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Hey everybody! Episode 88 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with Almunis (Alejandra Ortiz). She had been highly recommended to me by a good friend and then recently someone who was dieting with Merav and myself also highly recommended her. Almunis was also doing a retreat right next door and so it seemed serendipitous. Almunis is a Colombian teacher who works with the voice. We had a really fascinating conversation about the power of the voice, how it can be opened and truly found, its healing effects, the power of the word, and we touched a bit on plant medicines as well, especially as the voice and song are often an integral part of many traditions. I really enjoyed this conversation and Almunis really has a beautiful presence and wisdom that she shares from her own journey and work with others. It was a pleasure for me to sit down with her and I hope one day to sit down with her again and learn more from her. I trust you all will find this episode illuminating. As always, to support this podcast, get early access to shows, bonus material, and Q&As, check out my Patreon page below. Enjoy!
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Almunis (Alejandra Ortiz) is a Colombian singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist graduated Magna Cum Laude from Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, USA; and a Sound Therapist with Certification from the Voice, Sound and Music Healing Program of the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, California, USA.
In 2004 she founded the visionary electronic folk duo Lulacruza. Since 2016, she makes music with her beloved husband, the Swedish singer and producer Marcus Berg (leader of Kultiration and Markandeya) under the name of Minük.
Deeply rooted in the immemorial ritual practices of the Americas, Almunis is the creator of the Embodied Voice method. Since 2005, she has offered thousands of voice and sound healing sessions internationally, sharing her connection with singing as path of self-knowledge and transformation. She incorporates yoga, taoist training, drama therapy and meditation, as well as her love for water and plants, in her healing work with sound.
Almunis was initiated into the mysteries of sacred sound by Sarah Benson in 2001 (Earth Sound Light Center, Boston, USA), and was fortunate to study:
Yoga of the Voice with Silvia Nakkach (VoxMundi), singing with Lisa Thorson (Berklee College of Music), Maria Olga Piñeros (Colombia) and Livia Koppman (Argentina). Sound healing with John Beaulieu (Biosonics), Joshua Leeds (Sonic Alchemy), Pat Moffitt Cook (Open Ear Center), Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche (Tibetan Bön Buddhist Art of Sound Healing), Laurie Herron and Katie Mink (West Coast Acutonics). Percussion with Kenwood Dennard, Valerie Naranjo, Glen Velez and Jamie Haddad. TaKeTiNa with Reinhard & Cornelia Flatishler. Improvisation with Meredith Monk and Deep listening with Pauline Oliveros.
Almunis has sung in India, Israel, Japan, Australia, Indonesia, Argentina, Mexico, Peru, Costa Rica, Colombia, the United States, Spain, Sweden, Greece, Germany, Holland and Hungary. She has recorded more than 30 albums. She starred in and co-produced “Esperando el Tsunami“ a documentary directed by Vincent Moon, about her sonic explorations in various regions of Colombia.
All her songs, chants and offerings across the world aim to anchor light and sound codes from her star ancestry back into the Earth, activating an authentic, powerful presence of love and unity.
She is the founder and director of Sonido Sana, and is currently based in Bogota, Colombia where she lives with her husband and two daughters.
To contact or learn more about Almunis, visit her website or Instagram at: https://sonidosana.com/ and https://www.instagram.com/sonidosana/
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My colleague Merav Artzi (who I interviewed in episode 28) and I will be running diets in the Sacred Valley of Peru beginning again in February of 2022. We will also be in Ireland in May (Sold Out), Israel in June, and New York in July. If you would like more information about joining us and the work I do, visit my site at:
https://www.NicotianaRustica.org
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Music courtesy of: Nuno Moreno (end song). Visit: https://m.soundcloud.com/groove_a_zen_sound and https://nahira-ziwa.bandcamp.com/ And Stefan Kasapovski’s Santero Project (intro song). Visit: https://spoti.fi/3y5Rd4H
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Thanks and until the next episode!