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!
Monday, February 24, 2014
My Yoga Story
I get asked periodically how I got into yoga and why I linked it to singing, so here's my story....
Singing always came easily to me, but what I know now is that performing did not.
In high school, I frequently had solo parts and leads in musicals and concerts. Along with all that singing (hello, I sang Cunegonde as a JUNIOR IN HIGH SCHOOL), came nerves. Mostly, I would snap at people (usually my mom, sorry mom!), not knowing that my fear was talking. Also, I was living with a heart condition, called supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), that caused my heart to race when under physical or emotional stress. The worst that could happen was fainting which I never did, but it was impossible to be connected to my breath while my heart was racing at over 200 beats a minute and all I wanted to do was sit down and put my head between my legs. I can recall being on stage many times while I had an SVT episode. It was never pleasant.
In college, I ended up majoring in English and didn't come back to pursue using my voice for my career until I was 28. I had a procedure done to eliminate the heart condition, but it didn't entirely work. It was better, but I could still have episodes when nervous (I took a beta blocker daily to manage it, but nerves trumped all).
Once I was in graduate school I had a mental game to play because I perceived that I wasn't as good as everyone else there because my undergraduate degree wasn't in music. That perception caused me to shy away from auditioning for solos in choir and going after the parts with the gusto that I saw in my friends.
One day in the fall of 2001 a friend invited me to go to yoga with her. Quite honestly I had no other plans that night so I went.
The physical practice was fun and challenging, but I wasn't so sure I bought the more subtle stuff the teacher talked about...really, I was balancing my brain by breathing through opposite sides of my nose (yes, I now fully believe that because I've experienced it!)??? Despite that something about the practice stuck with me and I stuck with yoga, going to the class every week.
There were several a-ha moments for me as my study progressed. The first came when I needed to go to a voice lesson right after a yoga class. The memory of sitting on my couch feeling like I was a rubber band and wondering how on earth I could sing when I felt that way is still vivid in my mind. I went to that voice lesson and found that singing was easier than it had ever been. Was I a rubber band? No. Was my body relaxed in a way it had never been before? Yes.
For my final recital I used the meditation technique of visualization. Throughout school I'd avoided having solos in choir and other places because of my faulty mental perceptions, but also to avoid the stress of having my heart act up. That year I read a book on performance preparation and visualization was suggested as a way to calm nerves. So, I sat on my couch again, closed my eyes and visualized the recital...WHOA...the nerves that I would feel when I walked on stage were all there. I kept at it, making time every day for the two weeks prior to the performance to see myself going through the program flawlessly. Each time it got a little easier and I felt less nervous. When performance day came, I walked on stage, sang through the concert without a strange beat of my heart or a sense of terrifying nerves.
After I finished school, I repeated the heart procedure with success this time, but the mental elements of performance nerves were still there. However, I found that attending a yoga class during the day before a performance at night caused me to be more grounded, connected to my breath and frankly, fearless in my performing.
When I moved into teaching, I saw so many singers who struggled with balancing the demands of life and singing. Many of them were coping with vocal injuries. In an effort to help them I took additional classes in Voice Disorders and attended clinics when I could on how to teach injured voices. What I learned was that hyper-function was often an underlying cause of vocal injury and when there's tension in the voice, there's tension elsewhere in the body. Be honest, who among us couldn't stand to be a little more relaxed??
It was after 20 years of singing, 6 years of yoga study and 5 years of teaching voice that I decided to pursue yoga teacher training. I knew that I was not the only person who could derive benefit from these practices. Physical practice, breathing and meditation are holistic ways to manage nerves, balance stress and connect to your authentic voice so you sing from your heart.
Singing may come easily to you. Performing may not. Yoga can help you with that!
Singing always came easily to me, but what I know now is that performing did not.
