A Breath of Fresh Air

Last weekend, the Larksong Trio played in a concert for the Parma Music Festival in Portsmouth, NH. This was the first year

Calvin Herst (piano), Jennifer Yeaton Parris (flute) and me having a grand time.

Calvin Herst (piano), Jennifer Yeaton Parris (flute) and me having a grand time.

of the festival and brought together composers and musicians from around the country and as far away as Sweden. The festival showcased contemporary music from jazz to classical to electro pop to folk. The concerts were rich in variety, style, musicianship and exciting new music.

The Larksong Trio, an ensemble including flute, piano and vocals (me!), is releasing our first CD this fall on Big Round Records, a division of Parma Recordings. We played the title track, “Homeward Bound” and several other new arrangements of old songs, including the Beatles tune “in My Life,” two spirituals arranged for us by Bill Fletcher and a new song, called “For Eternity,” written by Richard Gardzina. Bill and Richard are two of our favorite musicians, alive and well, composing and living in New Hampshire.

A composer came up to us after our performance Friday and said our music was “a breath of fresh air.” “Beautiful,” “dynamic,” and “expressive” were some of the other lovely comments. It was very gratifying to play for people who had never heard us before and have their response be so delighted and positive.

Currently, the CD is slated to be available in October. I will certainly keep you posted. If you want a preview, go to our new website – www.larksongtrio.com, where you can listen to a couple of tracks. And for you social media lovers, check out our new Facebook page and give us a thumbs up!

Toning Away My Pain

Here is a fountain in Pernes-les-fontaines, toning happily all day!

Here is a fountain in Pernes-les-fontaines, toning happily all day!

In the month of July, I was laid low with back spasms – twice, about 2 weeks apart. This meant lying prone, alternating between a cold pack and a heating pad most of 4-6 days each time. Toward the end of the first bout, I had to teach an evening class on the power of vibration to change one’s energetic state. I remembered that many sound healers talk about using sound to relieve pain. In my workshops, students have reported on many occasions that toning has relieved or lessened their pain. Knock on wood, I am generally very healthy. I have had no opportunity to try this on myself. Until now.

The body hears with every cell. Cells adjust their individual vibration to align with the vibrations of both internal and external sounds. I lay in bed, tuned in to the pain in my back and began to tone with the intention of riding the pain out of my body on the current of my voice. I toned for 5 minutes, then stopped to check in. I had been having rhythmic spasms constantly for 3 days. After toning for 5 minutes, I had no spasms for about 15 minutes. I began toning again, this time for 10-15 minutes. I had no more spasms that night and they stopped altogether the next day.

About 2 weeks later, I reinjured by back and the spasms returned. I did not have such dramatic results the second time, but after every toning session, my back stopped having spasms for a noticeable, blessedly pain-free length of time. Toning is not a substitute for whatever medical treatment may be necessary. I was also taking some drugs to help calm my aggravated back muscle, but it was only after toning that the spasms abated for a period of time.

Thank God the spasms have stopped and I am healing, but I will remember toning next time pain comes to call.

Vibrating with PHISH

Max and I at the Phish concert

Max and I at the Phish concert

(This article will appear in the Concord Monitor next week.)

       My son, Max, turned thirty on July fourth. For his birthday, he invited my husband, Paul, and I to join him and his friend, Janetat a Phish concert. I gulped and said yes.

      For those of you who never wore tie-dye shirts (or skirts, in my case), Phish is a jam band styled after the Grateful Dead.  The key similarities are legions of devoted fans (spelled Phans on the Phish website), and long improvisational forays within each song, a ticket to ride your own trip. Unlike the psychedelic drug journeys of the seventies, Phish phans are friendly pot and cigarette smokers. The air in the outdoor theater was thick with both. To breathe was to inhale.

I never went to a Grateful Dead concert. I didn’t like pot or crowds or over-used porto-potties. I still don’t, but Phish with Max and Janet was a unique experience I am very glad I didn’t miss.

