The Power of Gentleness
One of the biggest traps that singers get into is working hard to get the voice out of the body by projecting.
This ‘efforting’ and pushing the voice contracts the body in a way that is not natural for the body or the voice.
This working hard and struggling to project is seen on the face of the singer as well as is heard in the sound of the voice.
There is a very big difference between the energy of passion and connection appearing on the face versus the working and pushing hard that appear on the face.
One of them is happening from an inner emotional connection that appears through the face. The other is happening from the need to please, or the need to hide, or the need to be special and this also appears on the face.
How can I connect and align to my inner world when I sing? What does it mean to be gentle with myself and is this powerful or is it just weak?
The vibrational medicine within us only needs a nudge to get it going so that it trickles open and through your spine.
The thought for this weeks classes was- The Above Welcomes the Below.
What does this mean and why is it important?
Any struggle we are appears in the face. We wear our faces on our sleeves, you could say.
In the eyes, the mouth, the face and the posture.
There is such a huge amount of protection in us that guards us from sharing who we are and how we really feel which is appropriate for the most part until we have to sing.
In my classes I ask the singers to position their whole selves in such a way that the voice and energy within the voice is welcomed and allowed.
This is when I can see struggle appear on the faces that says ‘no, this is not what we do!’
This is when I know that the welcoming of the emotions, energy and sensations that need to come through the voice is not really accepted or welcomed. All of this is understandable.
Rumi says, ‘God accepts counterfeit money as if it were real.’ Which I believe means ‘fake it until you make it!’
This Welcoming Face starts at domino effect activating the Vagus nerve, switches on the calming parasympathetic nervous system and starts a gentle trickle of relaxation, present moment awareness and a softening throughout the whole body.
The task of the singer is to burn through the resistance that is in the way of this gentle presence and to find an openness that welcomes what is happening right now in the body, the mind and all of the tender bits and pieces inside.
Welcome the energy that is rising from below and falling down from above. This takes time.
This gentle power will open you to the sound of your beautiful voice through welcoming the passion, the energy and the love that you are.
Our voice reflects this alignment .
Or, our voice reflects whatever we are aligning to in the moment.
None of this is wrong.
Only reflects where we are.
The trick is just to notice it and maybe then begin the delicious process of noticing the sounds, the sights, the smells and sensations of where we are right now.
Our face is another way to access this moment by opening it to welcome ourselves in.
The power of this gentleness is our inner most stacking doll and is the stuffing for all the other dolls.