A great answer, Felicity, many thanks!

It makes a lot of sense.

Mike

--- In cheal@yahoogroups.com, felicity wrote:
>
> 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 -
>