READY TO GO FOR IT

A tool I like to use when I work with artists is stomping. Yes, stomping. I literally ask my clients to stomp.

I once asked an artist I worked with to march around the room like a child playing in a mud puddle. The thing was, they didn’t really march, just sort of swung their arms.

I noticed the artist was holding their breath. They stomped in a way that still allowed them to control their voice-- unaffected by the tool of stomping. Which meant it wasn’t working!

I created this idea - getting artists to stomp around the room to change the way their voice functioned - it increase their energy + airflow (it’s hard to hold your breath when you’re being so physically active). And I always pay attention to HOW they stomp.

Short and driving into the ground - they’re focused on the hitting the notes. Lackluster, they’re holding their breath. Stopping between scales - no momentum, they’re hitting the brakes between phrasing.

So, I asked them to really go for it! Lift up your elbows; lift up your knees; let it affect you, don’t control your voice… and as soon as they did that, of course it worked! 

In order for a new tool or skill to be effective, to bring change, we must allow it to effect us.

Use any creative, emotional, or meditative tool, and use it in such a way that allows it to create change. 

If I want movement to change my life, I need to move throughout the day-- not once a week, not here and there.

So, if you’re going to be playful, be super playful! Go far with it. Let it really move you and make a change. If you’re trying on a tone in your voice, go for it fully! Once you allow something to affect you, you can then make choices. Direct it, do what you want with, it but there’s no change if we cling so desperately to control things and maintain what we already have.

I encourage you to allow the positive people around you, the choices you’re making, and the tools you’re using; to take affect-- allow them to change your life.