This was the second time I went to Orkney to learn from Kristin Linklater. She is a legend in her field with 60 years experience in teaching and learning about the Voice. Why I am so interested and passionate about voice, because it rides on the breath. A true, innocent, easy breath! But boy, is it easy to breathe easy?! Hmmm…In yoga, working with the voice is done through chanting, alone or in groups or, singing Kirtan. The more effortless the breath is, the more the sounds vibrate the body, the more efficient the healing process.
Yes, your own voice, can heal you.
The way we breathe, talk, sing, chant affect us, big time.
I’ve been known as a natural communicator all my life, only to find out years later (more than 4 decades later), there was nothing natural about it. I have work to do! The rest of my life to undo what stands between me and my true breath/voice. A life time to become conscious of the unconscious and to see just how powerful it really is. Learning not to fight it and instead work with it. Communicate with it and re-educate the ways it sets to protect me…
Valuable thoughts from Kristin:
What we say is coloured by our past, our history, our understanding, our emotions….
We hide the parts of our voice that are most revealing.
Our face can close the voice off
Our voice can get stuck in the tension of our tongue
Our soft top palette needs to be strong and flexible for the true voice to open.
A clear voice comes from a clear mind
We can hold emotions and not have the need to release them, when we are grounded and connected to our belly
Let yourself be bigger than you think you are, allow yourself to be surprised
Don’t hold the voice in your throat or mouth, let it out.
It’s impossible to work on the voice and not hit brick walls. Sometimes the walls are cracked, sometimes we are…Either case, it seems to work! This leads to the group getting really close and share…I felt so much appreciation as I was flying back to London, that I let these words appear on my notes:
