The Power Of Your Authentic Voice

Have you ever been told you can’t sing?

For those of us who have, there are a few paths we consciously, or unconsciously, choose: we either stop singing, or we contain our singing to the shower or car, or to when we’ve consumed the right amount of alcoholic beverages to let ourselves belt out the anthems of our youth. And then there are karaoke bars for the fearless.

It’s the stop-singing choice that’s got me going. At some point in our history, singing was left to singers, dancers to dance, artists to art. Yet singing and dancing especially are an intrinsic part of our history — a part of what makes life good, of how we tell our stories, express our emotions, tune in and connect with others.

We have many ways of inhibiting our voice, and our training starts young. As children we may be asked to ‘be quiet’, to use our ‘inside voice’ or to be ‘seen and not heard’. Driving past a school in a break period is evidence that we were born to vocalise — it’s loud! We may continue to inhibit our voice into adulthood, where societal behaviours dictate that certain places, including work environments, require a containment of our vocal expression. There are less and less environments and occasions to sing, or even to be loud.

Learning Sanskrit

In my early years of studying Yoga, I was blessed to meet and study with Vasudeva, my beloved Sanskrit teacher and a true yogi. He had been a Sadhu, or holy man, in India and was living in the jungle around Rishikesh. He was invited to live in an ashram where he met a Kiwi woman, fell in love and moved to New Zealand. Eventually, he started teaching Sanskrit and yoga in Auckland. He came to our yoga school and taught us many chants, I also studied with him one-on-one. I loved it — he was a joyful and enthusiastic teacher, also very strict about the tone and pronunciation of the chants. I began to find my voice again, and ever since I have loved to chant.

Reclaiming My Voice

During my three year apprenticeship at the Yoga Academy, I studied voice and singing with a wonderful singer-songwriter, Karen Hunter. I remembering feeling vulnerable, awkward and inadequate. Karen was fierce but loving and helped me find strength and authenticity to my teaching voice. I was also fortunate to have lessons with my dear friend, singer-songwriter Josephine Costain. Through her encouragement, I was well underway to reclaiming my inner and outer singer. I now give myself full permission to car-sing at full volume, even at the lights.

A few years ago I presented a singing and dancing piece to 500 participants at a Southern Cross Wellness Conference. Some of the participants were a little sceptical about the health benefits of being a part of an instant 500 person choir, however, there was an undeniable joy in the room. Singing works!