Phish is a phenomenon. With almost no radio play, Phish has sold more than 8 million albums and DVDs worldwide. A Phish concert is a happening, a community, a traveling economy, and, most importantly, a mesmerizing musical performance. There is no warm-up band. Phish plays for three hours with a brief intermission. Everyone stands for the whole concert. Actually, they bob and weave and dance for the whole concert, cellularly connected to each song.

According to Max and Janet who are die-hard Phish fans, Phish concerts draw young traveling hippies, buddy groups – “bros” who come to drink beer and bond, Phish nerds who have seen the band forever, Tapers who “tape” every show, and merchants who migrate from show to show, setting up a portable economy outside the venue known as Shakedown Street. Outside the gates, extra tickets are sold, bartered or given away to fans desperate not to miss a single show. Inside, on a sweaty, summer evening, we bobbed happily, one with the great unwashed.

I was enthralled with both the music and the rapt, bouncing reverence with which the audience listened. Begun in 1983, Phish has taken the rock jamming of the Grateful Dead in expanded directions. Their music incorporates elements from rock, jazz, funk, bluegrass, folk, country and blues. The Phish devotees await each jam eager to hear what Trey Anastasio, the fleet-fingered guitarist, and Page McConnell, who plays multiple keyboards, will do this time. They don’t disappoint. Along with Mike Gordon on bass and Jon Fishman on drums, Phish has played thousands of hours together, listening and experimenting.

Jazz is the genre known for performance improvisation. It is rare for major rock bands to take nightly musical risks before 25,000 fans. A signature Phish jam is an extended blues riff anchored by the rhythm of a rocking chair, over which the soloist explores the story of the song. It combines brilliant musicianship and a cohesion of jam decision-making, which lead us slowly and inevitably to a series of expected climaxes. When the musical peaks finally arrive, the audience flings colored glow sticks into the air, whooping their approval. Before a backdrop of heat lightening, we had our own fireworks.

Max, who grew up listening exclusively to heavy metal, says part of the attraction of Phish is following the thread of musical stories that the musicians consciously weave through each song.  It’s like Where’s Waldo for music. Phish creates a narrative arc within a jam, within a song, within an overall concert, within a 3-night stand, and connecting the entire tour. This internal story gives the audience an opportunity to go on their own journey. Regardless of tempo or musical genre, the music is all easy-going with no angry edges. We just rocked and rolled into the night.

Beyond the specific songs and the clever musical devices Phish uses to hook its audience, there is something more rewarding going on. Three hours of vibrating together, having every cell in our bodies entrained to the rocking rhythm of the music, transported the audience beyond our individual skins. We became one human pie. No drugs were required. The vibrations of the aural journey gave me an experience of my energy expanding beyond my body to encompass the whole body of the audience, the musicians and the stars in the summer sky. I was not alone. Through the music, we became one with the universe. That blissful connected feeling left me floating into the night long after the last note faded.

Walking out afterwards, I overheard a young man talk about bringing his mother to the next night’s concert. His companion was incredulous. “Really? Will she want to come?” I felt smug and happy that I had stepped outside my middle-aged comfort zone and shared this experience with Max. For that, I am profoundly grateful.

 

 

Breathe Low and Slow

Buddha sitting and breathing calmly in my garden.

Buddha sitting and breathing calmly in my garden.

Here is a simple, meditative way to start feeling the breath deep in the body. This sequence is an ancient meditative practice that I adapted from Dr. Andrew Weill.

1) Sit comfortably with your back long and supported. Both your legs can be crossed in front of you like in a typical meditation position, but not one leg crossed over the other, which inhibits circulation.

2) First, just notice how you are breathing. What moves in or out, up or down as you inhale and exhale? What does your body do to accommodate the breath? Do you have a hold or pause in your breath between the inhaling and the following exhalation or between exhaling and the next inhalation? Notice everything you can about how you breathe.

