In this episode, Shauna Fallihee of Embodied Singer guides us through three short meditation practices – breath, listening, and metta loving kindness – that have direct application to singing. I love this episode! You’ll come away feeling focused and refreshed!
MENTIONS:
SINGING LESSONS:
- All of the skills that we cultivate, that we explore in meditative and contemplative practices are all the skills that we need as singers.
- Singing is the ultimate act of artistic presence. We need to be really present and attuned to what we’re hearing to what we’re feeling in our body. Present with the intention of what we want to express musically and dramatically. Present with the other musicians that we might be collaborating with. Present to the presence of the audience.
- The intention for a meditation practice isn’t to shut down what you feel. It’s not to eliminate intensity or eliminate different experiences. It’s about being able to be with what’s actually happening right now.
- The mind is designed to move. Your brain is designed to be recalling things. To be responding to stimulus. And we want that very active and agile mind. We definitely want it in performance. It’s what allows us to be responsive to the changing circumstances, but we also want to be able to slow it down and maybe maintain our focus and concentration for a longer period of time.
- The point of the practice is to notice, “Oh I’ve gone off into the past. I’ve gone out into the future. I’m gonna come back to presence.”
- We don’t have to manipulate the breath in any way in these particular practices.
- It’s not just a daily practice, it’s an every moment of your life practice of making choices about the way we respond to what we’re experiencing.
- It’s about creating the conditions for us to be present with what is actually happening and then learning to respond to that in a more skillful and compassionate demeanor kind way.
Thanks for listening!
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Special thanks to Shauna for joining us this week!