Wade Imre Morissette

Musician, Yoga Instructor/Therapist

Wade Imre Morissette was born in Ottawa, Canada, just minutes before his twin sister Alanis. The twins took to music at an early age; Wade studied piano as a child and took on guitar and djembe in his teens, but their paths diverged when Wade began to study yoga.

From the time he was a small child, Wade was in search of a practice that would help him connect to his spirit, trying everything from karate to tai chi. It wasn't until Wade's college roommate handed him a book by the name of The Mystic Path To Cosmic Powers that he decided to dedicate the next decade of his life to learning and teaching yoga, but his musical background would soon resurface.

During one of Wade's many visits to India, he began to travel on the path of Devotional Yoga and started chanting, a process that stills the mind, dissolves worries, and opens the heart. “It's a natural way to tune into the frequency of love,” says Wade.

He realized he could combine his two passions--yoga and music--to create his own original blend of indie rock/pop music with Sanskrit and English chants. “My first concerts were in India, and people would come up to me and say that my music touched their hearts. I decided to take my music to different yoga studios across the world,” Wade explains.

In 2004, Wade was asked to be an ambassador for Lululemon, the popular yoga-inspired athletic apparel company. At the same time, he had self-released his debut album, Sargam Scales of Music. Wade quickly developed an idea for a world tour to promote both his album and the clothing line; Lululemon immediately signed on as a sponsor. The Lululemon Yoga Pilgrimage kicked off in 2005 and took Wade to Tokyo, Hong Kong and 32 cities in North America and continued on through early 2006 with stops in Thailand, Australia, New Zealand and Mexico. At each stop, Wade spread his message of optimism, well-being, consciousness, and community through Vinyasa Flow workshops, chanting, kirtan (call-and-response singing), and bliss dance.

In the midst of Wade's world traveling, Nettwerk Music Group CEO and yoga enthusiast Terry McBride kept hearing Wade's music in yoga class in Vancouver, but couldn't find the album. The two connected in late 2006, and Wade signed on with Nettwerk Records to release his second album, Strong as Diamonds: Om Vajra Kaya Namaha, due out May 1, 2007. While Wade's debut release explores a sense of longing and self-discovery, Strong as Diamonds: Om Vajra Kaya Namaha is less introspective. "This release is more about celebrating, gratitude and lifting one's spirit," says Wade. "It has a lot more energy and it's sunnier, but it's still soulful."

Already making appearances at yoga conferences, retreats and studios around the world, Wade will tour North America this summer in support of the album. At each performance, he begins with bliss dance and ends with a kirtan. Wade, on guitar and harmonium, sings out a phrase; the audience responds until the musicians and audience mesh. He also performs several of his own songs for those who prefer to listen and observe.

Wade has been practicing and teaching yoga for 13 years. He has completed Iyengar, Classical Ashtanga and Ashtanga-Vinyasa yoga teacher training. He has studied Vinyasa, Viniyoga, Anusara, and Kriya yoga, as well as zazen, Vedic Chanting, and active movement and sound meditations with some of the best-known teachers in Canada, North America, and India. He is also a Reiki master, certified Phoenix Rising yoga therapist, and Viniyoga Therapist. He leads teacher trainings, workshops, retreats, and music-dance evenings internationally. He is currently working on his first book, Living Your Joy, and planning a series of motivational seminars.

With features in Yoga Journal and Macleans Magazine and appearances on Entertainment Tonight Canada, BCTV and Toronto's Yoga Series, CTV's E Talk Daily Canada, and CBC Radio in Canada, Wade has established himself as a sought-after yoga instructor and talented musician. He has also been covered by the Vancouver Courier, The Province, Globe and Mail, The Sun and Shared Vision in Vancouver, and his music is heard often on SacredSoundsRadio.com.

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