When was the last time you screeched or even screamed at the top of your lungs? Not out of a need to defend yourself, although it is good to know your voice is there if you need it. I’m talking about feeling the power of the full range of your natural voice.
Babies let us know how they feel, expressing their joy and pain in a wide range of vocal sounds. Little girls SCREAM like crazy, escalating up into their high ‘whistle register’, the highest range of the human voice. For many adults, the last time we let loose with the full power of our natural voice was around the age of 5 or 6. Way back before many of us got the message that we were too big or too loud and should quiet down and behave ourselves.
Discovering the power and potential of your voice isn’t only for singers. We all have a voice! As we open into the full potential of our range, we discover familiar but long forgotten, exciting new territory. To feel the power and energy lying dormant in us, when we let our voices rip without judgement, reconnects us with lost or hidden parts of ourselves.
In service of the whole…
When I open my voice and am willing to share it, it opens the door for a client to step through. It’s taken me years to understand how to empower clients to let go and let it rip. What I know now is that my courage to step into the unknown gives a client the permission to dig deep and go where they need to go.
As their vocal exploration deepens, they claim aspects of themselves that are unique to their journey. They go places that only they can go. I witness them taking hold of the reins of their creative expression and going for it. What could be more satisfying than this?!
For one client, reconnecting with the exuberant scream of the 5 year old, was like plugging back into a long forgotten power source. When she rediscovered this familiar but long lost freedom, it was like reconnecting with a very dear friend.
Tips for trying this on your own:
- The biggest obstacle is that we’re all so concerned about freaking out the neighbors. You simply need to prioritize this. Find a good time and go for it. Over all the years that I’ve done voice work, I’ve never had anyone complain or freak out about the noise.
- Experiment with natural sounds not singing sounds: slides are great for this. Go from your low voice up into your high voice. Then, try and expand your range to go a little lower or a little higher!
- Move your body as you sound: Try the Ragdoll Swing, let your upper body swing down as your voice goes up and swing up as your voice goes down!
- Have fun and don’t work too hard! Just like “Allowing the breath in”, which I talked about in the last blog post, it’s time to let go and allow the sound to flow out.
- Please comment and tell me how it goes!