Sounding
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Grounding
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Embodying
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Sounding • Grounding • Embodying •
A transformative educational experience blending creative and healing arts, rooted in West African ancestral technology. Designed to deepen individual and collective embodiment, it invites participants to cultivate joy, earth connection, and reverence through sound, movement, and spirit-led practice.
Onyi guiding students at Cal Poly Pomona’s Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies in exploring multidimensional relationships with the elements of nature.
Onyi's guidance helped us recognize the interconnectedness of our internal experiences and external environments, reinforcing the idea that everything is connected. I highly recommend Onyi's class to anyone seeking to deepen their understanding of and connection with nature. Her approach is both enlightening and inspiring, offering valuable insights that resonate long after the class ends.
—Rohan S. (Inviting Educator)
The invitation of an educator set the stage for Sounding, Grounding, Embodying FORIBALE to harmonize ancestral wisdom with contemporary education. Explore how this dynamic offering fosters transformation, belonging, and deeper learning across diverse academic and community spaces.
About the Program
This immersive learning series blends creative and healing arts, ancestral wisdom, and mindfulness practices to guide participants through a transformative journey. Through engaging lectures, group discussions, and embodied practices, FORIBALE fosters deeper connection to the Earth, self, and community. Rooted in esoteric understanding and academic learning, this program awakens a profound sense of belonging and grounded joy, with a variety of arts disciplines available to guide the experience, such as...
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As a vocalist, recording artist, percussionist, and pianist, Onyi has dedicated 20+ years to performing, directing, and teaching Afro-diasporic and world music. Her musical offerings uplift ancestral roots while inviting new collective futures.
Explore her discography here (scroll to Music section)
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Blending sacred tradition and creative innovation, Onyi creates jewelry (primarily beadwork), altars, and sacred objects using natural, repurposed, and recycled materials. Each creation honors the Earth and the spirit of regeneration.
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Initiated into Yoruba priestesshood and certified in various healing modalities, Onyi offers an inclusive, decolonized approach to spirituality and metaphysical arts. Her teachings emphasize that any practice rooted in self-betterment and collective care is valid and powerful.
Watch testimonial video here
View promo reel for spiritual work here
The Heartbeat of the Program
At the core of this experience is FORIBALE, an original musical album woven into the sessions through:
Group listening experiences
Live vocal performances by Onyi
Optional at-home listening assignments
Created during a time of global upheaval, this sonic offering calls for collective healing, Earth stewardship, and reconnection with ancestral wisdom. It is a prayer in sound: a reminder that honoring ourselves, each other, and the planet is how we move forward.
Each song within FORIBALE carries deep symbolism:
Messages about societal and ecological challenges
References to elements, Orisha energies, and ancestral forces within the Yoruba cosmology
Vibrations designed to awaken remembrance and communal strength
All song titles are in Yoruba, amplifying African languages and honoring ancestral lineages.
Together, the songs form a living tapestry, reminding us that by bringing together our unique gifts, we complete the mosaic of humanity and honor the sacredness of Existence.
Enjoy Onyi Love’s sophomore album FORIBALE on Bandcamp and all streaming platforms.
Program Customization
FORIBALE Education is adaptable for any age group or grade level. Themes are universally relatable, crossing boundaries of ancestry, identity, and belief system.
Offerings range from a one-hour workshop to multi-day, week, or month-long residencies.
We work closely with you to co-create an experience that nourishes and empowers your community.
Onyi’s contribution to our exploration of regenerative practices asked that we remember that we are not just ‘designers’ intervening in human settlements and ecosystems - that we are of this Earth, and share kinship, that we are an interdependent manifestation of a sacred and mysterious, beautiful and noble universe.
—Allen M. (student)
The circle completes: from the teacher who welcomed ONYI LOVE to share Sounding, Grounding, Embodying FORIBALE, to the student who stepped into the journey. Reflections from Cal Poly Pomona’s Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies bring the heart of this work to life, inviting us deeper into its meaning, memory, and spirit.
Meaning and Significance
Simply put, Foríbalẹ̀ means to "place one's head to the ground" as an act of reverence, humility, and greeting in Yoruba culture.
But the philosophy behind it is much deeper:
FORIBALE is a call to reconnect with the Earth, with each other, and with the sacredness within ourselves.
Through sonic vibration, embodied movement, lyrical wisdom, and ancestral storytelling, this work invites us to see reverence as a remedy for the disconnection plaguing modern humanity.
We are standing at a crossroads—both individually and collectively. Subtle shifts in belief can unlock profound, lasting transformation in our world.
Onyi shares the meaning of Foribale through a fusion of spoken word and embodied movement, offering a living prayer to the Earth and to the ancestors.