SING OUT LOUD!
by Lisa M. Baker • Avon-By-The-Sea, NJ

At 9 years old I was hooked! I was given my first Barbra Streisand album, A Happening in Central Park, and that's all it took! The scene is still fresh in my mind, the memory clear and bright, of me belting out "Sing a Song" with my idol!

My bed was my stage, my hairbrush my microphone, my stuffed animals my adoring fans! And there I bounced, hair askew, face flushed from the explosive rush of excitement that comes from singing!
Thus began my lifelong passion! A passion that carried me far, from elementary school choirs and a BFA in Musical Theater, to summer stock, the Catskills, dinner theatre and karaoke VJing. Pepper in six years of voice lessons, twelve years of teaching voice, sound vibration work, and a NJ music teacher certification, and that accounts for the last 35 years of my life! And through those years, one thing became wonderfully apparent...the magic of singing enchanted everyone! People loved to sing and people healed from singing!

This discovery led me on a marvelous journey within, connecting me to my very core, the deepest and highest part of myself. Singing has become my prayer and my meditation, my gift from God and my gift to God, my offering and my blessing. Singing from my soul opens my heart and feels like an internal massage of love, one that I am receiving as well as giving. And the health benefits of giving and receiving love, soul to soul, heart to heart, are very definite and apparent.

Singing has given me a deeper and stronger sense of myself. I have been blessed with many empowering experiences that I am truly grateful for, including a profound awareness of my internal power, an expansive feeling of connectedness with all of life, an understanding of trust and the perfection of letting life unfold, and a wild outpouring of my feelings in all of their glorious shapes and sizes!

But the most amazing gift I’ve received from singing is my experience of connection with the flow of energy from God. Waves of vibration facilitate my physical restoration by releasing energy blocks and old suppressed emotions. Before long, I’m flying free in a sky of soft velvet embraced by pure bliss. My body is my instrument and it resonates with the beauty and power of song.

I'd like to share an exercise with you that can help you to discover and experience the enormous power and beauty of your own voice. First, it is important to create a safe space to experiment freely.
Next, find a comfortable place to sit. Close your eyes and take several deep breaths from your belly to relax. Bring your focus inward. Breathe deeply again, and start humming. Feel the vibration as it caresses your body.

Now place one hand gently on your throat and the other hand on your heart area. Continue humming, moving your voice higher and higher, and then lower again, breathing deeply when necessary. Feel the power of the vibration coursing through your hands and massaging your internal organs. After about 2 minutes, keeping one hand on your throat area, the other hand now resting comfortably in your lap, transition gently from humming into an "AY" (as in “day”)

T "AY” is one of the six sacred sounds and it corresponds directly to the throat. Exploring your voice with the "AY" sound will help to clear out energies that have been stuck in the throat area and create a passageway for more direct, loving, and empowering communication and expression. Feel the power of your voice as it resonates through your hand on your throat. Continue vocalizing on "AY" for about 5 minutes.

Now switch hands, placing your opposite hand on your heart area, and create an "AH" sound. "AH" is also a sacred sound and it corresponds directly to the heart. Exploring your voice with "AH" will help to open up your heart, bringing you to a place of deep connection within yourself. It is the key that can unlock the doorway to your soul. Continue vocalizing on "AH" for another 5 minutes. This is a great way to start your day in a very loving place!

Feel the effects of using your voice to restore balance in your body. Notice it gently pulsating from the various tones you have just created, and how it soaks in the vibrations like a sponge. Allow your body to absorb this beautiful gift created from your very own voice!

A certified Music Teacher and a Sound Vibration Practitioner, Lisa uses her voice through toning and singing, along with various music instruments, to help individuals reach deep connection within. Her CD, Balancing - A Toning Experience, ©2001 Lisa M. Baker, is available by email, LB1Chanteuse@aol.com