In high school, I frequently had solo parts and leads in musicals and concerts. Along with all that singing (hello, I sang Cunegonde as a JUNIOR IN HIGH SCHOOL), came nerves. Mostly, I would snap at people (usually my mom, sorry mom!), not knowing that my fear was talking. Also, I was living with a heart condition, called supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), that caused my heart to race when under physical or emotional stress. The worst that could happen was fainting which I never did, but it was impossible to be connected to my breath while my heart was racing at over 200 beats a minute and all I wanted to do was sit down and put my head between my legs. I can recall being on stage many times while I had an SVT episode. It was never pleasant.
In college, I ended up majoring in English and didn't come back to pursue using my voice for my career until I was 28. I had a procedure done to eliminate the heart condition, but it didn't entirely work. It was better, but I could still have episodes when nervous (I took a beta blocker daily to manage it, but nerves trumped all).
Once I was in graduate school I had a mental game to play because I perceived that I wasn't as good as everyone else there because my undergraduate degree wasn't in music. That perception caused me to shy away from auditioning for solos in choir and going after the parts with the gusto that I saw in my friends.
One day in the fall of 2001 a friend invited me to go to yoga with her. Quite honestly I had no other plans that night so I went.
The physical practice was fun and challenging, but I wasn't so sure I bought the more subtle stuff the teacher talked about...really, I was balancing my brain by breathing through opposite sides of my nose (yes, I now fully believe that because I've experienced it!)??? Despite that something about the practice stuck with me and I stuck with yoga, going to the class every week.
There were several a-ha moments for me as my study progressed. The first came when I needed to go to a voice lesson right after a yoga class. The memory of sitting on my couch feeling like I was a rubber band and wondering how on earth I could sing when I felt that way is still vivid in my mind. I went to that voice lesson and found that singing was easier than it had ever been. Was I a rubber band? No. Was my body relaxed in a way it had never been before? Yes.
For my final recital I used the meditation technique of visualization. Throughout school I'd avoided having solos in choir and other places because of my faulty mental perceptions, but also to avoid the stress of having my heart act up. That year I read a book on performance preparation and visualization was suggested as a way to calm nerves. So, I sat on my couch again, closed my eyes and visualized the recital...WHOA...the nerves that I would feel when I walked on stage were all there. I kept at it, making time every day for the two weeks prior to the performance to see myself going through the program flawlessly. Each time it got a little easier and I felt less nervous. When performance day came, I walked on stage, sang through the concert without a strange beat of my heart or a sense of terrifying nerves.
After I finished school, I repeated the heart procedure with success this time, but the mental elements of performance nerves were still there. However, I found that attending a yoga class during the day before a performance at night caused me to be more grounded, connected to my breath and frankly, fearless in my performing.
When I moved into teaching, I saw so many singers who struggled with balancing the demands of life and singing. Many of them were coping with vocal injuries. In an effort to help them I took additional classes in Voice Disorders and attended clinics when I could on how to teach injured voices. What I learned was that hyper-function was often an underlying cause of vocal injury and when there's tension in the voice, there's tension elsewhere in the body. Be honest, who among us couldn't stand to be a little more relaxed??
It was after 20 years of singing, 6 years of yoga study and 5 years of teaching voice that I decided to pursue yoga teacher training. I knew that I was not the only person who could derive benefit from these practices. Physical practice, breathing and meditation are holistic ways to manage nerves, balance stress and connect to your authentic voice so you sing from your heart.
Singing may come easily to you. Performing may not. Yoga can help you with that!
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Good to Great: Practices for Heart Centered Singing
In the last Good to Great post, I talked about my belief that singing with an open heart is the key to tipping from the land of a decent, well-trained singer into the phenomenal, expressive, communicator who captures audiences.
Last week I got to participate in a call where I heard Amy Cronise-Mead speak about her business and the Koshas, the subtle, energetic layers of the body. You can read more here about her business Yogadharma. She offered this simple exercise and it struck me that it would be so valuable to singers!
This practice is one about developing present moment awareness, which is the foundation of an open heart. The ability to feel without fear is crucial for singers. But, what if you have no awareness of how you feel let alone what a song might be asking you to feel?
