Somatic (adj): Of, relating to, or affecting the body
My story
As a recovering anxiety-riddled perfectionist, I have experienced firsthand the power of the mind-body connection in singing. Incorporating somatics into my singing literally saved my career. No, really.
As a younger singer, I was deeply committed to pursuing a full-time performance career. I was convinced that I needed two things to achieve this: perfect technique, and the ability to adapt to whatever anyone wanted of me at any time.
But the harder I worked, the more locked up my singing became. I knew something was wrong, but I couldn’t seem to make it better. I was all too aware of what I couldn’t do technically, but I was desperate to prove myself. So I would push more and more, ignoring the pain in my body and the crippling anxiety I felt. I almost quit singing entirely due to this vicious cycle.
Thank goodness I met a teacher who incorporated Alexander Technique, a form of somatic movement, into my lessons. She helped me learn how to reconnect to my body and pay attention to what it was telling me.
I learned that I was working too hard in the wrong ways. I wasn’t listening to my body’s cues. In choosing to ignore those cues I stopped moving efficiently, so my body produced resistance and pain.
I began to sing more mindfully. Anxiety changed to curiosity. I started caring more about my own experience while singing, rather than prioritizing external approval. The result? I rediscovered my delight in singing, and my career flourished.
I’ve seen again and again in my teaching career the power of somatic movement in voice lessons. I’ve observed the benefits, both mental and physical, in my students. So, let’s look at what somatics may offer you!
What is somatics?
Somatics is a field of study within the realm of bodywork and movement which emphasizes internal experience and physical awareness. Somatic therapies were developed from the belief that the mind and body are inherently connected and can inform and heal each other. Somatic therapies use the mind-body connection to increase internal awareness by listening to the body’s cues.
There are many somatic practices available that can help you increase that internal, bodily awareness. Some of the most common are:
- Yoga
- Meditation
- Alexander Technique
- Feldenkreis Method
- Laban movement analysis
How do somatic techniques help in voice training?
The technique of singing requires voluntary and predictable control over physical movements, learned through practice and experience.
Now consider that most of the body parts moving for singing cannot be observed directly. The vocal folds, laryngeal cartilages, root of the tongue – all must be trained to move in controlled and predictable ways, but we can’t see them. The student must go within themselves and use their thoughts to direct specific body movements. These movements will result in changes in vibration, resistance and vibrancy within the body. The singer must then determine whether their thought process and the changes they’ve sensed in their body have created the desired result. Developing the heightened internal awareness required for singing can be assisted in large part by engaging in somatic exercises.
Learning to align the body correctly and to move it with ease is a crucial piece of technical proficiency. Somatic exercises can help the singer to break old physical habits that may be restricting their ability to sing and move efficiently. Further, it can help the singer sense when they are recruiting superfluous muscles and too much tension to achieve a desired result.
The bottom line – your body will tell you what it needs. You just have to learn to listen!
UP NEXT:
In next month’s blog post, I’ll dive into some of the mental and emotional aspects of singing, and what somatic movements have to offer on that front. I hope you’ll check back in!
