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Sound and Silence (P1): Harmonics in Yoga
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Authentic Voice Workshop
Anyone who has ever been on the receiving end of the "silent treatment" or has felt inspired by an uplifting melody, understands the power of sound and also the lack thereof.
Over the next week, we will be exploring both the harmful and healing benefits of sound and silence, and taking a closer look at why mantra, breath, and voice are so important to yoga and our health...
Recently, I had a Q&A with singer, songwriter, and Authentic Voice coach, Stephanie Heidemann about how harmonics influence us, and what gives them power.
Q: Mantra is often used in yoga because it heals through intention (focus and prayer) and also with harmonics. How does Sound & Silence and Authentic Voice Workshops tie in to yoga and mantra?
We use toning (or holding single tones drawn out with the breath) in harmony with other singers' tones to create a larger sound than just the individual voice. When we lock into the collective sound, that can be equivalent to the mantra itself. It is intentional sound made with the breath. It is yogic in that there are intentional postures and attention to alignment in the body, in order to insure proper breathing. We treat the entire body as the instrument of the voice, and of vibration itself. I would also add that it is like yoga, in that it is a "practice" that needs to be consistent and repetitive, like any discipline that develops technique toward pursuits in consciousness.
Q: Can you tell us what a specific class or workshop is like? Is it open to beginners and people who are afraid to sing?
In a normal class, we usually start with body alignment exercises such as stretching, and then get into breath-work, (sighing, yawning, opening up the breath through the ribcage and the jaw, breathing into the full lung capacity).
Then, we do some interactive vocal exercises or "vocal play" that teach people how their vocal parts, as simple as they may be, are interactive with others - usually through rhythm and harmony. I have a percussionist that accompanies the workshop to assist with this.
People often find this part challenging, but that is part of the process...to challenge our rhythmic sensibility, and to learn how to sing interactively with others.
In each class, I normally talk about the "authenticity" of the voice, and how to unmask the authentic voice, freeing it from tension, singing from our "place of origin". Sometimes, people are afraid to let their voices be heard, and that can bring up their own conceptions of self, which is not the authentic self. It's just that we so often believe our own insecurities...that we are far more powerless than we actually are...another mask over the authentic self.
I always try to teach my students new songs, typically from around the world, including songs from Africa, Afro-cuban descent, Appalachia and some of my own original material.
At the end of class, we do meditative toning together, where each student gets a chance to improvise vocally over a blanket of tones supporting them, and each person is heard, as well as supported and respected, for contributing their courage, their spirit, their voice. This is such a fulfilling part of the class, as there is so much wisdom conveyed in each singer's voice once it opens up. A little courage goes a long way. After a class, everyone's eyes seem glossier, and we can all hear the birds chirping outside more loudly, and the space we have created has far outstretched the actual physical "walls" of the room. I guess we've gone literally outside the box!
Q: What inspired you to begin this type of class?
I designed my own Individualized Major program at Indiana University, completing a B.A. in Expressive Arts Therapy, and have been singing professionally for more than thirteen years. I studied formally with Metropolitan Opera Mezzo and Brenda Boozer for 3-years ( who uniquely incorporated Kundalini Yoga into our lessons).
Above formal training, I have had so many insightful and inspiring singing experiences that kept leading my spiritual path: performing on stage, singing with other singers, singing around a bonfire in the deep night, or even singing in nature while on a hike... so many different ways of connecting with Spirit through singing, some of which brought me to tears, or to ecstasy. Either way, inspiration through the voice has brought me to a higher place. They have all helped me discover a deep well within myself that doesn't belong to me, but can be tapped into. Every time I tap into it, it adds more color to the palette of my being, along with a sense of fulfillment that I can't seem to find anywhere else.
Having your own voice involved in these deeper experiences puts your own signature on it (the experience that is an archetypal experience, that did not originate from you, nor did you "invent it"). Being able to participate in the Great Experience that many pioneers such as Joseph Campbell have talked abouth, as brought me a deeper sense of purpose, vision and service.
That vision and service has led me to put all the pieces together and build a workshop designed to address it all in a more organized format. It is thrilling to try to put words to such an intangible "thing"!
For more information about Authentic Voice Workshops with Stephanie:
Where:
Rosemary Court, 810 Central Ave, in Sarasota, FL (small Yoga rm)
Fee:
$15/walk-in or $60/ 5-class series
Contact: Stephanie Heidemann 828-260-5659
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