Here's a way to start feeling. This is a practice based on the energetic layers of the body called Koshas. It will help you develop an awareness of yourself in the present moment.
Between each sensing task, pause to really notice and see what you feel.
Pausing for a few moments throughout the day and engaging in this practice is a great way to develop this present moment awareness. I've used this exercise at the beginning of lessons this week to help students start to feel more and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive!
Last week I got to participate in a call where I heard Amy Cronise-Mead speak about her business and the Koshas, the subtle, energetic layers of the body. You can read more here about her business Yogadharma. She offered this simple exercise and it struck me that it would be so valuable to singers!
This practice is one about developing present moment awareness, which is the foundation of an open heart. The ability to feel without fear is crucial for singers. But, what if you have no awareness of how you feel let alone what a song might be asking you to feel?
Here's a way to start feeling. This is a practice based on the energetic layers of the body called Koshas. It will help you develop an awareness of yourself in the present moment.
Between each sensing task, pause to really notice and see what you feel.
- Sit comfortably.
- Close your eyes.
- Bring your attention to the air around your body and see if you can feel it on your skin.
- Now bring your attention to your clothes and sense how they feel on your skin.
- Now shift your attention to your breath and sense how it feels moving in and out of your body.
- Now bring your attention to your heart center and feel your heart beating.
- Finally, move your attention deeply inward in the body to sense the energy of your being.
Pausing for a few moments throughout the day and engaging in this practice is a great way to develop this present moment awareness. I've used this exercise at the beginning of lessons this week to help students start to feel more and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive!
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Energetics of the Voice
Our bodies are energetic vessels. In yogic thought, the energy of the body flows through channels called "nadis". The main channel we look at is called the sushumna. It runs from the base of the spine to the crown of the head and passes through each of the seven chakra points, the energetic hubs in the body. Two other nadis, ida and pinagala spiral around the main channel. The ida nadi begins on the left side and is accessed through the left nostril. It is considered representative of the feminine and is associated with the moon.The pingala nadi begins on the right side and is accessed through the right nostril. It is considered representative of the masculine and is associated with the sun. We move energy in the body through these channels by the way we breathe, move and think.
Our voices are our primary vehicle for emotional expression. Singing is one of the most universal human impulses. Yoga also seeks to quiet the mind and open the heart to allow for an expression of our essential selves. A voice that is free can enhance that process.
The throat chakra (5th
chakra), serves as the bridge between our hearts (4th chakra) and heads (6th chakra). It is the center
of communication, self expression and willpower. It also houses the possibility
for change, transformation and healing.
Energetic imbalances in the throat chakra
show up as...
Trouble expressing yourself
Blocks of creativity – your inspiration may be there, but
you can’t express yourself
Trouble singing – ‘tone deafness’
Timidity – you are quiet when you should speak up
Fear of public speaking/singing – not wanting to look
foolish, not being good enough
Tension in your jaw, tongue, shoulders, neck
When your throat chakra is in
balance, you…
Listen well
Speak with confidence
Sing well
Express your creativity freely
Have good overall communication skills
Relaxed jaw, shoulders, neck
Negative experiences of the past are transformed into wisdom
Singing is one of the best ways to open this chakra to bring it into balance.
However, what if you are a singer who is struggling to express herself? This is where yoga can help.
A practice that involves vocalizing on vowel sounds while moving, focusing on heart opening postures to release negative energy of the past and chanting bija sounds to awaken the chakra centers can bring your voice back into balance.
When you find your voice on the mat, you carry it off into the rest of your life!
Monday, January 13, 2014
Your Voice as Emotional Expression Center
In his book The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals Charles Darwin's 4th chapter is called "Means of Expression in Animals".
