Like all of us, I don’t always practice what I preach. Doing what I do for a living, I know about the healthful benefits of making music and how vocalizing is an effective way of relieving stress. Yet I don’t always practice that for myself.
But today was different. Today I remembered to create time for reconnecting with my breath, body, and voice.
It began by me just toning some vowels, noticing where I felt the vibrations in my body. I noticed that my throat was feeling particularly tight, so I modified the pitch and where I was placing the sound.
A shift happened.
Then I began toning melodic lines using the vowels, again noticing what was going on within. This time I felt grounded down through my spine and sitz bones, but noticed that my shoulders were feeling tight. They needed some release.
I began rocking my torso in motion to my vocalizations, which felt really good. I could feel myself filling into my body, becoming more present to myself as I became more present with my voice and breath. The stress and tightness seemed to melt away.
At that moment I recognized a connection, or an integration, had occurred between my body, mind, breath and voice that left me feeling clearer than when I began toning. I felt as though I had become an embodiment of sound.
It reminded me that I need to practice what I preach and do this more often.
What are your favorite things to do for feeling or becoming more embodied? Please share your comments down below.