With spring beginning to peek it’s sunny skies you might be feeling the energy inside you starting to stir. Memories of patio meals, sunny walks and summer relaxation might be rising up from the cave of winter and getting you excited about possibilities. Finally! Spring is the perfect time for change, new beginnings and self expression.
This is why I’m so excited to introduce you this week to my good friend Ruth, the founder of Total Singer Support.com. She is a talented musician, singer-songwriter, vocal coach and one straight up amazing woman. She was also once a holistic health coach and learned firsthand how music makes an impact on women’s overall health.
Her work is a great compliment in that she specializes in empowering you to more full, free, confident and joyous creative self-expression in your life, a key piece in the healing journey. Today she’s going to share with you some valuable information on how singing can support your health.
Enjoy!
Dr. Viv
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Hi I’m Ruth Levy and I’m a singer-songwriter, vocal coach and founder of TotalSingerSupport.com. I have a long history as a professional musician and teacher but for a few years I worked as a Holistic Health Counselor. It was then by working with my clients and introducing singing and creativity in our sessions about brown rice and kale, that I realized the incredible healing and life-changing transformation that occurs when women are empowered to fully own, value, love and express their true voice. Opening up the voice to sing is often the missing link to wellness and health. That’s why I dedicated myself to becoming a vocal coach and why I work exclusively with women who are seeking personal growth and want to let their true voices shine freely and confidently either on stage and in life or both.
In this article, I want to share with all of you several ways that singing benefits your health and helps you lead a more fully alive, fulfilled and empowered life. I know that many if not all of you are on a healing journey and are interested in health and healing in one way or another so first of all I want to start by telling you about how singing helps women maximize their health and their lives and also share a really inspiring client story and also give you an opportunity to find out more for yourself if you’re interested.
Simplyput, singing makes us happy. There’s a reason karaoke is a craze and there are thousands of adult choirs and people post Youtube video’s of themselves singing cover songs. As humans we are built to sing and share ourselves, to be seen and heard and experience connection through music. That’s natural. That’s what children do freely and continue to do as adults unless they become disconnected from enjoying their own voice because somewhere along the line they shut down due to criticism, ridicule, nasty comments, rejection, or outright told they should not sing at all ever.
I had a client who was told by the nuns in her elementary school to ‘mouth the words but not ever sing’ in the choir. She carried this sense of ‘I’m bad, I’m not good enough, I shouldn’t sing’ into her adult life. The negative feelings she harbored went well beyond just singing. She felt stifled and unexpressed in her life too. She felt a deep sadness and pain and felt that she was missing a vital piece of herself.
Although she was initially terrified by the idea of singing, through our work together she was able to love her voice and her unique sound, move past the fear and negative self-talk, tap into her inner-strength, and find the courage to change her life. She ended up performing onstage with a band in front of 100 people and having the time of her life! Can you imagine the sense of accomplishment and triumph she experienced? And what hearing 100 people clapping and cheering for her did for her overall sense of health and wellbeing?
She continually reports to me that connecting to her body/mind/spirit through my approach to vocal coaching raised her self-esteem and inspired her to feel empowered and express herself where it mattered-asking for a raise, setting boundaries and in romantic relationships, voicing her opinions, wants and her needs instead of keeping silent. Now that’s health in my book.
Here’s just a few more ways singing improves your health:
- Singing reduces stress just like exercise because it releases endorphins
- Singing fends up depression by keeping your brain active remembering lyrics, pulling off high notes and requires you to master new melodies and rhythms.
- The sound vibrations created in your body when you sing are thoroughly soothing, healing and comforting. (think: mother’s singing to their babies)
- Awareness of breath helps manage and ease mental and physical tension.
- When you do something that you are afraid to do or think you can’t do and discover that you can, you discover your true strength. You are empowered. You set yourself free. And your body is freed from limitations and constraints that block health.
- Singing brings solutions. After singing for a while your perspective is more optimistic and your mind clearer and more open to ideas.
- Songs touch your hearts and connects you to your feelings and your personal power and truth.
- Singing develops concentration just like meditation except it’s easier and more fun. You simply can’t sing and worry aboutthings at the same time.
- Singing teaches you about who you are most uniquely and encourages you to take risks, trust your intuition and and find fulfillment in self-expression.
- Singing keeps you young and playful!
Letting yourself explore your voice and sing is such a gift you give to yourself and such an essential part of any woman’s healing journey. I believe that the world needs more women’s voices to be empowered and expressed not only for our individual healing and health but also for the highest good of the planet. You don’t need to be on American Idol, you only need to let your true voice shine to make a genuine contribution to this world.
I work with women who have never sung before, Broadway professionals and everyone in between. If you’re inspired to find your own voice and want to talk about ways we might work together, I invite you to a complimentary 40 min connection call me. (Don’t worry you won’t have to sing on the phone!)On this powerful call explore how singing can bring greater fulfillment and health to your life. Also, if you’re on Dr. Viv’s newsletter list, I am happy to gift you with a 15% discount on any program at Total Singer.
To schedule it please email: clientcare@totalsingersupport.com