What Is Voga? A Yoga Class designed to Open your Voice, Expand Creativity & Enhance live performance. This series is designed for artists, singers, yogis, writers, actors, public speakers, musicians and anyone who wants to strengthen their singing voice or connect more deeply with their creative voice. We will focus on specific breathing exercises, simple stretching, a Kundalini Yoga set, chanting, and meditation. This is a unique opportunity to:
-
Understand how your breath creates a solid foundation for your expression.
-
Increase Vocal Resonance
-
Expand Vocal Range
-
Connect with your unique voice and creativity
-
Create a more confident and powerful presence on stage
-
Learn how to properly use your singing voice and prevent injury
-
Clarify your artistic dreams and learn how to make them a reality
-
Eliminate limiting beliefs and creative blocks
VOGA 101
I finished my Yoga Certification in 2006, and have been teaching music/voice regularly since 2006. One day in 2011, a few months after I had settled in Nashville, I was teaching a Yoga class and said to myself, “Omg! I am saying a lot of the same things here that I just said to a student in a voice lesson. Hmmmm….” So I went a bit deeper…
I realized that each of the chakras powerfully connects with both physical and emotional aspects of our voice, performance, creativity & expression (chakras are spinning bodies of energy within us – we have 7 of them and the 8th is the energy field around the body also called the Aura).
So here are 3 things about VOGA that you probably didn’t know…..
1. As you singers DO know, the flexibility of the larynx is integral to vocal technique for a lot of reasons. Let’s simplify and say it increases resonance, range, and gives freedom to the voice. Your vocal cords actually live inside of your Larynx.
In Yoga, the Larynx is synonymous with your 5th Chakra. Kriyas/Exercises that we do in yoga for the 5th chakra bring freedom and flexibility to the larynx, as well as release tension in the neck/back/shoulders. Tightness in these areas will impede the natural voice.
Energetically, the larynx/5th chakra is associated with Communication, Creativity and our ability to speak our truth. When we connect with and have specific exercises that enable us open the potential here – wow!! Not only are we releasing vocal tension & strengthening the voice but we are also opening up amazing potential for our creative expression. Kinda Cool, huh?
2. Any of us who have bothered to learn about breathing either through vocal training, sports, yoga, public speaking, etc…. have learned that we focus the beginning of our inhale from the ‘belly’. In Yoga this is our 3rd Chakra, also called the navel point. Many of the exercises in Kundalini Yoga & Voga work directly with cultivating & releasing energy at the navel point. This strengthens our connection with proper breathing technique. Yogi Bhajan (who brought Kundalini Yoga to the US from India) would say, “If you want to be heard, speak from the navel point” Folks, this is your presence, getting to the heart of a stronger expression of your creativity as well as reaching your audience!! A lot more on that via the heart chakra as well. Also, the 3rd Chakra is connected with our ability to manifest – bring our creative ideas/concepts/dreams to fruition.
3. The Aura – the energy field around the body. Have you ever seen someone walk into a room and they seem to glow? This is the energy of a strong aura. A friend was once with Dolly Parton at a social event and commented on her energy & glow. This vibrancy is a strong aura. When cultivated it gives you the magic to feel & look both more brighter & bigger on stage. The Aura is actually a protective energy field around the body (think – Michael Jackson in the bubble, without the embarrassment of the bubble…)
So if you struggle with stage jitters or want to feel more secure on stage or if even feel safer expressing yourself in business or in life – there are a lot of things you can do to build your aura. I teach this almost everyday and? It works!
There are 5 more Chakras – Download the FREE PDF to learn more about them! I know your inbox is probably pretty full….. so I made this kinda short, which means it barely scratches the surface. In the VOGA workshop series, we will explore all of this in much more detail. And we will do special exercises, meditations for each chakra as well as journal to connect with our goals and release blocks.
Kundalini is also called The Yoga Of Experience – This video series allows you to experience transformation right from the comfort of your own home with unlimited access to the series – so you can work at your own pace and retake the classes anytime!
All levels are welcome – you can take the classes at your own physical pace and there is no required singing. If you are interested in building your creative voice & physical voice, expanding & expressing your artistry, creating a stronger foundation & manifesting your creativity, you’ve come to the right place!
Kundalini Yoga
“Yoga” means union of the individual mind with universal consciousness.
The root of the word “yoga” in English is the biblical word “yoke”.
“Kundal” literally means a coil of the lock of hair of the beloved. The overall idea is that this coil – beloved lock – is a dormant energy at the base of the spine (first chakra). We practice yoga to awaken this energy. Through Asanas (yoga postures), Pranayam (breath), Meditation & Mantra (sound) we raise this energy thru the Chakras (energy centers in the body) in order to release our infinite potential.
WHAT IS KUNDALINI ENERGY?
The Kundalini Energy resides at the base of our spine where the 3 major Nadis meet:
Ida, Pingala, and Sushmuna.
Nadis refer to the specific energy channels from which we inhale energy (prana – life force) and exhale (apana – elimination).
Left Nostril – ‘Ida’ Moon, Feminine, Calming Energy
Right Nostril – ‘Pingala’Sun, Male, Stimulating Energy
(That’s why we usually focus on breathing through our nose!)
We awaken this energy by stimulating, balancing and mixing the prana and apana in the navel chakra, which generates white heat. This energy ‘ignites’ the coil at the base of spine and it travels by the path of the sushmuna (also called the silver cord) beginning at the base of the spine through all of the Chakras.
Did you know?
Breathing out of the left nostril will help to calm the mind & body and even help you to fall asleep!
Breathing out of the right nostril will help to stimulate and focus the mind (you can use your thumb to block off the opposite nostril).
Practical benefits of Kundalini Yoga include toning the body, building muscular strength, keeping the weight balanced, increased flexibility, cardiovascular health, purifying the body of toxins, aid to digestion, increased energy, more restful sleep, increased concentration, stimulating the glandular & circulatory systems.
