Testimonials

I approached Shantala at Veda studies since I was very keen to understand Vedas through chanting rather than merely reading translations. As a yoga teacher hailing from India, I thought naturally my Suktam journey would be fairly easy so when I was given the option to do the foundation course I was initially hesitant since I thought I would be merely relearning what I had already learnt. But just a few minutes into the course I realised how detailed it was in terms of explaining the basic fundamentals of chanting. The most critical rules, phonetics and chanting ethics were laid out with so much clarity and simplicity. I realised I would have to unlearn a lot of what I had previously learnt to truly inculcate an authentic practice. Having completed the 6 week foundation course, I realise how comfortable it made my Suktam journey when I recently began the Sri Suktam course. Thank you dear Shantala 🙏♥️

Deepa Hegde

Yoga teacher, Dubai

I am loving your classes so much! It is my treat for Tuesday evening, when I get back home from work I listen to your recording and I learn so much! I normally listen to the recordings 2-3 times as I just love this immersion into the Vedas and the amount of wisdom that is condensed in the mantras that you explain and chant. I use what I learn from these cosmic forces to inspire my yoga practice and deepen my self reflection.

Also you explain everything really well and with such a deep passion that it is impossible not to become also passionate about the magic world of the Vedas.

Federica Martin

Yoga teacher

Learning and practising the Vedas with Shantala has been a discovery of my voice, of my connection to other students and to the eternal in all of us. 
Shantala has the unique talent of transmitting this age-old tradition with simplicity, grace and humour.
The benefits I experience are multiple: chanting mantras stimulates my love for language in an intuitive way and is an inspiration for my artistic work.
This practise affects my everyday life in small things as well: I notice better concentration and a brighter mood.
I would write all this in capitals (trying not to sound like a hysterical groupie), but it’s clear: I am a total fan ))))
Sarah van Lamsweerde

Artist, Sarah van Lamsweerde

Growing up in India, I was always interested in Vedic Chanting but could not find a good teacher like Shantala! I really appreciate her Veda Studies platform which gives me the advantage to learn the mantras at my pace and understand the meaning of what I am chanting! Learning with Shantala online has been a incredible experience! It is very effective and I feel it’s a 1-on-1 class.The Vedic phonetic explanation makes us understand how to pronounce each word and this way we learn perfectly to chant the mantras. I can also send my recordings to Shantala and each time she replies diligently correcting me wherever necessary which helps me to get better. I would highly recommend these courses to all sincere students. I have taken many courses with Shantala like Veda Essentials, Invocatory Mantras, Ganapathi Upanishad, Medha Suktam to name a few. 

Aparna Rajesh

Entrepreneur , Mindtronix, India

I was very pleasantly surprised by this course (Six weeks beginners guided online initiation) as a whole, it met all my expectations. Shantala has the great talent to accompany this beautifully. She is always ready to answer questions and explains everything in a structured way. The structure of the course just works and there is a good variety between theory and practice. If it goes too fast or too slow, Shantala offers good alternatives. The great advantage in the online course is that you can practice one on one and receive feedback. Thanks again, Shantala! I really enjoyed the six-week course and I am looking forward to more of this. Highly recommended!

Dorien Reyners

Music therapist, Belgium

Learning Vedic Chanting online has been a great opportunity for me. I find Shantala’s method incredibly effective. I had already been introduced to Vedic Chanting in India, but with these online courses I could really improve my way of chanting and my level of precision in the application of the Vedic Chanting rules. Memorizing the mantras comes natural after a while, also thanks to the excellent explanation of their meaning. Moreover, an advantage is that I can study at my own pace and contact the teacher any moment, because she is always available for explanations and corrections. I would highly recommend these courses to all sincere seekers and students of Vedic wisdom.

