Opening up your voice

Here are the tips I promised for opening up your voice. (Not in any particular order; you can just start with the one that seems easiest!)

Ok, you'll notice that many of them mention QuietStar. I LOVE sound and I can't help but share what I love! So, I have created many opportunities at QuietStar for exploring and making sound! Our store offers demos of many CD's that you can come and listen to; we have singing bowls that you can play, and books to look at. And I have gathered together a wonderful collection of practitioners who use sound and vibration (through their voices and instruments) to assist in the opening of the energy field. The QuietStar Band has its own Facebook page, if you want to check that out.

1. Find some music you like and sing along. Start in the privacy of your car or your own home, then branch out to trying it with friends you trust.
2. Find a group that does "toning" and practice with them. It always helps to be around people doing what you want to do. Try humming along, then become louder as you are ready.
3. Remember to breathe! And relax your throat.
4. Close your eyes and IMAGINE toning. Pretty soon you will be able to do it out loud.
5. Read, study, educate yourself about sound and the human energy field. There are some great professional sound healers out there, with wonderful CD's and books. Have you heard Tom Kenyon or Jonathan Goldman. Also be sure to check out two Central Coast artists, Sophia (Song Healer from Carmel and Aleya Dao from Carpinteria) Visit QuietStar's website for a look at some of their CD's. Click here and choose the sound and vibrational healing subcategory. Just by listening and imitating, you will learn how to use your voice!
6. Use a singing bowl as background. There are metal "Tibetan" bowls, and quartz crystal bowls. You are welcome to come play ours during our open store hours...we'll even close the door so you can sing along and be alone! And for a real treat, check out Deborah Van Dyke's beautiful book "Travelling the Sacred Sound Current".
7. Sing, sing, sing! I like to go to churches and sing all those hymns from my childhood. (Sometimes I change the words in my head to match my current philosophy).
8. Chant, chant, chant! Chants are great because they are repetitive, so the words are easy to learn! Their purpose is to open and connect with the Divine. Google "kirtan" and find a group chanting that you can attend.
9. Visit QuietStar for Sunday Circle. On the first Sunday of the month (except July, closed for the 4th!), we gather to use our voices to create a Vortex of healing and transformational energy. The QuietStar Band provides didgeridoo, singing bowl and drum accompaniment.
10. Open your throat chakra. Usually if you have closed down your voice, you have closed down this chakra. It is located in the center of your neck, about where your "adam's apple" is located. Imagine a ball of blue light centered here. Imagine it being completely safe to express your voice. Breathe into this ball of light, energizing and expanding it. For further assistance try essential oil of lavendar or peppermint (put a drop on the skin or take a gentle breath of it. If you're still feeling stuck, try working with an energy healer.
11. (Shameless self-promotion)....Buy the QuietStar CD "The Bliss of Transformation" and practice along with us. I hope this helps you to find your voice and have lots of fun using it!

Love and Light, Elaina

Fun with my Voice

Recently, I was at a special gathering of our Flute Circle, and I had the privilege of bringing through some sound (toning**) while others played flute, electric bass guitar, didgeridoo, and drums. It was magical and I felt so honored. Afterward a former student at QuietStar came up to me and shyly said that she feels really called to “do that” and asked me about how I started “doing that”…did it always just flow? Of course, the answer is No, and that led to a whole discussion about the vulnerability of letting your voice out. I am so excited when someone finds the space to do just that. She inspired me to tell my story, so here it is.

When I was young, I sang in chorus at school, sometimes playing the autoharp in accompaniment. Then in 5th or 6th grade, someone told me I couldn't carry a tune, and I promptly stopped singing. Up to this point, I had been "producing" neighborhood plays and leading Christmas carols at all family events.

I went on with my life, and about 25 years later, I was at an Easter service, singing in the congregation, and the friend I was with looked at me and said, "Your voice...it's amazing. You need to be singing!" So I just started singing every chance I got...His comment reminded me how much I loved singing, and I knew at that very moment, from the little chills in my body that I would be going somewhere with my voice.

The short story is that in 2008, the QuietStar Band created their first CD, and for me, it was a truly amazing experience! (link to Band info) Once the sound really starts to come through me (after I let go of control!) it isn't usually very scary anymore. And the feeling after I allow this expression, is pure bliss! And here is more of the story...

Little by little, I have found myself using my voice in all kinds of interesting ways. Having channeled energy for many years, I began to "sing along" with Enya in some of my sessions. I was then synergistically guided to a couple Sound Healers, and knew that's what I had been doing! Since then, I have found chanting to be an amazing way to expand my voice, have studied with various vocal teachers, and see as much live music as I can. But the biggest thing has just been to allow...to connect deeply with Spirit and to allow myself to be a channel for the sound and energy. And then the bliss makes me wonder why I ever thought letting go was hard!

In my next post, I will include some tips for opening up your voice....in the meantime, just sing anytime, anywhere you feel comfortable. And if you can't sing out, hum.

Love and Light, Elaina
**What is toning?...answers by Yvonne Roza