Meet Kimberly Kai

“My music and mentorship are rooted in the belief that beauty itself is a nutrient, and that creative expression is a path for healing.”

For Kimberly Kai, music has always been a bridge to the spiritual.

Her earliest memories of singing trace back to Hebrew school at age seven, where she learned traditional songs and niguns— melodic repetitive sounds meant to bring one closer to the Divine. This foundation in sacred sound led to deeper explorations at Stanford University, where she studied English with a focus on nature writing, and later through immersive experiences in various wisdom traditions.

Education & Training:

  • English with Creative Writing Emphasis, Stanford University (B.A)

  • Multiple Subject Teaching Credential, Sonoma State University

  • Waldorf Teacher's Training, Center for Educational Renewal

  • Yoga Teacher's Training, TriYoga International

  • Yoga and Mindfulness Teacher’s Training, Spirit Rock

  • Wilderness Rites of Passage Apprenticeship, School of Lost Borders

  • Plant Dieta with Chiric Sonango, Shipibo-Konibo tradition (Peru)

  • Currently being mentored by singer-songwriters: Scott Elliot Ferreter (guitar), Kiranjot Kaur (harmonium), and Melodie Melodist (vocal harmonies)

“I draw from diverse wisdom traditions - creating a unique tapestry that honors both ancestral knowledge and present-moment authenticity.”

Like the Saguaro cactus that takes 25 years to bloom, I consider myself a "late bloomer" in my creative expression. For years, I observed others creating with wonder and admiration, feeling separate from that mysterious creative force. Now, I wake each morning with gratitude for another day to make art and music, experiencing a current of vitality that flows through creative expression. This journey from observer to creatrix informs my approach to mentorship, where I honor each person's unique timing and creative unfoldment.

In my late teens, I was introduced to singing as a devotional practice in the yoga tradition when I lived at the Sivananda ashram.  Later I found a great deal of resonance with earth-based spirituality and the chants that were used to raise energy in the context of pagan ritual.  I participated in alchemical fire circles where kindred souls sang, drummed, and danced until dawn for three nights in a row.  I have always been a songcatcher and songkeeper, learning by heart songs at these events and others like them such as the Singing Alive festival in the Pacific Northwest. I have been in a woman’s group celebrating the solstices and Equinoxes for over 20 years, and another circle celebrating the full moon for over a decade.  In these circles, women join their voices together and connect with their wild souls, one another, and the natural world.  

In 2023, my path took a profound deepening when I journeyed to the Amazon rainforest near Contamana, Peru, to study the Shipibo-Konibo tradition of singing and ceremony. I have learned first-hand that song — as uplifting vibration and prayer — can heal all aspects of our beings. Through benefit concerts and community song circles, I continue to explore how music can serve as both personal medicine and collective healing. One of the most impactful events on my journey was when I produced an Earth Day fundraiser in 2024 that raised money for the indigenous family who hosted me in Peru to purchase and steward over 60 acres of rainforest adjacent to their educational retreat center.

To see footage from the rainforest and learn more about this project: