Healing Vibrations: Wellness News From Grammy Award Winner Erykah Badu

28.05.2024 - 14:09 / forbes.com

From her colorful signature head wraps to her omnipresent ankh (the Ancient Egyptian symbol of life) to her rich soulful voice, singer Erykah Badu has been a beautiful and beguiling presence on the music scene since the Dallas native won two Grammy Awards for her 1997 début album, “Baduizm.”

“Baduizm” sold millions of copies and turned her into an international soul superstar. But there is a deeply private side to Badu, tied to her passion for wellness, that will become increasingly public this summer, when she curates Merasa: 7 Days of Regeneration, a wellness festival from June 1 to 8th at the beachfront resort Desa Potato Head, in Seminyak, Bali. The unique five-star resort blends sustainability and wellness programming with a beach-village vibe, recycled art installations and beautifully designed green indoor and outdoor spaces.

The Merasa“Good Times, Do Good” program is intended to help participants enrich body and soul by sharing new approaches to wellness and self-care. The lineup includes musical performances; panel discussions and talks; yoga, mindfulness and breathwork classes; movement, energy and crystal workshops; films and guided rituals; writing and poetry tutorials. There will be a meld of traditional and modern Indonesian and Western wellness modalities, arts and music, including a talk and morning session hosted by Badu. Also on the program: KT The Arch Degree, Notep, Tjok Gde Kerthyasa, Fa’ Pawaka and Waangenga Blanco, each sharing a unique wellness perspective with the intention, according to Badu, “to create a healing vibration.”

Badu’s own introduction to wellness came at an early age, “as a nine-year-old enrolled in a summer dance program,” she says, and explains: “Creativity and wellness are intertwined, and you have to feel well to create.” Bali, according to Badu, is “one of the best places to breathe and heal.”

The artist is a certified Reiki instructor, a practicing doula, a longtime vegan and holistic health practitioner. A mother of three–Mars, Puma and Seven aged 15 to 25–she says, “everything they saw was part of me instilling wellness.” For Badu, wellness means time spent outdoors in the sunshine; forging a connection with nature; moving your body; practicing breath work and meditation–”where you’re sitting with yourself being quiet”—and putting “the right kinds of healthy food” in your body.

Wellness is all about transformation, self-discovery, honesty and growth, she says, which certainly makes sense coming from someone who is continuously evolving—creatively, artistically, personally. Badu clearly enjoys sharing her deep-felt knowledge and experience with others, as she plans to do at the Merasa wellness festival in Bali. “I have to practice a thing for 10 or 20