3) Now concentrate on the exhalation only. With every breath, invite it to gradually get slower, one or two ticks per breath, so that there is no strain, just an easy, comfortable, steady slowing down of the exhalation. Don’t worry about the inhalation. It will follow along. You may feel the actual exhalation happens less often and is slower than usual. Both are good. Do this until you feel you have reached your slowest comfortable breath.

4) Switch your attention to the inhalation. In the same gradual way, invite the inhalation to slow down a tick or two with each breath. Concentrate on the inhalation, letting the exhalation take care of itself. Notice how your body inhales, what expands or stays still? Let this be gentle and without strain.

5) Now watch both the slow inhalation and the slow exhalation. Invite the entire circle of the breath to slow down even more if it wants to. Just make the inner suggestion and watch what your body wants to do. If you are holding between either direction of the breath, see if you can allow the pause to remain open in the throat. A pause between the inhalation and the following exhalation and then again between the end of the exhalation and the start of the inhalation is normal. You don’t need to hold your throat, jaw, mouth or belly tight or closed in that transition point. The transition can feel like a swing when it rises to the apex of its arc, a natural suspension rather than having to do anything. Closing the throat inhibits the free breath and reinforces tension in the body. Notice and breathe, enjoying the deep massage of the breath and the stillness of being present in your own breath.

 

 

A Baby’s Breath

Holding Jamison at 3 weeks old. Sooooo sweet!

Holding Jamison at 3 weeks old. Sooooo sweet!

I am on my way home from visiting my three-week old grand-nephew, Jamison, son of my niece and her husband, Barbara and Jared Webster.Barbara is 28, the same age I was when my first child was born. Such déja vu!

Holding Jamison, who fits perfectly in my arm between my elbow and hand, I could feel every nuance of his breath. He is breathing the way we all are designed to breathe. Holding him, I can see his cute Buddha belly rhythmically expand and fall. His breath is totally natural. The lungs fill. The diaphragm descends. The belly and back expand like a tiny inner tube. His entire spine responds fluidly with each wave of breath in and out, massaging his internal organs.

As we age, learn to behave and be careful, and encounter fears and the daily challenges of life, we all stiffen around the breath.  My two children were about 9 or 10 when I noticed that their breath was now raising their sternum, not inflating their belly. Just about every adult I have ever met, breathes into their chest. If you re-learn how to breathe low and slow, like a baby, you can calm your stress, slow your heartbeat, lower your blood pressure and be where you are.

TRY THIS: Put one hand on your belly and one on your chest. Feel where your body expands when you inhale. Gently, consciously, inflate the belly and waist as you inhale. You will notice that the chest may still lift, but not as much. Take 3 breaths like this. Enjoy this deep, slow, centering breath.

Explore the Permutations of Your Voice

Playing around with my voice

Playing around with my voice

Here’s a fun exercise to explore all of the permutations of your voice.

1) Brainstorm this question: What voice do you have and use or have and don’t use? For example, my list includes whiney, tired, needy, sexy, desperate, sad, loving, funny, light-hearted, assertive, snippy, breathy, held back, cross, frustrated and wise. Make an exhaustive list.

2) Pick one quality from your list, for example, “snippy.” Put a typical phrase to that, something short you have actually said before in that tone of voice. In an argument with my husband recently, I said in my snippy voice, “Are you listening?”

3) Say this phrase aloud several times exploring the full range of the vocal quality. As you repeat this over and over, you may notice a rap-like tune emerging. Go with it. Bang on the counter or your thighs to give it an accompanying beat.

4) Try another vocal quality from your list. Give it a phrase. Rap out the tune. Drum the beat.

5) String several together to make a song, a rap to amuse and connect you to you at this moment.

6) Have Fun! Let me know how this worked for you. I noticed the more I repeated my phrase, the sillier it became, taking all the sting and resentment out of it. It was amusing. I had fun doing it. Did you?

Hear My Voice

Julie Ward and I working on her solo, singing out!

Julie Ward and I working on her solo, singing out!

