Dr. Shumaila Hemani is an award-winning artist-scholar, trauma-informed coach, and founder of The Deep Listening Path, a Calgary-based social enterprise. A certified Positive Neuroplasticity Teacher and a founding support member of the Global Compassion Coalition, established by Dr. Rick Hanson, she combines music, mindfulness, and deep listening to foster resilience and address burnout—particularly among changemakers, creatives, and advocates navigating systemic inequities.
Recognized for her thought leadership by CEO Weekly, Canada’s National Observer, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, and OC87 Recovery Diaries, Dr. Hemani is celebrated for pioneering insights into the systemic roots of burnout. She has facilitated workshops with the Canadian Poverty Institute, Alberta Ecotrust, and other organizations, guiding communities toward sustainable well-being.
Her song "Anticipating" was featured in a national suicide-prevention awareness tour, and her forthcoming memoir, "Writing in the Wound: Acculturation, Trauma, and Music," explores displacement, immigration precarity, and the transformative power of music as a form of resistance and recovery.
I am Dr. Shumaila Hemani, an ethnomusicologist, composer, and trauma-informed coach whose path has been shaped by deep listening to people, traditions, and the earth itself. Trained in South Asian musical heritage and holding a PhD in ethnomusicology, I have dedicated my research and practice to exploring how sound can carry stories of resilience and justice.
My work has been recognized across Canada and internationally — from the Women in Music Canada Honour Roll, the Cultural Diversity Award, and first prize at the Society for Ethnomusicology Conference, to features in Canada’s National Observer, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, and CEO Weekly. I have spoken at forums including the Society for Ethnomusicology, the International Council of Traditional Music and Dance, Map the Systems Canada finals, Music Declares Emergency’s first-ever music climate summit in Toronto, University of Hawaii’s South Asia and Climate summit and more, bringing music and advocacy together to reimagine how cultural heritage can respond to immigration precarity, mental health, climate justice, displacement, and energy crises.
I support changemakers and communities in recognizing burnout and reclaiming vitality through deep listening circles, workshops, online courses, embodied 1:1 coaching, and creative tools. My signature Rest Planner and RESURGENCE framework help people navigate stress, regulate their nervous systems, find balance, and cultivate resilience. Alongside this, I compose and perform music for mental health and healing — works such as Walking in the Wilderness, Migraines, and Anticipating, which have been shared in contexts ranging from suicide prevention awareness to citizenship ceremonies. These compositions open spaces for reflection and resilience where words often fall short. I welcome invitations to lead workshops, retreats, or performances that bring together music and mental health advocacy.
Through my debut album Mannat and three artist residencies, I have composed soundscapes that amplify the lived experiences of climate grief and energy poverty. My Creative Pathways to Energy Accessibility residency included collaborations with ACORN and Alberta EcoTrust, transforming community testimonies of energy insecurity into music. These works have been featured in forums such as the Energy Poverty Research Circle and continue to spark dialogue on climate and energy justice.
I welcome invitations to present, perform, or co-create this work with communities, researchers, and changemakers who are addressing the urgent intersections of climate, energy, and justice. I welcome invitations to present, perform, or co-create this work
My storytelling extends across writing, podcasting, and live talks. My forthcoming memoir, Writing in the Wound, chronicles my journey through migration, trauma, and music as pathways of survival and belonging. Alongside it, my podcast, Listening to the Wound, creates space for conversations where trauma meets tenderness, inviting listeners into dialogue on resilience, justice, and healing.
I welcome invitations to read, speak, or collaborate through memoir excerpts, podcast dialogues, and storytelling events that center the power of voice in transforming silence into connection. I welcome invitations to share this work through memoir readings, podcast conversations, and storytelling collaborations.
This series weaves together reflections, meditations, and musical fragments to hold gentle space for what hurts. Whether you are navigating burnout, healing from displacement, or searching for belonging, these episodes invite you to slow down, breathe, and listen.
Because the wound is not only a source of pain—
it can also be a portal to deeper presence, power, and love.
From navigating systemic barriers to finding sanctuary in song, Hemani reveals how wounds carried in the body and spirit can also become pathways to resilience.
Writing in the Wound is more than one person’s story — it is an invitation to all who live with uncertainty, burnout, or longing. It asks: what does it mean to rest, to listen deeply, and to imagine justice through the lens of our most human vulnerabilities?
Release Date: October 24, 2025 — Pre-order now.
