Yoga has taught me that the idea of using your emotional experiences as inspiration and information is critical to building a connection to what you are singing or writing or painting and, in fact, to building connections in your life. Called satya in yoga, this translates to truthfulness. It is imperative to speak your truth in your art and in your life. When we add singing into the mix, we find a way to vocalize our truth through song which is an incredibly powerful experience. Singing can open up the gates, so to speak, if you are used to holding back in your creative endeavors or in your life.
A conscious focus of my teaching this year has been this idea of satya; how connecting to emotional experiences enhances your voice and your ability to communicate your personal truth. On my side this has been about opening up to my students to show more of myself in my teaching and for them, how they can open up to their own emotional experiences and allow those to inform their singing and by extension, their existence.
The ability to convey emotions means you must be aware of them and how they feel when you experience them - physically, emotionally and mentally. Delving into this territory takes courage and will probably make you uncomfortable. (Big side note: If you are uncomfortable doing this, you are probably on the right track!).
In her book DARING GREATLY, Brené Brown says, "To put our art, our writing, our photography, our ideas out into the world with no assurance of acceptance or appreciation - that's vulnerability." Indeed, how many times have you created something new, a concert, a character, a book, a presentation and felt terrified before setting it free into the world?
But, how many times have you gone to a concert, seen an art exhibit or read something where the creator has clearly laid their soul plain for the world and loved your experience? I know I have. I also know that vulnerability is definitely not my strong suit which is I why I understand its value. My greatest experiences performing, teaching and living come when I have opened to my own emotions allowing them to inform my experience. Not in that messy, over-sharing TMI type of way, but in the way that yoga has taught me: mindfully - when I have worked through the experience and transformed it into wisdom that informs my journey.
For me yoga is the pathway into vulnerability and the voice is a way to get comfortable expressing it. I work to center myself before
teaching and engage with students honestly, being open about my experiences
singing and in life. Lessons begin with breathing, centering, and
meditating. Sometimes I do make them lie on the floor in a yoga pose to
open up the body along with the mind. We pause while vocalizing and
singing through rep to look at things through the lens of emotion and
see how that informs the moment. Sometimes we both end up in tears. I've learned not to shy away from those moments, but to lean in because I know good things are happening.
When we relax the body, slow the breath and quiet the mind, we can see and feel our emotions without letting them carry us away as though we are on an out-of-control freight train! We learn to be a compassionate observer who gathers data without judging and we move closer to our personal truth. When we verbalize it through song it becomes more comfortable.
Is your vulnerable truth coming through in your craft, be it singing, writing, painting or presenting? It might be uncomfortable, but it is always worth it in the end.
Friday, April 25, 2014
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Quality or Quantity
Last week I finished an hour-long voice lesson with a singer and she seemed slightly befuddled. Her brow was furrowed and she said, "well, we didn't get that much done, but it felt really productive."
I thought that was such an interesting perception of her lesson. My assessment was we had dropped deep in to the issue of breathing and body awareness and spent valuable time letting her body learn. As a beginner she has some long held breath and vocal patterns that aren't serving her singing. While I know her goals are not to become a professional singer, she is training to be a lawyer. She will be a professional voice user and be more effective in her profession when she is connected to her breath and able to use her voice efficiently.
Over the first 10 minutes of the lesson she sat and worked with a guided body scan to find a breath that was deep and free. I then asked her to stay with the breath to get a sense of how the body feels when she is breathing that way. We then vocalized in that position exploring how the tuning of the voice and placement are affected by the breath. About halfway into the lesson she stood and it took more time to re-find the breath connection from a standing position. We continued to vocalize and I asked her to identify what it felt like when the breath was free as it was when she was sitting. We used the mirror to provide a visual of the engagement of her neck when the breath was not working efficiently.
The work was slow, but it was clear she was in the zone the whole time. Her work was mindful. The voice was consistently in tune and pleasant in quality; two triumphs for someone who previously struggled to match pitch. We ended the lesson by talking about how she can find the breath that way again and identifying places in her life where she can explore it outside of singing.
My observation of people who are new to voice lessons is that most of them aren't used to actually living in their body. They have little sense of how their body feels and often little understanding or even ability to perceive the body in space, let alone understand what their breath is doing or how they are using their voice. If you are 25 years into life and have never explored that, the change doesn't happen overnight!
So often I tell students that I'd rather they spend 10 minutes practicing in a focused manner rather than singing through something 100 times in an hour. Learning simply doesn't happen when you mindlessly repeat something.
I will always take quality over quantity when working with the voice and the body!
I thought that was such an interesting perception of her lesson. My assessment was we had dropped deep in to the issue of breathing and body awareness and spent valuable time letting her body learn. As a beginner she has some long held breath and vocal patterns that aren't serving her singing. While I know her goals are not to become a professional singer, she is training to be a lawyer. She will be a professional voice user and be more effective in her profession when she is connected to her breath and able to use her voice efficiently.
Over the first 10 minutes of the lesson she sat and worked with a guided body scan to find a breath that was deep and free. I then asked her to stay with the breath to get a sense of how the body feels when she is breathing that way. We then vocalized in that position exploring how the tuning of the voice and placement are affected by the breath. About halfway into the lesson she stood and it took more time to re-find the breath connection from a standing position. We continued to vocalize and I asked her to identify what it felt like when the breath was free as it was when she was sitting. We used the mirror to provide a visual of the engagement of her neck when the breath was not working efficiently.
The work was slow, but it was clear she was in the zone the whole time. Her work was mindful. The voice was consistently in tune and pleasant in quality; two triumphs for someone who previously struggled to match pitch. We ended the lesson by talking about how she can find the breath that way again and identifying places in her life where she can explore it outside of singing.
