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Professional Bio

Nikki Slade is a leading pioneer in the field of chanting, core voice and sound work in the UK for over 30 yrs. Nikki has inspired thousands of individuals to chant and has led chanting and voice workshops in a wide variety of settings including companies such as M&C Saatchi, Deutsche Bank and Cisco. She has been resident Kirtan leader at triyoga London for 20 years and has also taken her cutting-edge approach to working with the voice into Wandsworth men’s prison. She was the resident voice and sound facilitator at the Priory Hospital in North London for 20 years where she has, through her work, supported the recovery of people on the addiction treatment programme.

For the past 10 years she has been facilitating chanting and voice workshops at the half-way recovery house Start 2 Stop in central London. Nikki has worked extensively, privately with sound and voice work for leaders in their fields including Business leaders, Therapists, Yoga teachers, School teachers, Writers and Performing artists. She has released 4 successful mantra and chanting recordings including: Nectarine, Monsoon, Soundscape and the double album Epiphany.

She is also author of her popular book ‘The Healing Power of Chanting’. In recent years she has pioneered Kirtan in the mainstream areas of Glastonbury Festival and Latitude Festival and The World Yoga Festival. She has shared her work overseas in California, Singapore, NYC, Mexico City, Brussels and Melbourne. On 11.11.11 at Mind, Body, Spirit show she led a chant for the opening ceremony for over 2000 people and once again at the 12.12.12 Oneness ceremony at the London Hilton. Nikki is the founder of the first in the UK 200hr Learn To Lead Kirtan Foundation Training, accredited by The Yoga Alliance Professionals in 2016. She completed leading the 6th training her in the UK in November 2023

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She has received excellent reviews for her 1-to-1 voice coaching in Vogue, Telegraph, Independent, Guardian and Daily Mail.

Chanting for change and transformation:

Working with addicts

My most rewarding ongoing work is with recovering addicts at the Priory North London and more recently with Start2Stop in South Kensington. I’ve watched the profound difference the power of chant has had on the people. When they arrive they are invariably shut down and depressed and an hour later they emerge free, dancing, laughing. Some people when they come out of treatment stay plugged into the chanting by coming to my weekly Kirtan group at Triyoga. The majority buy my CDs and stay connected that way. Working with addicts weekly for over 13 years has been one of the most profound parts of my journey.

Working with business leaders

In the 1990’s I had a vision of bringing chanting and the sound of the soul to the business world. I had the dream to create the space for the leaders of the world to connect to their authentic voice and was committed to facilitating massive change. It took over ten years to get my first corporate gig in the late 1990’s, but now, the majority of my clients are business leaders and entrepreneurs. The work we do together propels and transitions them into the next stage of their life’s work and that is an exhilarating journey for me to be a part of.

Working with religions to dissolve conflict

My deepest vision is to be used as a vehicle for dissolving religious barriers. In recent years I have had the opportunity to lead a chant with an audience where 5 different religious leaders spoke. The intention was to create a point of unity in all religious paths. It was such a wonderful experience to sense the dissolution of any sense of separation in the room. When you chant you are in that space of oneness. You cannot experience separation – When you are in the presence of pure love, all barriers automatically dissolve.

  • “Nikki’s kirtan has the power to explode love in the room…

    Sally Kempton, Spiritual teacher and Author of Awakening Shakti

  • Her style and expertise has the power to bring individuals and  groups together very quickly which then allowed us to work more effectively with our programmes.

    JC Mac, JCM Associates Ltd Managing Director

Nikki’s Journey

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MBS Mexico City

2014

Mexico City

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Tribal Earth

2006

London, UK

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Yoga Magazine Chanting blessing, Wholefoods, South Kensington

2011

London, UK

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Photography by Karen Yeomans

2010

London, UK

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Sacred Chord’ Voice Residential Retreat

2009

East Sussex, UK

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Photography by Samjhana Moon

2012

London, UK

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NHS Conference

2005

Birmingham, UK

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With Soto Zen Master Ryushin Zendo at Bearwood College

2009

Wokingham, UK

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Tribal Earth

2004

London, UK

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With Soto Zen Master Ryushin Zendo at Bearwood College

2009

Wokingham, UK

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NHS Conference

2005

Birmingham, UK

My Story

My childhood dream was to be an actress who sang and danced on stage. I pursued my dream with all my heart and at the age of 18, I was offered a place at the Guildford School of Acting where I specialized in Musical Theatre. In my early 20’s I was an ensemble member and understudy to leading roles in the West End and at 35 years old I was cast in my first West End lead.

