How it started for me
How the voice can heal has been a real interest for me, working as a teacher and choir leader has given me so much insight into this, as well as seeing the singing for well-being boom in recent years and all the evidence that goes to support the reported benefits.
I discovered the power of chanting when I realised that meditation wasn't just a practice for the mind, but for the whole being. I always struggled with emptying my mind, and felt that I couldn't meditate, until I studied for my yoga teacher training, and started to dive more deeply into Nada yoga, the yoga of sound and vibration. I now have a daily practice of bija mantra, the seed sounds of Sanskrit, and feel a deep sense of oneness within my usually chatty mind. I have also found that opening up to the lower tones of my singing register has helped me come home to myself, feel more grounded in life, and has helped me with vocal stamina and wellness.
Chanting focuses on short phrases, mantras, which are repeated to focus the mind. Mantras are tools, or vehicles used to free the mind of over-thinking, whilst invoking the healing properties of meditation, and promoting a deep sense of calm. Regular voicework supports breath, and helps to increase confidence in using your amazing voice. We all feel differently about the sound or tone of our voices, and chanting offers us a chance to explore, enjoy and understand this wonderfully expressive force that lives within us.
Why chant
Here are some of the benefits of regular chanting
- increased calmness
- deeper breath awareness
- beginnings of a mindfulness practice
- ideal for people with chatty minds who find traditional meditation triggering
- toning improves vocal quality and resonance which can be deeply rewarding
- promotes memory recall, learning new texts, repetition based practice
- promotes mental and emotional resilience I had ad
- social interaction - it's a really lovely and warm group!
What to expect
The classes are 40 minutes long and proceed as follows
- we begin with a short grounding practice
- we work through a few breathing exercises
- we warm the voice up with some simple toning sounds
- vowels or seed sounds, and create resonance in the body and head
- we focus on a short one line chant - finally we move on to a longer chant, which we will spend a few weeks at a time learning
" I love the fact that even without understanding the deep meditations of the chants, I feel something restorative happening as we do them. I’m quite grateful for the fact we’re muted as we do them. I very much like the way different sounds affect different parts of the body." P - Chant session member
"I feel my breath is strong. I like the challenge of of learning the words of the mantras. The warm up exercises are good for flexibility and relaxation." A- Chant session member