Sahaja, Guarducci Chiara, is an artist, researcher, and facilitator. From an early age, she has nurtured a passion for art and travel, experiences that have helped develop in her a nomadic, curious, and deeply creative spirit, with a natural inclination towards research and experimentation.

Her education has developed internationally and academically across different fields. She studied at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and the Art Students League of New York, earned a degree in Painting from the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, and a degree in Design from ISIA Florence. She also holds a Master’s degree in Collaborative Learning and a Ministry of Education Teaching Qualification. For over twenty years, she has shared her experience through teaching creative subjects in Tuscan secondary schools, developing and applying inclusive pedagogy practices.

Her artworks have been exhibited in numerous art galleries around the world.

A key moment in her journey came in 2011, when she met artist and art therapist Meera Hashimoto, who guided her towards integrating painting and meditation. Sahaja assisted her in several countries and became a certified teacher of the Meera Art Academy. Her training and inner research have also included specializations in Family Constellations and Zen Counseling with Svagito Liebermeister.

Over time, her research expanded to music, conscious movement, and sound rituals, integrating the acoustic dimension with art therapy and painting practice. Today, she facilitates programmes for adults, adolescents, and children in different parts of the world, including Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Taiwan, and India.

In her programmes, she integrates the tools and teachings received from her teachers with her own artistic and pedagogical experience. She uses painting as a means of exploring natural talents, self-inquiry, and personal growth.
Her approach brings together art, awareness, body, sound, and inner research. She creates spaces in which the creative dimension becomes a tool for listening and transformation.

She is the author of Roots Painting: A Journey to Your Family Tree by Sahaja Kunkunate (Youcanprint).
In this book, she combines painting practice with the study of her own family system.
She guides readers in exploring and representing their roots and ancestors through painting.

The meaning of her name is also an affirmation of her own: “Trusting Spontaneity”.
In her artistic work, Sahaja uses a sannyasin “surname”, received during a meditation in India: Kunkunate.