Rossana Cosentino

Italy

Attending Shantala ji’s classes on Vedic chanting has been an illuminating experience for me on many levels. Her authentic and clear articulations of the mantras learnt with great humility and dedication from the renowned Challakere Brothers are made very accessible to us using her signature innovative style of representing the pronunciation using colour codes etc. Although a Sanskritist, i feel extremely blessed to have had the opportunity to learn significant aspects of Vedic phonetics from her which she teaches us lovingly yet firmly, patiently and with her characteristic laugh, till we have mastered it up to her satisfaction! Highly recommend her classes for anyone who is seeking a guide to experience the power of Vedic chanting! Namo namaH to her and to her gurus for this precious gift!

Dr. Anuradha Choudry

IIT Kharagpur, Co-curator Global Festival of Yoga: Celebrating Wellness 2020, Indica Yoga

I have followed several of Shantala’s mantra courses since 2017 and always enjoyed her sessions for their precision and devotion to tradition. She is a very patient and clear teacher and her ever-expanding following is a testimony to her rigorous yet approachable manner. I had learned some Sanskrit and mantra chanting from authentic teachers in the past, yet discovered I was nonetheless making mistakes due to differences in pronunciation. Shantala follows the Veda chanting rules so you know you will be learning the correct pronunciation of each mantra. Her online courses are thorough and easy to follow, whether self-paced or as part of an ongoing cycle via Zoom. Highly recommended!
Susan Hopkinson

Yoga Therapist and Astrologer, Brussels

Being a most un-technicological person, I was very doubtful as to my ability to navigate in an online program for studying the Vedic chants. But even I was able to use this very well explained and logical program and now enjoy it every day as a part of my deeper studies. As a matter of fact, I think that it is a necessity as one class a week would not lead you to all of the intricacies of Vedic pronunciation, meter, grammatical rules, and the translations that make the learning of a mantra an experience of Truth. No matter what ones relationship is with the world of computers, this is an excellent and essential tool; it is a must! Forever surprised and grateful.

Kay Lipman

Yoga Teacher, Belgium

“Studying with Shantala is a true joy. As a new yoga teacher, I found that I didn’t get enough background on the Vedic Scriptures in my teacher training. Enter Veda Studies, the best platform to get you started on the Vedas and Yogic scriptures. Structured, comprehensive and authentic. And Shantala is truly the best teacher you could wish for. She follows up your progress with great kindness and integrity and no question is ever too much for her! I always look forward to our weekly Webinars & live sessions with our international group of students, and I’m sure you will too! “

Valérie Albay

Yoga Teacher, Mechelen, Belgium

For me it is a great opportunity to study Vedic Chant in the traditional way with Shantala. On line classes are very good, well organised and easy to follow.
Shantala’s explanations are excellent both in the part related to the meaning and in those of chanting.
It is easy and pleasant to study with Shantala.
Silvia Grillo

Yoga Teacher, Italy

The beginner’s course (6 week online program) with Shantala and the other students was an excellent opportunity to start my journey into the Vedas. This course is not only very well structured and organised but also very motivating and interesting. Shantala’s passion for the Vedas and for teaching is the perfect tool for us to become passionate and focused on the spiritual practice.

Sara Costa

Your Vedic chanting courses are very nice, more so the personal attention and guidance you provide to your student. The color coding system developed by you for Mahaprāṇa, anusvāra, visarga rules etc are very helpful for a beginner like me. Since you are trained by a guru in line of authentic and ancient tradition of Vedic chanting, your students have the advantage of receiving authentic Vedic Chanting knowledge from a traditional lineage of teachers/acharyas.

Thanks once again for working hard in designing such courses for your students. May God bless you in all your endeavours.

