Singing is Powerful. Not only is it fun and expressive it also has many health benefits. So, why don’t more of us sing on a regular basis? One of the things I hear most often from people when I mention that I am a singer/vocal coach is: “Oh, I would LOVE to be able to sing….but I “can’t’.” I wholeheartedly disagree. I subscribe to the old adage…”If you have a body you can dance. If you have a voice you can sing.” Singing is SO much more than hitting the “right” notes at the “right” time. Singing is Stress Reducing, Immune Building, Confidence Producing, Invigorating, Resonance Creating, Dream Manifesting Magick.
1. Sing for Health & Wellbeing
The health benefits of singing are too many to count so let’s focus on one of the most powerful benefits of singing: Oxygen.
Singing requires more air than speaking therefore it enhances lung function, oxygenates the blood, and improves anaerobic capacity.
When I teach my vocal empowerment workshops I tell my students that “Breath is Everything”. Without breath there is no energy. Without energy there is no vibration in the vocal cords. Without vibration in the vocal cords there is no sound. Without sound there is no tone. Without tone there are no words. Without words there is no song.
It ALL STARTS with the breath. Singing starts with the breath NOT the sound we hear. The breath is the fuel. The sound is the vehicle. The song is the journey.
Here is something that has fascinated me since I first read it:
“No disease including cancer, can exist in an alkaline environment.” Dr. Otto Warburg, 1931 Nobel Prize Winner for Cancer Discovery.
Guess what creates an alkaline environment in the body? Yep, you guessed it, Oxygen. Guess what naturally increases Oxygen thru deep breathing. Yep….Singing. Singing creates an oxygen rich environment unattractive to cancer and other diseases.
And the good news is that these benefits are available to everyone…whether you think you can sing or not. Toning and producing prolonged sounds has the same effects. No ‘song’ required.
2. Sing to Connect to Self & Others
Singing creates a natural resonance in the body connecting us to ourselves and to others.
When I teach voice the first thing I tell my students is:
“If you walk away from here with just ONE thing I hope it is this….
THIS (I point to my throat) is not the voice. THIS (I let my hands scan my whole body from head to toe and expand out into the room) is the voice.”
The vocal cords are a necessary part in creating sound. However, we most often give them a job they are not equipped to do causing strain, damage, and a shutting down of sound which is exactly the opposite of our intent.
The vocal cords get touched off or fueled by the air that passes by them. This creates vibration. Where that vibration goes NEXT determines the quality of sound coming from that body/energy field. Sound needs space to vibrate in.
Consider for a moment where this sound goes after the breath creates vibration in the vocal cords. Most people say: “Out. The sound goes Out.”
Yes, this is technically true. Most people say that the sound goes out thru their mouths, the “hole” that the sound gets pushed thru. Also true. But limiting. Let’s explore this deeper.
What if I told you that the you create resonance by vibrating sound in space. And there is A LOT more space in your body than you may be aware of?
Enter the “resonators” of the body. Any space in the body is a resonant place. The chest/lungs, throat, nasal cavities, sinuses, etc. But wait…there’s more!
Here is something that blows my mind every time: What are cells mostly made up of?: Yep, Space. When we sing from our whole beings our bodies become a resonant chamber producing sound vibration not just out our “mouth hole” but from every cell of our being. THIS is resonance.
Next time you sing (or speak) consider allowing the sound to “spin” within your body vibrating the energy field/space you are in like a tuning fork rather than like a blow horn (out your “mouth hole”). It is a very different sensation. It is wholistic, complete, and highly pleasurable to feel this resonance from within.
When we create resonance within our bodies we vibrate all our cells. We “tune in” to ourselves. We feel grounded, complete, whole. And when we create this resonance within ourselves we touch off this sound/resonance in others much like tuning forks. Now gather a group of people who are resonating from within and singing together. Shared resonance creates connection.
Don’t have a group to sing with? Consider a looper. Here is an article I wrote on Looping: “Conjure a Choir of Enchantment”
And here is the good news. Resonance is created with sound. No arpeggiated exercises in front of the piano required. You can play with this right now. A yawn, a sigh, a hum all create resonance. No “singing” required.
3. Sing to Conjure & Create
There is an old saying: “When we sing we pray twice”. The reason this feels true for me is that singing amplifies energy exponentially. Singing requires more oxygen, more energy, and creates a prolonged resonance in a vaster range of frequencies (notes). Most of us are using only a few notes when we speak. However, singing requires a much wider range of expression. This ENERGY in action fuels sound to transform our world.
Sometimes in my vocal empowerment workshops we write an affirmation and create a melody for it: a simple chant-able song to sing into our bones, bodies, cells, and being. And like any mantra sung over and over again….it becomes truth. A reality. A knowing.
I first discovered this when I attended the Personal Integration Program/Transformations School of Spiritual Psychology in Milwaukee, WI. My limiting pattern at the time was to create learning opportunities fraught with drama. I wrote this affirmation.
“I am finding continuing excitement in the ongoing discovery of my true inner beauty.”
Then on my own I created a melody and sang it to myself on repeat. And somehow “Magically” it became true. I stopped attracting drama and started experiencing more enjoyable growth opportunities.
The next time you create a spell or ritual consider singing or toning your intent to uplevel manifestation. A mantra spoken is powerful. A mantra sung is Magick.
Two songs I wrote that I use as personal mantras are: “Please Bless This Space” & “We Are Enough”.
There are so many reasons to sing even if you think you “can’t”. The benefits of creating resonant sound with our whole bodies are too many to count. It’s fun, enjoyable, healthy and its FREE! Consider reframing whether or not you can “sing” and invest instead in making sounds. There is no “right” or “wrong” there is simply resonance and vibration that can be harnessed and used to fuel your dreams and desires.
May You Sing. May you “Sound”. May You Soar. May You Shine.
For more articles on musical skills, visit Pagan Song’s Music How-To page, where all of our articles on musical craft and songwriting are gathered.
For more information about Celia, including her collected articles here on Pagan Song, her bio, and links to Celia’s sites on the web, check out Celia’s page on Pagan Song.