Singing and the chakras
Hello livejournal,
It's been awhile. I guess I don't post in here too frequently, so I always say that. I just had a big performance this past Saturday - "big" as in, my yearly voice recital - but small as in, it was a house concert with roughly 30 people in attendance. But still, it took a lot of time, energy, money invested to prepare and put it on - but definitely a labor of love. I had a lot of fun and there was a great response from the audience. So now I'm preparing for an audition this Friday and for a recording session later this month. Hopefully I will have some audio tracks and/or videos up in a few months. Exciting!
I'm going to try out some ideas here for a blog post that I might share in my newsletter to voice and yoga students. Let me know what you think!
Singing and the chakras
When we sing, energy is flowing more than normal. You can probably feel it, even if you're not sure how you feel about energy or chakras - there's no denying that "buzzy" feeling through your head, or maybe chest or throat. There's more air flowing, you're hopefully breathing deeper, and the vibrations are causing especially your upper chakras, or energy centers, to open up.
As a singer, voice teacher, and dedicated yogini and yoga teacher, I've been spending a lot of time exploring the places where the paths of yoga and singing intersect. In my exploration, I've found more connections than expected, and one area that is especially rich in its lessons and benefits is the chakras. Simply focusing on each chakra at a time while you sing can be beneficial and fun. Here's a brief guide to start your exploration:
Root chakra: Red. Base of the spine. Issues of Health and Wealth.
As you sing, focus on the area at the base of the spine. Feel your feet, and feel rooted-down to the earth. Try singing a low pitch on the syllable "LAM," and notice where you feel the vibrations. Make sure the breath is flowing and the spine is tall and neutral, and breathe whenever you need to. On the inhalation, feel a dropping of the pelvic floor. On the exhalation as you sing, gently draw pelvic floor and low belly in and up. If you're ready to delve a little deeper, ask yourself the question: "What gets in the way of abundant health and wealth? How can I gently acknowledge what's in the way (fear, perhaps?) and invite abundance more deeply into my life?"
Naval chakra: Orange. Issues of creation, sexuality, feelings and control.
Raise your pitch slightly and focus on the area around your naval. Invite softness to that area as you sweep the low belly in and up as you exhale and sing. Try chanting the syllable "VAM" and picturing a bright orange color. Ask yourself, "How does the creative, generative energy manifest itself in my life? How can I express my feelings in a healthy way? How can I surrender to what wants to emerge rather than using excessive control?"
Sacral chakra: Yellow. The area between and just below the ribs. Issues of personal power and taking action.
Raise your pitch slightly and focus on the area between and just below your ribs. Picture a bright yellow light emanating and pulsating from this area, perhaps as you chant the seed sound "RAM." See if you can keep your ribs expanded as you exhale and sweep the low belly in and up - imagine you are spreading your wings! Ask yourself, "How does my personal strength and individuality manifest? How can I let myself more readily take right action?"
Heart chakra: Green. The center of the chest. Issues of love, empathy and connection.
Raise your pitch slightly and focus on the center of your chest, picturing a beautiful green light. Try chanting the seed sound "YAM." Let yourself feel love for another as you keep this area open and expanded. Normally, we tend to collapse slightly through this area when we exhale - see if you can keep the heart, and whole chest area, open. Ask yourself, "How can I invite more unconditional love and connection into my life?"
Throat chakra: Blue. Seed sound: "HAM," pronounced "Haaahhm." Connected with speaking your truth, expressing yourself, being authentic.
Raise your pitch higher to any pitch that doesn't produce strain and feels right. Try chanting the seed sound, or just explore the vibrations you feel as you exhale and vocalize on any vowel. As you sing, imagine a light blue light emanating from your throat. Invite softness and open-ness through the throat as you allow the vibrations to "bypass" your throat - in other words, authenticity will naturally occur when the lower chakras are aligned and the upper ones are open. This chakra is the transition point between lower and higher energy centers, and ideally we feel nothing in the throat - it is floating like a buoy on the sea of air. Ask yourself, "How can I be more true to my word?
Third Eye chakra: Darker Blue or Indigo. Seed sound: "OM." Connected with intuition, unity with all other living things.
Explore higher in your range without strain. Picture a beautiful dark blue light emanating from the middle of your skull - normally people think about the middle of the forehead for this chakra, but see if you can become aware of a spot a few inches back from your forehead. Lift the soft palette and imagine the resonance "spinning" out and down from that location. Detach from any desire to sound a certain way - approach the resonance you feel through your head with curiosity. It is an illusion that we are all separate - ask yourself, "How can I invite more unity into my life?"
Crown chakra: Purple or White. Seed sound: "OM" again, or simply "NG." This is our connection with the universe and the divine.
Explore aiming out the crown of the head and releasing a high, pure tone. If it doesn't seem so pure to you at first, simply observe the sensations without judgment and keep breathing and exploring vocally, as long as there is no strain. If you feel strain at any point during these exercises, stop vocalizing and simply chant internally (imagine yourself chanting the seed sound; "audiate" the sound) while paying attention to the breath. Ask yourself, "Am I able to recognize and trust divine guidance when it appears?"
So in general when we sing anything, we want to stay grounded through the root chakra, stable through the sacral and heart chakra, mobile through naval chakra, open through the throat, and resonating in the third eye area. Simple "soft" awareness on the crown chakra helps to keep us aligned.
