for healing and self-inquiry.
• Refine Tone and Musicality: Enhance your vocal technique by practicing sustained notes and meditative melodies. Develop patience and relaxation, allowing both body and mind to unlock new levels of tunefulness, vocal precision, and trance-space.
• Embrace Emotional Expression: Learn to release emotions through continuous vocalization. Develop the ability to let feelings flow musically, transcending purely personal stories and tapping into universal expression.
• Enjoy Improvisation and Composition: by playing with extended vocal techniques inspired by Indian classical raga and experimental contemporary music as a template, including vocal percussion, multiphonics, and expanding the sonic range of your voice as an actual musical instrument. No previous experience is required.
• Build an Inspiring Repertoire: Explore a diverse array of vocal pieces and songs that focus on the textures and architectures of sound. Expand your creative imagination and cultivate a unique artistic voice.
• Explore subtle dimensions of sound and auditory perception where clarity and luminosity abide, transforming consciousness and emotions. 
• Enhance your expressive confidence by having a mentor guide your creative process. Creativity is not an individual process.
• Collaborate and Facilitate Group Chanting: Engage in dynamic, creative collaborations with your peers. Gather yourself in co-creative environments that foster deep listening, artistic renewal, and transformation. 
• Infuse your practice with Poetry—and let poetic expression enrich your journey towards inner resonance

By the end of the core sequence, students will be able to:

• Understand voice-based healing as a way of enhancing inner joy and human resonance
• Grasp basic principles of tone production and tuning, and apply them in professional contexts (therapy, teaching, performance, facilitation)
• Engage the Vocal Meditation sadhana as a modality of self-healing and “tone magic”
• Use a repertoire of practices—ancient vibrational formulas, healing syllables, and chants—to release tension, improve memory, and connect ancestral lineages with innovative vocal techniques
• Identify and expand the acoustic range and corporeal spectrum of their particular voice
• Design a daily practice that supports their day and work life
• Lead simple chants and vocal rituals to co-create and commune with others as a tool for creative collaboration
• Use the voice as a gateway to universal languages that have been silenced
• Combine the energetic dynamics of the voice with the intelligence of the senses, hand gestures, and deep listening to foster neuro-coherence
• Integrate class information into interdisciplinary settings: integrative medicine, nursing, osteopathy, psychotherapy, bodywork, yoga, education, music, and energy-centered therapies
• Create a private sanctuary of voice purification techniques that clear energy patterns, stimulate the brain, and enhance memory through call-and-response chanting​

Areas of study woven through weekend trainings, virtual sessions, and retreats include:

• Using the voice in shamanic journeys
• Using the voice in group circles and healing ceremonies
• Vocal improvisation and medicine melodies
• The shamanic, contemplative, and expressive dimensions of the voice
• Enhancing memory through vocalizations and call-and-response chanting
• The voice and the art of songwriting
• Attending to vocal impediments through subtle, somatic approaches
• Uses of the voice in sound healing and therapeutic alliances
• Performance ease and stage presence
• Creating a vocal music repertoire, including classical Indian healing mantras and ragas

Therapeutic Voice Clinics are optional but offered as part of the curriculum, either one-on-one or in small groups, online or in-person, to support individualized healing and integration. (Required extra fees).

This program welcomes:

• Vocalists, singers, composers, and musicians
• Sound practitioners and music therapists
• Yoga teachers and contemplative practitioners
• Psychotherapists, bodyworkers, and integrative health professionals
• Spiritual wellness seekers and community leaders in search of uncovering and refining their voices​

All levels of experience are welcome. No prior musical training is necessary; curiosity and willingness to listen deeply are the primary prerequisites.