Shyam Sundar Singh

Hyderabad, India

I was introduced to yogic scriptures and philosophy by chanting the Yoga Sutras with Shantala, it was a great experience of bliss, I was feeling aligned, grounded and so relaxed after each class, I got totally absorbed by it (or is it the other way around?). The method of teaching through chanting as well as the patience, dedication and the joy of Shantala are the best ingredients for a beautiful, accessible and smooth learning process. I highly recommend her classes for their quality, clarity and authenticity. I mostly learned with her in person but the online platform is a real plus, as it allows me to go back to the classes to refresh or retake, or just chant. It was also so helpful later on, for my thesis, when everything I have learned about the Sutras took form in my mind, so clearly, so smoothly, like magic! I am so grateful for the light she placed on my yoga path. Merci!

Camille Remy

Yoga teacher, Belgium

I have been chanting strotrams and mantras for 4 years now and as an Indian, the pronunciation and vocabulary of the hymns are not difficult for me as I know the words. Yet, I was intimidated to chant hymns in the classical Veda style as recited by Shantala. But yesterday I finally tried a course on Veda Studies and Shantala is such a good teacher, patient and so many repetitions! Such meticulous and painstaking work in these courses. Shantalas work has always seemed sincere and real to me.

Payal Barua

Dubai, UAE

Online studies with Shantala are such a pleasure and same time she gives students great motivation to progress and deepen their knowledge. I met Shantala few years ago and studied with her Yoga Sutras and Vedic chanting in Brussels. Luckily same moment I moved to Zurich, Veda Studies were launched and I could continue following courses online. She is the kindest person and dedicated teacher you can imagine and you will see it even online through her videos: all material is structured in a very good way, there is slow and fast chanting recording, materials to study and videos from classes with explanations. There is a space for discussions so you can ask all questions to the teacher and group. At the end of each chapter, you will have to pass a self-assessment which I found very helpful and motivating to revise what I’ve learnt so far.  I have a community feeling even when studying from abroad, progressing together with the group. I encourage everyone, who has just started yoga or has a well-developed practice to take next step and study Yoga Sutras with Shantala.

Agnieszka Jarek

Zurich, Switzerland

To have the opportunity to learn with Shantala is the best thing for me as a yoga practitioner. Both online and in live class, you will receive excellent teaching at your level. She is a brilliant and impeccable teacher. Her knowledge, intelligence and devotion truly are out of this world! Besides her proficiency in transmitting the Yoga Sutras, she makes the higher practice of Vedic chanting accessible for all. The online study platform offers an abundance of material to work with for many years to come. Self-study has never been this good, Shantala has embarked me on a lifelong practice.

Teune van der Wildt

Yoga Teacher, Antwerp

The courses are very well structured, both in the theoretical and in the practical part.  The teacher explains with great clarity and competence and is always available for questions, clarifications, etc.  I find online courses very useful because they allow learning even when it is not possible to go to the school in person.

Antonella Valentinetti

Italy

Hi Shantala, your lessons online are fantastic! I’m learning so much from this and it is really great the way you explain how to recite, why to do it and the reasons behind it. All the small details you teach are incredibly vital into doing it right, exactly how our rishis and sages heard it during their deep meditations. It’s really opened my eyes as to how much distorted music is out there. I used to listen to a lot of mantra chanting music from all sorts of artists thinking “its so beautiful!”, now it’s like “wait, hang on a sec!” Lol. It’s important to have music too as it’s what brings people together, but listening to it for pleasure is one thing, and chanting it is very different – this is the difference that people need to understand and this is what your lessons teach. What you’re doing with this is incredibly amazing, this really needs to reach out to the whole world to know about. There’s so much distorted information out there, that with all of what you’re doing, you can bring so much clarity globally!

Nikhil Vekaria

London

I am so happy to have joined the 6-week Beginners online course. Week after week I have enjoyed the well-structured program as well as meeting other fellow students on Zoom for a group feel. Shantala goes the extra mile to help her students develop their practice and her support has helped me a lot on my Vedic chanting journey. I’d recommend this course to anyone interested in going deeper into their practice. So much fun as well In the midst of the practice !! And if like me you are learning Sanskrit you might even find a deeper connection to the Devanagari alphabet.

Amandine Dantin

Ireland