Thanks for listening, and have fun exploring!
It's been awhile. I guess I don't post in here too frequently, so I always say that. I just had a big performance this past Saturday - "big" as in, my yearly voice recital - but small as in, it was a house concert with roughly 30 people in attendance. But still, it took a lot of time, energy, money invested to prepare and put it on - but definitely a labor of love. I had a lot of fun and there was a great response from the audience. So now I'm preparing for an audition this Friday and for a recording session later this month. Hopefully I will have some audio tracks and/or videos up in a few months. Exciting!
I'm going to try out some ideas here for a blog post that I might share in my newsletter to voice and yoga students. Let me know what you think!
Singing and the chakras
When we sing, energy is flowing more than normal. You can probably feel it, even if you're not sure how you feel about energy or chakras - there's no denying that "buzzy" feeling through your head, or maybe chest or throat. There's more air flowing, you're hopefully breathing deeper, and the vibrations are causing especially your upper chakras, or energy centers, to open up.
As a singer, voice teacher, and dedicated yogini and yoga teacher, I've been spending a lot of time exploring the places where the paths of yoga and singing intersect. In my exploration, I've found more connections than expected, and one area that is especially rich in its lessons and benefits is the chakras. Simply focusing on each chakra at a time while you sing can be beneficial and fun. Here's a brief guide to start your exploration:
Root chakra: Red. Base of the spine. Issues of Health and Wealth.
As you sing, focus on the area at the base of the spine. Feel your feet, and feel rooted-down to the earth. Try singing a low pitch on the syllable "LAM," and notice where you feel the vibrations. Make sure the breath is flowing and the spine is tall and neutral, and breathe whenever you need to. On the inhalation, feel a dropping of the pelvic floor. On the exhalation as you sing, gently draw pelvic floor and low belly in and up. If you're ready to delve a little deeper, ask yourself the question: "What gets in the way of abundant health and wealth? How can I gently acknowledge what's in the way (fear, perhaps?) and invite abundance more deeply into my life?"
Naval chakra: Orange. Issues of creation, sexuality, feelings and control.
Raise your pitch slightly and focus on the area around your naval. Invite softness to that area as you sweep the low belly in and up as you exhale and sing. Try chanting the syllable "VAM" and picturing a bright orange color. Ask yourself, "How does the creative, generative energy manifest itself in my life? How can I express my feelings in a healthy way? How can I surrender to what wants to emerge rather than using excessive control?"
Sacral chakra: Yellow. The area between and just below the ribs. Issues of personal power and taking action.
Raise your pitch slightly and focus on the area between and just below your ribs. Picture a bright yellow light emanating and pulsating from this area, perhaps as you chant the seed sound "RAM." See if you can keep your ribs expanded as you exhale and sweep the low belly in and up - imagine you are spreading your wings! Ask yourself, "How does my personal strength and individuality manifest? How can I let myself more readily take right action?"
Heart chakra: Green. The center of the chest. Issues of love, empathy and connection.
Raise your pitch slightly and focus on the center of your chest, picturing a beautiful green light. Try chanting the seed sound "YAM." Let yourself feel love for another as you keep this area open and expanded. Normally, we tend to collapse slightly through this area when we exhale - see if you can keep the heart, and whole chest area, open. Ask yourself, "How can I invite more unconditional love and connection into my life?"
Throat chakra: Blue. Seed sound: "HAM," pronounced "Haaahhm." Connected with speaking your truth, expressing yourself, being authentic.
Raise your pitch higher to any pitch that doesn't produce strain and feels right. Try chanting the seed sound, or just explore the vibrations you feel as you exhale and vocalize on any vowel. As you sing, imagine a light blue light emanating from your throat. Invite softness and open-ness through the throat as you allow the vibrations to "bypass" your throat - in other words, authenticity will naturally occur when the lower chakras are aligned and the upper ones are open. This chakra is the transition point between lower and higher energy centers, and ideally we feel nothing in the throat - it is floating like a buoy on the sea of air. Ask yourself, "How can I be more true to my word?
Third Eye chakra: Darker Blue or Indigo. Seed sound: "OM." Connected with intuition, unity with all other living things.
Explore higher in your range without strain. Picture a beautiful dark blue light emanating from the middle of your skull - normally people think about the middle of the forehead for this chakra, but see if you can become aware of a spot a few inches back from your forehead. Lift the soft palette and imagine the resonance "spinning" out and down from that location. Detach from any desire to sound a certain way - approach the resonance you feel through your head with curiosity. It is an illusion that we are all separate - ask yourself, "How can I invite more unity into my life?"
Crown chakra: Purple or White. Seed sound: "OM" again, or simply "NG." This is our connection with the universe and the divine.
Explore aiming out the crown of the head and releasing a high, pure tone. If it doesn't seem so pure to you at first, simply observe the sensations without judgment and keep breathing and exploring vocally, as long as there is no strain. If you feel strain at any point during these exercises, stop vocalizing and simply chant internally (imagine yourself chanting the seed sound; "audiate" the sound) while paying attention to the breath. Ask yourself, "Am I able to recognize and trust divine guidance when it appears?"
So in general when we sing anything, we want to stay grounded through the root chakra, stable through the sacral and heart chakra, mobile through naval chakra, open through the throat, and resonating in the third eye area. Simple "soft" awareness on the crown chakra helps to keep us aligned.
Thanks for listening, and have fun exploring!