Here's what he has to say in this chapter about singing... "whether we believe that the various qualities of the voice originated in speaking under the excitement of strong feelings, and that these qualities have subsequently been transferred to vocal music; or whether we believe, as I maintain, that the habit of uttering musical sounds was first developed, as a means of courtship, in the early progenitors of man, and thus became associated with the strongest emotions of which they were capable,-namely, ardent love, rivalry and triumph."(page 87)
Whether Darwin is right about this or not, the point he makes over and over in Chapter 4 is that the quality of sounds animals and humans produce are intrinsically linked to emotions. Pretty modern thinking for 1872, no? We now know through modern science that the voice is linked to the limbic system, a set of brain structures that governs emotion and long term memory among other things.
It isn't hard to understand - you can be in another room and if someone calls your name, you can tell from the tone of the voice whether they are happy, sad, angry or indifferent. When you are upset, you feel a lump in your throat. When you are excited your voice might take on a pitch that is slightly higher and a volume that is louder than your regular speaking voice. When our hearts are clear and our heads are quiet our voices ring true. We give voice to our truth by connecting emotionally to the core of a song. Our expressive ability is challenged when we've got emotions bound up in our memories and stored in our heart center.
For good and for bad, our voices are at the complete mercy of our emotions - and of our past via our long term memory.
In the summer between my first and second years of graduate school I lost my father to suicide. The level of grief was so overwhelming that it amounted to me feeling numb for most of the next year. I dutifully completed all the things I needed to, to finish my degree. I got by in classes where all I needed was my brain to function. My singing was another story. By the time May rolled around, my final recital, which was required to graduate, loomed. I knew I was going to stand on stage and sing right notes with no emotion. The emotions called for in the songs weren't accessible to me because when I tried to open to them all that came out was grief. The only emotion I had to offer was sadness and if I went there, all I would do was cry.
When I look back now I wish I had been brave enough to own my grief and just go to my voice lessons and cry. Every week for 9 months. What I know now, after more than a decade of time has passed since that event, and after many years of yoga study, is that our voices also have an incredibly powerful ability to help us heal. By staying with a difficult emotion and giving voice to it, we allow our psyche to release it, no longer giving it power over us. It wasn't until I traveled to Italy to sing for the summer after graduation where I reached the point that I could face my grief. And I cried. A lot. Sometimes in my voice lessons and sometimes on my own. Singing that summer as I processed those emotions, took on a new meaning for me. I finally owned my voice again.
Your voice might be bound up for different reasons - I meet so many people who love to sing but feel they shouldn't because some adult told them as a child that they couldn't sing in tune, or the quality of their voice wasn't nice. That moment of being told their voice was not good enough to be heard lodged inside them, taking up residence in their heart center. It leads to adults who hide in the back row of the choir, or those who feel guilty singing to their child. Their throat feels tight with muscle strain. Unless you are truly unable to distinguish between high and low pitches and speak in a monotone, you are not tone deaf. Your brain simply hasn't not developed the road map it needs to be able to tell your voice to sing specific pitches and you CAN learn that. If you got the message at some point that you can't match pitch, you also hold that emotional energy in your body and it hinders your brain's ability to do its work. When you do sing it helps if you are willing to sing out. I mean, sing LOUD. I always say to my singers, "if you're going to sing it wrong, sing it loud." I can work with wrong notes, I can't work in between the cracks. Beyond the bravery to sing out when you think others will cringe at what they hear, we need to release the energy you've stored up about how terrible you sound.
In our yoga practice of asana, pranayama and meditaiton, we bring attention to our heart center liberating it from the energy of past emotions. It is in doing this that the energy of the throat and the heart gain a fluid pathway on which to travel. Finding an expansive heart takes bravery. It is hard to go to places of discomfort and knowingly acknowledge hurt and the person who incurred the hurt -whether that hurt is new or old. You probably will cry. That's okay!
Everyone deserves the chance to sing, as Darwin said "with the strongest emotions of which they [are] capable". Yoga helps make this possible by combining a sense of community and trust with physical and emotional tools to work with the heart.