To receive the Yoga of the Voice International Certificate (108 hours), students are invited to:

• Complete a minimum number of core 2 Modules (e.g., Free Your Voice, Play Your Voice; Voice in Sound Healing, Embodied Listening, and Practicum’s requirements)
• Participate in at least one Summer Retreat, Workshop, Study Abroad, or equivalent annual in-person immersion
• Attend a Therapeutic Voice Clinic or Individual Mentoring sessions
• Complete a Practicum Project (e.g., facilitating a chanting circle, developing a vocal healing session, generating an original recording)
• Write a capstone paper, write a research-based paper integrating your work into the field of Yoga, Sound Healing, Music Therapies, or other creative field of the student’s interest.
• Complete a Final Written Evaluation

Updated and specific requirements, dates, focus, and fees are announced annually on the Vox Mundi Project website.

• Next Online 2026 Module: OCTOBER
• Format: Live online sessions, recordings (if offered), small-group practice, mentoring, portal forum
• Location: Online, with optional in-person retreats in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Greece, India, Brazil, and other sites
• Registration: Email voxmundi@yahoo.com with your location, background, and your intention for taking the course
• Admission: Some modules may require a brief pre-consultation to ensure alignment and support
• Learn More about the Yoga of the Voice Certificate Program and to access the registration form, visit the Vox Mundi Project website.​

Saraswati Mantra Invocation: A recording of the Saraswati Salutation with cello, offering an invocation to the goddess of wisdom, music, and the creative flow at the heart of Yoga of the Voice. 

Silvia Nakkach, MA, MMT, is a Grammy-nominated composer, vocal artist, and author — a pioneer in the field of sound and consciousness transformation. She is the founding director of the international Vox Mundi School of the Voice, with centers across the Americas, Europe, and Asia.  Since 2001, at the California Institute of Integral Studies, she has created the premier academic certificate program in sound, voice, and music in the healing arts, and currently as a professor, she focus on the Philoosphy of Sound and the Art of Listening as part of the East-West Psychology Department, and she is Trainee’s Mentor of the Center for Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies. Silvia has devoted over 40 years to the study, teaching, and performance of North Indian classical music with the great maestro Ali Akbar Khan, with a focus on the Chant of Dhrupad, learning with Pandit Uday Bhawalkar. She practiced, developed, and shared the evolving practice of Deep Listening from her mentor, the late Pauline Oliveros. READ MORE

Renata Ururahy, Energy and Sound Healer. Flower Essence expert. Crystal Bowls facilitator. Yoga teacher. Graduated from the Advanced Institute of Sound Healing and Vox Mundi School, The Yoga of the Voice.

Stu Pender, Chicago-born musician and sonic artist, weaves elements of improvisation, songwriting, and electronics into orchestrations for the guitar, voice, and laptop. A founding member of the hip-hop collective Poetic Thrust, Stu has also worked in various roles in the studio with artists Yoh, Cartoons, Topaz Jones, Carlos Niño and Laraaji. Sharing the stage with artists August Ponthier, Photay, Elijah Wolf, and Maggie Rogers, he’s showcased his talents as an internationally touring guitarist at The MoMA PS1, United Nations, The Beacon Theatre, and many more. Stu’s debut full length album, Stillness In Motion was released in 2021 on the Youngbloods label, earning acclaim from Los Angeles’ KCRW and Apple Music. He completed a certificate training for sound in the healing arts with the New York Open Center’s Sound & Integrative Music Institute in 2022.

Lia Fall is a singer and songwriter who has been leading a community song circle in St Croix Falls, Wisconsin, for the past 8 years. She teaches Full Voice, Vocal Playground, and Yoga of the Voice in classes and as a private vocal coach. Lia is dedicated to sharing the aural tradition of spreading songs, and to the conviction that singing is everyone’s birthright as a human. If you can breathe and you have a mouth, please come sing! She is an accomplished teacher of the Yoga of the Voice.

DevaVani, a soulful singer, poet, and recording artist; Devavani is also a spiritual seeker and gifted teacher. In addition to teaching Yoga of the Voice, she devotes her time to working as a community retreat leader and an inspired new thought musician based in San Diego. She teaches what she manifests: The Embodied Voice.