Debby Badger
Vedic Chant & Yoga Teacher, Indi House, Brighton, Victoria, Australia
I am dedicated to teaching Vedic Chanting, to guide others on their journey of learning to chant the mantras of the Vedas. I seek to gently encourage students to be comfortable with their own sound and to experience the healing benefits of chanting. I am a passionate believer in the benefits of Vedic Chanting and bring to my teaching a deep understanding and faith in the capacity of human beings to grow and change. I am committed to continuing this tradition as it has been passed on from teacher to student through oral transmission for generations.
As a student of yoga for over thirty years, a yoga teacher since 2009, and a Vedic Chanting Teacher since 2014, Vedic Chanting is now an important part of my daily practice. The power of chanting became evident to me through the teachings of yoga in the tradition of Krishnamacharya. Śrī TKV Desikachar was a student of his father, Professor T Krishnamacharya, for more than thirty years and brought chanting to millions of students throughout the world for health and healing. My teacher, Radha Sundararajan, was a long term student of Śrī TKV Desikachar, and his influence has been passed on to me through her. Tragically Radha passed away during the Covid pandemic in 2021.
Śrī Desikachar always emphasised the relationship between teacher and student in the healing process and chanting helps create this close relationship. Chanting is still taught by call and response from teacher to student as it was established thousands of years ago. The teacher recites and the student listens with great attention, then the student repeats and is listened to by the teacher. It is in the listening and being listened to that a powerful healing effect occurs. Something unique happens when a student learns to chant with a teacher in this way.
In the words of Sri TKV Desikachar, “Chanting connects us to our heart”.
Yoga Teacher (teachings of Krishnamacharya) 500 hours – Agama Yoga Centre, Melbourne 2006-2009 with Barbara Brian as mentor. Barbara was a student of Śrī TKV Desikachar.
Since 2005 Debby has attended many seminars, both in Australia and India, with the Desikachar family, KHYF teachers (Krishnamacharya Healing Yoga Foundation, Chennai), TSYP, UK and Sadhana Mala Yoga Training, UK. Seminars include Bhagavad Gītā, Chennai, February 2013, Yoga Psychology, Melbourne, November, 2016, Mahānārāyaṇa Upaniṣat, January, 2017, Guruśiṣya Paraṁparā, Spain, April 2021, Wheel of Fire Retreat, Perth, May, 2022, Āditya Hṛdayam Retreat, Perth, May 2023
Vedic Chanting Teacher – Chennai, India 2013/2014.
Debby’s mentor, Radha Sundararajan, was herself a student of Śrī TKV Desikachar for 25 years. Radha taught students all over the world, she conducted Vedic Chant Teacher Training in several countries. Debby was trained by Radha to be a trainer in the first Vedic Chant Teacher Training in Australia.
Sanskrit language at Australian National University 2015/2016.
Debby was invited to speak about Vedic Chanting in Sanskrit at the 5th Australasian Sanskrit Conference at ANU, Canberra, December 2023.
Debby studied with her mentor Radha Sundararajan in regular classes from 2015 until she passed away during the Covid Pandemic in May 2021.
Debby now has a mentor in Laurent Nadolski, Paris, France.
Debby continues her studies with Laurent Nadolski, Senior Teacher in Yoga and Vedic Chanting. Laurent was also a student of Radha Sundararajan.
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During the Covid pandemic, many people struggled with isolation and I was encouraged by my teacher to start an Australian Vedic Chant Group online. Anyone could join in and chant or just listen. It enabled people from all over the world to see the faces of others, and we found that being in the same place and the same time for a common purpose brought many people comfort during a time of devastating isolation. We have continued to meet a few times a year even since Covid restrictions ended. Next Meeting 30th March, 2025
I am so grateful for Debby’s great skill and gentle compassion as a teacher in this lineage, for her extensive experience and understanding of both the techniques of Vedic chanting and of the ancient wisdom of the mantras themselves, and for her ability to teach all levels from beginners to advanced. The rewards of Vedic Chanting are infinite, ranging from basic nervous system regulation to the ultimate expansion of our consciousness, and I highly recommend studying with Debby for anyone wishing to calm their mind, open their heart, and enlighten their spirit.”
Dr. Molly Pettit
Yoga & Vedic Chant Teacher, Sound Healer, Reiki Master, Kundalini Dance Facilitator, Aromatherapy, Herbal Medicine and Sanskrit student. See website: Labyrinth of the Rose.
“Dear Debby,
I have been intending to write to you to thank you for giving me the wonderful gift of chanting. I am quite surprised by how much I love my chanting as a personal practice. It always nourishes me, grounds me, uplifts me. It brings me into the present moment. It requires my full concentration, if my mind wanders, I know instantly.
It takes no forward planning; it needs no special equipment or special place. It can take just a few minutes or as long as I have. I often chant before my students arrive for class, I chant while sitting in my car in a carpark, I chant on the beach or in a park. I chant when I am not quite up to asana or pranayama. I chant when I am feeling unsettled or when my thoughts seem to be unhelpful. I chant when I am joyful and when I am sad. It connects me with an ancient tradition, and it connects me with generations of chanters before me.
Debby I am honestly so grateful that I know what you have taught me. I feel I now have all the knowledge of how to chant well. I know the pronunciation, where to pause, when to breathe. Of course, I don’t always do it correctly, but I do know what I am aiming for.”
Carmel Gannon
Yoga Teacher and Yoga Therapist, Vedic Chant Teacher