Singing together is a part of our history and ancestry, to create a harmonious vibration is the medicine of the future.
I facilitate workshops and classes designed to get the 'non-singer' - singing. My philosophy and belief in our 'right to sing' means I teach from a perspective and understanding of the therapeutic benefits of singing; for fun, for health, for well being; to provide an opportunity to understand singing as a holistic practice, in some cases provoking a profound and personal, healing experience. Here below I have included more detailed information on the benefits of singing, my ethos and philosophy and how that informs the music I make and the workshops and classes I design and deliver.
The Feel good factor - Mmmm Oxytocin !
When we sing we release oxytocin and feel good pheromones, it increases blood flow, improves neural pathways, releases endorphins, increases neuron-plasticity and sets your auditory, cortex and right temporal lobe buzzing ! We exercise our bodies, express ourselves, recharge, relax and when we sing in harmony with each other, we release the same chemicals as we do when we make love ! We are literally unifying.
Singing together
Group singing, chanting, repeated mantras have been practiced since the beginning of time, our voice being the original instrument. Singing together in harmony gives us goose bumps, tingles, as we breathe together, we connect and communicate with each other in a way scientists liken to the communal, synchronized behavior of flocks of birds or shoals of fish. There is much evidence to suggest that music and rhythm were precursors to language, communities once sung together to reaffirm relations, to connect, to transmit information, to harmonize and as science demonstrates - when we sing together our heart beats synchronize !! It is a practice of well-being, one that can enable healing on a physical, emotional and psychological level.
Breath
The breath work required to develop and strengthen your voice is Prana breathing, it is the same exercises that are used in yoga, Tai chi, Aikido or any of the other Chi-cultivating traditions. This both simultaneously relaxes and recharges the singer, moving energy, emotion and stimulating the body and mind.
Vibration and Cymatics
In many ancient cultures across the world, creation myths speak of a sound...'In the beginning was the word'...the original 'Aum' vibration. For some aboriginal cultures , we are described as the 'song of God.' Quantum physics is beginning to understand the profound nature of these stories as it comprehends more and more the 'original vibration' from which the universe was created.
We are all vibration and coming together to sing, to harmonize, to create a collective sound; has an effect on the matter around us and the matter within. The study of Cymatics demonstrates the effect of vibrational frequency upon physical matter, using sand, salt or water to demonstrate the complex and beautiful, symmetrical mandalas formed when specific and harmonic frequencies are applied. The same mandalas have been found within ancient cultures, and are based upon the same mathematics found within sacred geometry. We are made up largely of water and as we sound different vibrations we are aligning and affecting the molecular structure of our surroundings and our cellular make up.
Creativity
Singing puts us in the right head space ! it connects us to our intuition, to all creative functions. It is the perfect way to 'get out of the box' ! We engage our feelings and heart and are able to express ourselves in a ways where sometimes words fail us.
Improvisation and Shamanistic Tradition
Improvisation within music is to enter an altered state, the roots of which belong to shamanistic past. Music and song have a long association with shamanistic tradition and are used to enter into an altered state. Improvisation is a tool that allows us to access the subconscious, to enter into the 'stream of consciousness', to stimulate our creativity, to release suppressed thoughts and feelings. It is a vehicle for working with ego and to practice the unspoken communication that we cultivate when singing and sounding as one.
Fear and Voice-Loss
We have become a culture afraid of our own voice. Our voices have been silenced and it's not doing us any good! We confine singing to the shower, our cars, maybe we sing to our children. And if you can't sing like a professional, then please do not offend anyone with your sound ! We have created a distance between the performer and the listener, it has become a passive act. So many adults can remember a time they were told to be quiet, that they couldn't sing, or that they were out of tune and from this moment on - we shut -up. We have developed such vulnerability around our voice, fear of being heard, of expressing ourselves, of judgement, of ridicule. We have been robbed of our right to sing ! To find and develop this confidence has a positive ripple affect on all other aspects of our lives.
Your body is your instrument
- and you can learn how to use it ! With time and practice - Everybody can learn to sing. Your body is your instrument and your voice is a muscle, the more you use it, the stronger it gets. The stronger it gets, the better you get, the better you get, the more confident you feel - the more confident you feel - the better you get ! It creates a Positive loop of feedback. By learning to sing you are improving your health in a myriad of ways.
