Hi Mike!

Thanks for asking.

Over my 27 years of working with voice I have observed many things in myself and
in those I work with. I have always been aware of the
body/mind connection with the sound we produce, spoken as well as sung; it
reveals in a similar way to a fingerprint, all that is going on in the body and
the psyche.

As I observe and experience voices (including my own) I find
disconnection from body in many classically, formally trained singers - a mask
if you like which takes us away from who we are. We then seem to spend the rest
of our lives bringing the authenticity back into the sound! In use of voice
known generally as voicework, natural voice, free voice etc there can often be a
collapse or an inappropriate use of body, frequently producing a flaccid or, at
the other extreme, a constricted sound. There are many many variables and each
combination is unique (thankfully!) to the individual. In my experience I
witness these character responsive sounds as coming from our woundings in this
life and in previous lives also. One might argue that misuse of the body is
purely laziness, familial etc but then we need to ask more questions as to where
that has come from, where did it begin!

By being in the moment with the sound we can learn to recognise holding
patterns, experience the mind talk and feel the emotions. This is to say as I
produce a single note, if I stay with it, breathing when necessary, feeling what
happens in my body and mind as I do this, I may observe for example anger coming
up. I may feel it in a particular place in my body as numbness or
pressure/rigidity or even trembling. If there any of the above we are not
resonating in that particular place in the body. By bringing attention to this
and allowing a dissolving, a letting go, my body and my mind begin to work in
harmony together and the sound begins to change; healing takes place on all
levels.

Sometimes, quite frequently in fact, in addition to the letting go we need to
bring attention to one or more chakras and muscles in the area of the chakra to
"allow" a balance. A firing on all cylinders if you like! In this experience I
can transform the imbalance of my here and now into something healthier more
alive, more connected within myself and subsequently in relation to another.

I hope this brief explanation expands your understanding of how I work with the
here and now through voice Mike! If you go to the events page on my website you
will find a some workshops and a Retreat in Hungary where I will be teaching
this philosophy and method of enabling our voices.

Thanks for the opportunity to "voice" my Self through the written word!
:)

with joy in the now
Felicity
http://www.voiceworks-uk.com
Felicity Cook -