Yoga Basics: Getting Started

It is pretty easy to get started with your yoga study. You'll need some basic materials, clothes that are comfortable and allow movement and an understanding of the different kinds of yoga that are out there.

Mats, Blocks, Straps, Blankets
While most studios will offer yoga mats and supplies, I recommend owning your own. Part of singing successfully means staying healthy and sharing germs on a community yoga mat won't help you on that front!. Plus, once you have a mat and some accessories that you own, you can practice at home whenever you want.

Mats can be purchased at your local sporting goods store, places like TJMaxx and Marshalls or ordered online. One affordable online option is Yoga Accessories. There are also other online options like Amazon or Gaiam. For the purposes of showing you examples of what you'll need, I'm going to link to Yoga Accessories, but I encourage you to shop around to find the right materials and prices for you. A standard yoga mat is 1/8 inch thick, but you can also 1/4 inch thick if you want more padding under you. You can also buy eco-friendly mats. New mats can sometimes be slippery, but washing it in a bathtub with a gentle soap helps it to become stickier.

It is likely you will want some props to help with your yoga study. Almost everyone will benefit from having a yoga strap that can facilitate poses that involve hamstring stretches or opening the shoulders. A pair of foam blocks can also help you if you are in need of a lift in a pose where your hands are supposed to touch the ground, but they don't quite get there, or your knees could use support in a seated pose.

Other props include things like a blanket to give you either a helpful lift in seated poses or rolled up into a bolster for gentle back bends. Honestly, though you could use a good sized towel or a blanket from your bed. If sitting in a chair or directly on the floor for meditation for you doesn't work, a meditation pillow can make things more comfortable. If you are doing hot yoga you'll want a towel or use a bath towel!

One final note on props: if you are a singer who travels but wants to keep up your practice, you can purchase a pair of yoga socks with grippers to do yoga in your hotel room because your yoga mat isn't likely to fit in your travel bag. With a smart phone you can access an app like Mindbody or use YogaFinder.com to find yoga classes.

Dressed for success
I am not a yogi who believes you need to spend $100 on a pair of pants and $80 on a top from a name brand store to do yoga. You will want to dress appropriately, but yoga is not about having a perfect body fit into perfect clothes. Clothes that move with you and cover you appropriately are just fine. You may want to invest in a shirt that is close fitting so when you are in a pose that inverts your body your shirt doesn't fall over your head. If you are doing hot yoga you aren't going to want to wear a pair of sweatpants that will make you overheat.

Types of Yoga
If you look around for a yoga class or a DVD you'll quickly find that there are a lot of different styles of yoga: iyengar, hatha, power, ashtanga, svaroopa, viniyoga, bikram, yin, parayoga, to name just a few. Yoga Journal offers a good article with an overview of the different styles.

To take a class at a yoga studio it would be a good idea to read any descriptions of classes and if no descriptions are available, call to ask some questions. You'll want to know if the teacher's background is in a specific style or a blend of styles, if the class is heated, if poses are held for a long time or if you'll move rapidly from one pose to another. Sometimes teachers indicate levels in their classes and sometimes classes are open to all levels. Don't exclude a class if it sounds interesting but isn't labeled for beginners, just use your common sense about your own fitness level and tell the teacher you are new. 

For a DVD read the summary and any customer reviews. As a part of the mindful singer we'll be releasing short videos to teach you how to get into the basic poses of yoga and later we'll have videos of classes you can buy and download. Stay tuned!

Hopefully you are feeling empowered to begin your yoga practice. Please let me know if you have any questions about getting started!

Why Yoga for Singers

Why Yoga for Singers

As a singer your voice needs to be well trained and cared for. In addition, your body needs to be strong, flexible and well aligned. The breath needs to be free to enhance sound production and the mind needs to be uncluttered and present; able to focus.