I facilitate workshops and classes designed to get the 'non-singer' - singing. My philosophy and belief in our 'right to sing' means I teach from a perspective and understanding of the therapeutic benefits of singing; for fun, for health, for well being; to provide an opportunity to understand singing as a holistic practice, in some cases provoking a profound and personal, healing experience. Here below I have included more detailed information on the benefits of singing, my ethos and philosophy and how that informs the music I make and the workshops and classes I design and deliver.
The Feel good factor - Mmmm Oxytocin !
When we sing we release oxytocin and feel good pheromones, it increases blood flow, improves neural pathways, releases endorphins, increases neuron-plasticity and sets your auditory, cortex and right temporal lobe buzzing ! We exercise our bodies, express ourselves, recharge, relax and when we sing in harmony with each other, we release the same chemicals as we do when we make love ! We are literally unifying.
Singing together
Group singing, chanting, repeated mantras have been practiced since the beginning of time, our voice being the original instrument. Singing together in harmony gives us goose bumps, tingles, as we breathe together, we connect and communicate with each other in a way scientists liken to the communal, synchronized behavior of flocks of birds or shoals of fish. There is much evidence to suggest that music and rhythm were precursors to language, communities once sung together to reaffirm relations, to connect, to transmit information, to harmonize and as science demonstrates - when we sing together our heart beats synchronize !! It is a practice of well-being, one that can enable healing on a physical, emotional and psychological level.
Breath
The breath work required to develop and strengthen your voice is Prana breathing, it is the same exercises that are used in yoga, Tai chi, Aikido or any of the other Chi-cultivating traditions. This both simultaneously relaxes and recharges the singer, moving energy, emotion and stimulating the body and mind.
Vibration and Cymatics
In many ancient cultures across the world, creation myths speak of a sound...'In the beginning was the word'...the original 'Aum' vibration. For some aboriginal cultures , we are described as the 'song of God.' Quantum physics is beginning to understand the profound nature of these stories as it comprehends more and more the 'original vibration' from which the universe was created.
We are all vibration and coming together to sing, to harmonize, to create a collective sound; has an effect on the matter around us and the matter within. The study of Cymatics demonstrates the effect of vibrational frequency upon physical matter, using sand, salt or water to demonstrate the complex and beautiful, symmetrical mandalas formed when specific and harmonic frequencies are applied. The same mandalas have been found within ancient cultures, and are based upon the same mathematics found within sacred geometry. We are made up largely of water and as we sound different vibrations we are aligning and affecting the molecular structure of our surroundings and our cellular make up.
Creativity
Singing puts us in the right head space ! it connects us to our intuition, to all creative functions. It is the perfect way to 'get out of the box' ! We engage our feelings and heart and are able to express ourselves in a ways where sometimes words fail us.
Improvisation and Shamanistic Tradition
Improvisation within music is to enter an altered state, the roots of which belong to shamanistic past. Music and song have a long association with shamanistic tradition and are used to enter into an altered state. Improvisation is a tool that allows us to access the subconscious, to enter into the 'stream of consciousness', to stimulate our creativity, to release suppressed thoughts and feelings. It is a vehicle for working with ego and to practice the unspoken communication that we cultivate when singing and sounding as one.
Fear and Voice-Loss
We have become a culture afraid of our own voice. Our voices have been silenced and it's not doing us any good! We confine singing to the shower, our cars, maybe we sing to our children. And if you can't sing like a professional, then please do not offend anyone with your sound ! We have created a distance between the performer and the listener, it has become a passive act. So many adults can remember a time they were told to be quiet, that they couldn't sing, or that they were out of tune and from this moment on - we shut -up. We have developed such vulnerability around our voice, fear of being heard, of expressing ourselves, of judgement, of ridicule. We have been robbed of our right to sing ! To find and develop this confidence has a positive ripple affect on all other aspects of our lives.
Your body is your instrument
- and you can learn how to use it ! With time and practice - Everybody can learn to sing. Your body is your instrument and your voice is a muscle, the more you use it, the stronger it gets. The stronger it gets, the better you get, the better you get, the more confident you feel - the more confident you feel - the better you get ! It creates a Positive loop of feedback. By learning to sing you are improving your health in a myriad of ways.