Here's what he has to say in this chapter about singing... "whether we believe that the various qualities of the voice originated in speaking under the excitement of strong feelings, and that these qualities have subsequently been transferred to vocal music; or whether we believe, as I maintain, that the habit of uttering musical sounds was first developed, as a means of courtship, in the early progenitors of man, and thus became associated with the strongest emotions of which they were capable,-namely, ardent love, rivalry and triumph."(page 87)
Whether Darwin is right about this or not, the point he makes over and over in Chapter 4 is that the quality of sounds animals and humans produce are intrinsically linked to emotions. Pretty modern thinking for 1872, no? We now know through modern science that the voice is linked to the limbic system, a set of brain structures that governs emotion and long term memory among other things.
It isn't hard to understand - you can be in another room and if someone calls your name, you can tell from the tone of the voice whether they are happy, sad, angry or indifferent. When you are upset, you feel a lump in your throat. When you are excited your voice might take on a pitch that is slightly higher and a volume that is louder than your regular speaking voice. When our hearts are clear and our heads are quiet our voices ring true. We give voice to our truth by connecting emotionally to the core of a song. Our expressive ability is challenged when we've got emotions bound up in our memories and stored in our heart center.
For good and for bad, our voices are at the complete mercy of our emotions - and of our past via our long term memory.
In the summer between my first and second years of graduate school I lost my father to suicide. The level of grief was so overwhelming that it amounted to me feeling numb for most of the next year. I dutifully completed all the things I needed to, to finish my degree. I got by in classes where all I needed was my brain to function. My singing was another story. By the time May rolled around, my final recital, which was required to graduate, loomed. I knew I was going to stand on stage and sing right notes with no emotion. The emotions called for in the songs weren't accessible to me because when I tried to open to them all that came out was grief. The only emotion I had to offer was sadness and if I went there, all I would do was cry.
When I look back now I wish I had been brave enough to own my grief and just go to my voice lessons and cry. Every week for 9 months. What I know now, after more than a decade of time has passed since that event, and after many years of yoga study, is that our voices also have an incredibly powerful ability to help us heal. By staying with a difficult emotion and giving voice to it, we allow our psyche to release it, no longer giving it power over us. It wasn't until I traveled to Italy to sing for the summer after graduation where I reached the point that I could face my grief. And I cried. A lot. Sometimes in my voice lessons and sometimes on my own. Singing that summer as I processed those emotions, took on a new meaning for me. I finally owned my voice again.
Your voice might be bound up for different reasons - I meet so many people who love to sing but feel they shouldn't because some adult told them as a child that they couldn't sing in tune, or the quality of their voice wasn't nice. That moment of being told their voice was not good enough to be heard lodged inside them, taking up residence in their heart center. It leads to adults who hide in the back row of the choir, or those who feel guilty singing to their child. Their throat feels tight with muscle strain. Unless you are truly unable to distinguish between high and low pitches and speak in a monotone, you are not tone deaf. Your brain simply hasn't not developed the road map it needs to be able to tell your voice to sing specific pitches and you CAN learn that. If you got the message at some point that you can't match pitch, you also hold that emotional energy in your body and it hinders your brain's ability to do its work. When you do sing it helps if you are willing to sing out. I mean, sing LOUD. I always say to my singers, "if you're going to sing it wrong, sing it loud." I can work with wrong notes, I can't work in between the cracks. Beyond the bravery to sing out when you think others will cringe at what they hear, we need to release the energy you've stored up about how terrible you sound.
In our yoga practice of asana, pranayama and meditaiton, we bring attention to our heart center liberating it from the energy of past emotions. It is in doing this that the energy of the throat and the heart gain a fluid pathway on which to travel. Finding an expansive heart takes bravery. It is hard to go to places of discomfort and knowingly acknowledge hurt and the person who incurred the hurt -whether that hurt is new or old. You probably will cry. That's okay!
Everyone deserves the chance to sing, as Darwin said "with the strongest emotions of which they [are] capable". Yoga helps make this possible by combining a sense of community and trust with physical and emotional tools to work with the heart.
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