Yoga, as a practice that looks at the whole person, offers a system that addresses the body, breath and mind. When engaged in as a regular practice it enhances the work we do on technique in voice lessons. In the physical practice of asana, we learn to pay attention to how our body moves, gaining better alignment, strength and flexibility. In the breathing practices of pranayama we become aware of our breath, understand our patterns and stay connected to the breath at all times. In the mental practice of meditation we become conscious of our mind’s busy nature, learning to quiet our thoughts, becoming present to our performance.

Brief History of Yoga

Yoga as we know it today is very different from how it was practiced in its origins, 3500 years ago. The word yoga comes from the sanskrit word yuj meaning “to yoke or unite.” Its purpose was to link together body and mind and ultimately form a spiritual connection to the Divine, allowing the individual to achieve spiritual enlightenment. Since its inception, yoga has gone through many variations and what we now practice in modern day has only been around for about 100 years and grew out of the Hatha yoga tradition that focused on physical poses. Yoga in other forms, however, has been in this country longer as shown in transcendentalists like Thoreau and Emerson who were intrigued by the contemplative elements of yoga talked about in books like the Bhagavad Gita. Though there was yoga in the form of physical practice in the United States in the 1920s, it wasn’t until the 1960s when many Americans began to practice a non-spiritual, physical form of yoga and the multitude of schools of yoga now common in this country, began to emerge.

Benefits of Yoga for Singers:

*Improved posture and kinesthetic sense

*Better flexibility of spine and pelvis = better flexibility of diaphragm

*Greater awareness of breathing patterns

*Management of performance anxiety

*Strength-building for large muscles like quadriceps that help to ground singers

*Improved sense of mind-body connection and balance

*General stress management

Families of Asanas (physical practice) and what they do for your body:

Standing – energizing, strengthening large muscles like quadriceps, grounding

Backbends – also energizing, open the chest, enhance inhalation, stimulate lymphatic system

Forward Bends – calming to nervous system, help facilitate exhaling, aid in sleeping, increase flexibility in the hips

Inversions – reverse flow of blood and lymph fluid

Twists – increase flexibility of diaphragm and intercostal muscles, cleansing for organs (bring new blood flow to abdominal organs like the liver)

Balance – strengthen core muscles, strengthen sense of self

Restoratives – help a body in need of rest and rejuvenation (recovery from injury)

Pranayama (breath practice) and types that are beneficial for singers:

There are many pranayama practices that can aid singers. In yogic thought breath is what carries Prana, our life force – without breath no one can survive and our health is intrinsically linked to the quality of our breathing. It isn’t news to singers that your breath will change with your emotions – stress and nerves can cause the breath to become shallow as the body moves into fight or flight mode. Many singers will report a sensation of a high after a lesson or performance due to endorphins that are released when oxygen is exchanged. There are exercises that can help to calm the breath and keep a steady, even rhythm of inhale/exhale, exercises to help balance a busy mind and those to help to alleviate the flow of adrenaline that often runs high after a performance.

Breath Ratio: identifies patterns in breathing that can be dysfunctional

Wave Breath: brings awareness to belly, helping to make core muscles supple

Bee Breath: helps to lengthen the exhale and also works to calm an anxious mind

Alternate Nostril Breathing: helps to balance the mind, bringing clarity and focus. Aids in relaxation and may help prevent panic attacks.

Dhyana (meditation practice):

The goal of meditation is a cessation of thought – and let me emphasize, that is the goal  - you may never achieve that, but what you learn along the way can be invaluable. You can meditate by simply closing your eyes and focusing on your inhale and exhale. Every time your mind wanders, just come back to your breath. You could also do a guided meditation by listening to a cd or attending a class. Either way, working towards clearing your mind will help you relax and let go of anything you might be holding on to. There is no hard and fast rule about when or for how long to meditate. Most people do well to meditate when they wake up in the morning before the brain has kicked into high gear, but if you want to take 10 minutes at lunchtime to sit quietly and observe your breath, that counts too. You can approach your singing practice in a meditative way by being very present to the work you are undertaking. Some yoga classes will include a meditative component, but most focus on the physical practice only.