My observation of people who are new to voice lessons is that most of them aren't used to actually living in their body. They have little sense of how their body feels and often little understanding or even ability to perceive the body in space, let alone understand what their breath is doing or how they are using their voice. If you are 25 years into life and have never explored that, the change doesn't happen overnight!
So often I tell students that I'd rather they spend 10 minutes practicing in a focused manner rather than singing through something 100 times in an hour. Learning simply doesn't happen when you mindlessly repeat something.
I will always take quality over quantity when working with the voice and the body!
Monday, April 7, 2014
Yoga Basics: Say What? Understanding Yoga Terminology
It can be overwhelming to go to a yoga class for the first time. Not only might you worry that you are the only one who is new, but who knows if you'll be able to do the poses and will you have any idea what they are saying when you are told to move into Adho Mukha Svanasana? In this post we'll put the language issue to rest so you are more comfortable in class.
Yoga poses are named for body parts, directions or animals. They have Sanskrit versions that all end in the word 'asana'. Pronounced just as it sounds, it translates to 'pose'. The language of yoga comes from Sanskrit and is often translated into English and sometimes one pose has multiple translations. Often times you'll hear a mix of the two in a class. Below you'll find a list of the basic yoga poses in both Sanskrit and English.
Tadasana = Mountain Pose
Uttanasana = Standing Forward Bend
Adho Mukha* Svanasana** = Downward Facing Dog Pose
Urdhva Mukha Svanasana = Upward Facing Dog Pose
Balasana = Child's Pose
Bhujangasana = Cobra Pose
Vrksasana*** = Tree Pose
Utkatasana = Chair Pose
Trikonasana = Triangle Pose
Virabadhrasana (I, II or III) = Warrior Pose (I, II, or III)
Baddha Konasana = Bound Angle or Cobbler's Pose
Dandasana = Staff Pose
Viparita Karani - Legs up the Wall Pose
Savasana**** = Corpse Pose
* H's are usually silent
**The 'sv' and 'si' combinations are pronounced 'shv' and 'shee'
*** 'Vrk' is pronounced 'Vreek'
*****'Sa' is occasionally pronounced "shah" as in the initial sa in Vrksasana, pronounced 'Vreekshasana' or in Savasana, pronounced Shavasana
You might also hear the word "Pranayama" used. This is the word for the breath practices taught in yoga. Meditation is "Dhyana", though I don't think I've ever heard a teacher call it anything but meditation in all my years of practice!
The other word that is bandied about a fair amount is 'Namaste'. Teachers often say it at the end of the class while holding their hands palms together at the center of the chest, knuckles of the thumbs pressing into the sternum. I know I went to class for years wondering why it was said, as I had no idea what it meant! It translates to "I bow to the divine in you."
And what about "Om"? This is often chanted at the beginning or end of a class. It is a mantra, or a seed sound that is used to represent the whole of the universe. In yogic thought, it was the sound that was made at the creation of the Universe. Chanting it is thought by some to be the best way to get in touch with the divine being that lives in each one of us. Often, Om is broken down into three parts and pronounced "AUM", but a lot of time you just hear OM. When done at a reasonable pitch, chanting Om is a nice way to open the throat and get the voice moving!
I hope you will practice yoga today!
Namaste!
Yoga poses are named for body parts, directions or animals. They have Sanskrit versions that all end in the word 'asana'. Pronounced just as it sounds, it translates to 'pose'. The language of yoga comes from Sanskrit and is often translated into English and sometimes one pose has multiple translations. Often times you'll hear a mix of the two in a class. Below you'll find a list of the basic yoga poses in both Sanskrit and English.
Tadasana = Mountain Pose
Uttanasana = Standing Forward Bend
Adho Mukha* Svanasana** = Downward Facing Dog Pose
Urdhva Mukha Svanasana = Upward Facing Dog Pose
Balasana = Child's Pose
Bhujangasana = Cobra Pose
Vrksasana*** = Tree Pose
Utkatasana = Chair Pose
Trikonasana = Triangle Pose
Virabadhrasana (I, II or III) = Warrior Pose (I, II, or III)
Baddha Konasana = Bound Angle or Cobbler's Pose
Dandasana = Staff Pose
Viparita Karani - Legs up the Wall Pose
Savasana**** = Corpse Pose
* H's are usually silent
**The 'sv' and 'si' combinations are pronounced 'shv' and 'shee'
*** 'Vrk' is pronounced 'Vreek'
*****'Sa' is occasionally pronounced "shah" as in the initial sa in Vrksasana, pronounced 'Vreekshasana' or in Savasana, pronounced Shavasana
You might also hear the word "Pranayama" used. This is the word for the breath practices taught in yoga. Meditation is "Dhyana", though I don't think I've ever heard a teacher call it anything but meditation in all my years of practice!
The other word that is bandied about a fair amount is 'Namaste'. Teachers often say it at the end of the class while holding their hands palms together at the center of the chest, knuckles of the thumbs pressing into the sternum. I know I went to class for years wondering why it was said, as I had no idea what it meant! It translates to "I bow to the divine in you."
And what about "Om"? This is often chanted at the beginning or end of a class. It is a mantra, or a seed sound that is used to represent the whole of the universe. In yogic thought, it was the sound that was made at the creation of the Universe. Chanting it is thought by some to be the best way to get in touch with the divine being that lives in each one of us. Often, Om is broken down into three parts and pronounced "AUM", but a lot of time you just hear OM. When done at a reasonable pitch, chanting Om is a nice way to open the throat and get the voice moving!
I hope you will practice yoga today!
Namaste!
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