Reflection

9th Grade Womens Choir

Warm-ups 04/24/15

This was my second experience warming up the 9th Grade Womens Choir, so I tried to
push the envelope a bit more with the exercises that I chose. The first time I interacted with the
group, I included lighter YogaVoice exercises and was just trying to get their feet wet. During
this second experience, though, youll see that I did not shy away from asking the girls to go into
some deep and challenging postures. I chose fire as my focus element because I personally
believe that many girls that age suffer from very low confidence, due to societal pressures, which
then manifests in their bodies. Because singing is an embodied act, any negative pattern (e.g.,
caused by low confidence) leads to an inauthentic sound and inhibits true artistry and expression.
Focusing on third chakra, which houses fire, empowers a higher sense of self-esteem and
confidence. This coupled with vocalises designed to address resonance, agility, legato, etc. sets
singers up for a successful rehearsal.
I was very pleased with not only my personal performance during this lesson, but also
with the reaction from my cooperating teacher and the girls themselves. The cooperating teacher
loved my work and later in the rehearsal noted that this was the best tone she had ever heard
from the girls and that she thought it was a direct result of the yoga practice. The girls, too, came
alive when they sang and came up to me after class, asking about yoga and singing and why it
works. I could not have been more ecstatic with the way this lesson played outat the end of the
day, I felt like I had made a lasting imprint and had truly helped those girls access their inner fire
and gain some measure of confidence in themselves.