Although my acting career was going great, my early childhood question: who am I? And: where am I going? finally led me to my new career.

I always had a sense that there was something missing which ultimately led me to my new career. One night I turned up to sing in a West End show and I was losing my voice. I had developed nodules and needed to find a singing teacher. In perfect synchronicity I was introduced to Helena Shenel – teacher to the stars including Shirley Bassey, George Michael and Peter Gabriel –  and for four years I studied everything I could about vocal technique.

I became curious about ‘the soul of the voice’ because even though someone might be perfect in their vocal technique, it didn’t necessarily mean that they were expressing the sound of their soul and this intrigued me.

One day in 1987 my teacher Helena took me to an evening of chanting and meditation. There I purchased my first chanting cassette tape (in those days) which I listened to and chanted with daily.

In 1989 through the power of chanting I had a spiritual awakening (or Kundalini awakening). From that moment forward I became passionate about the exploration of the soul of the natural voice that I had connected with in my chanting practice.

I followed my instincts and decided to travel to India to continue my research when something extraordinary happened. I discovered that chanting is an incredible tool for maintaining sobriety from drugs and alcohol.

As a recovering alcoholic, chanting helped me greatly to overcome addiction one day at a time because it gave me a direct connection to my inner Self. I realised that addiction is the thirst for connection and when the addict is disconnected, he/she will use anything to reconnect again.

If you have an addictive personality you get hooked in a way that the average person doesn’t. In my case, chanting replaced cravings for material substance addiction. The sweet vibrations filled that “hole in the soul”. This was the biggest life changing breakthrough for me.

Vocal technique is important whether you are singing or speaking in public but to have a voice that is connected to the depth of the soul when you speak is a priceless experience for both you and the listener – My work is devoted to creating that space for people to access their inner voice.

From that moment onwards I knew my life had to change. My channel opened and acting was no longer my destiny (my dream had been fulfilled) and I was intuitively led to the next phase of my career. My new purpose in life was to create sacred spaces for people to experiment and practice connection with their own natural sacred chord before expressing and integrating it into their life.

If you think you’re taking a risk in your career by starting a new venture, leaving your job, pursuing what you love … let me tell you, no matter how strange it might look on the surface, it probably doesn’t look as strange as leaving a successful acting career in the west end to pursue a chanting business in the 1990s.

I didn’t know if I was going to make it. I didn’t know if I was going to make a living out of it or if anyone was going to pay for my services. I knew I was a pioneer because I was the first facilitator to bring devotional chanting work into corporations and into addiction treatment programs in the UK in 2001.

The journey hasn’t always been easy and many things have changed over the years but one thing remains a constant – my commitment and passion that people free their own inner voice. I am here for anyone who is determined to tap into their own inner freedom.

 

My Top 5 Career Highlights

one

In 2001 I was invited to lead a finale chant with 80 business leaders from around the country at a conference called “finding your leadership voice” at Ashridge Business College. This was the first time I had ever taken the practice of chanting into the business world and it was the edgiest part of my career. I didn’t know if that would work but the results blew me away leading to many other openings and I knew I was in the right path.

two

In 2005 Deutsche Bank hired me to lead a chant at their main branch on London wall with 36 delegates. The delegates were from all over Europe and it was the first time they were meeting each other and my job was to ‘break the ice’ between them. We had men and women in their suits dancing and chanting for a full hour at London Wall. The experience was absolutely incredible.

three

The most adrenaline inducing experience I had was chanting with men from Wandsworth prison. I had a group of 16 men who had offended through drug and alcohol abuse. They were locked up and rehabilitated. Imagine 16 incarcerated men in a tiny cell with one window chanting. The success of those chanting sessions was groundbreaking and from that moment on, I knew I had to work with addicts.

four

Over the last three years I have led the opening chant at World Jamboree at the Jewish Museum. It’s an event where different religious leaders come together including a Rabbi, a Muslim priest, a Hindu Brahman, and Anglican priest and a Buddhist monk all come together in aid of the Women’s Hunger Project in Africa and HIV. My role was to connect everyone to the power of love through chanting. It was a profound and inspiring experience.

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One of my most unforgettable experiences was leading the Chant on 11.11.11 at 11.11.11am at the Mind Body Spirit festival with over 2,000 people. There was something extraordinary and magical about the energy of that day that will stay with me forever.

Find your Signature Tune.

Work with me to allow your unconscious blocks, external conflicts, deep rooted fears and self judgement to dissolve – it’s time to lift your vibration and plug into joy, bliss and freedom.

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Contact Hanna, Nikki’s PA to book a free discovery session: [email protected] or 07932043277