I heard a song last night by Emma’s Revolution called “Hear My Voice.” It’s a powerful reminder that a women’s voice can change the world.

We don’t always believe that. What I often hear from women is how afraid we are to speak up, to contribute vocally at work, to set positive boundaries, to value our needs and talents in assertive and collaborative ways. We are afraid of possible consequences – rejection, conflict, loss of connection, failure and success.

We need the voice of the feminine in the 21st century – empowered, connected, compassionate and wise. The challenges we all face are a result of disconnected, isolationist, fight-to-win thinking. We need both sides of our creative brains to solve our common challenges – the linear, strategic, analytic approach as well as the holistic, intuitive, empathic approach. The full strength of a woman’s voice is needed at this time to balance the centuries of one-sided control.

As I celebrate my 58th birthday, I realize that it is more important than ever that I speak up. I, too, have been afraid that speaking up might rock the boat and tip me out of my valuable connections. But what I find is, the more I speak and sing with my whole voice, the more connected I feel. Whatever the topic – challenges at work or at home, saving the environment, economic security, moving beyond war, or telling a friend you love them, connect with your core today and speak up with your own open-hearted strength!

In honor of summer officially starting on Monday, I am going to be writing this blog every other week for the next three months. Happy summer!

Singing is Essential!

Outer voice reflecting inner voice in flowers.

Outer voice reflecting inner voice in flowers.

“Song is not a luxury, but a necessary way of being in the world… To give voice to what lives inside is what keeps all things possible.” Mark Nepo wrote this in The Book of Awakening. The idea that giving voice to our inner spirit empowers our outer lives is well known to monasteries, where several hours a day are spent chanting, but not to contemporary life. Yet, chanting, even for three minutes, changes our fundamental vibration, including our brain waves and blood pressure.

Singing is not a luxury. When we sing, we breathe deeper, leading to physical relaxation and a visceral sense of being centered and focused. The noisy judgments of our inner monologue take a rest. Our heart beats in harmony with the song we are singing. We feel more embodied, more connected to ourselves, present in the moment. Research has confirmed that when we are present, we are happier. Singing can only be done in the moment.

There we are, singing, present, breathing, aligning all the vibrations of our body in harmony with each other. The static, fears and judgments of the mind are stilled for a bit. We drop into the only moment we have – NOW. On your own or with others, it works every time. Singing is not a luxury. It is essential and free.

TRY THIS: Tone an [ooh] for 3 minutes. Breathe when you need to and keep toning the same vowel and pitch.  Let me know what you discover.

Ignite the Voice Within

Meditating in my field labyrinth on May Day.

Meditating in my field labyrinth on May Day.

This week was book-ended by labyrinths. In honor of May Day, the ancient holiday that calls in the long days of life growing again, I woke up my labyrinth by mowing its 7 circuits in the field behind my house. At the end of the week, I walked an 11-circuit labyrinth in Nashua for an event called Walk as One at One for World Peace on World Labyrinth Day.

Labyrinths have been used for centuries as spiritual meditative tools that allow walkers to connect with their inner soul voice. Finding our voice can be a challenge, especially in this time of technological distractions and the hurry sickness of our age. Labyrinths are designed to make us slow down. The path winds indirectly in to the center, which invites stillness and reflection. Then the path is retraced back out. Walking a labyrinth quiets the inner monologue creating space for our soul’s inner voice to be heard.

As the light lengthens, energizing plants, animals and humans to grow, find a local labyrinth and ignite the voice within. Here are a couple of resources to get you going.

www.nashualabyrinth.org/‎

www.bowmillsumc.com/RESOURCES/Labyrinth_brochure.pdf

http://www.labyrinthguild.org/index.php/newengland/locator

The Sound of Music

The springs are alive with the sound of music.

The springs are alive with the sound of music.

Last Sunday, I went with four friends to Sing Along with The Sound of Music at our local, independent Red River Theater in Concord. We watched the film and sang every song following the karaoke sub-titles. All kinds of voices were singing – from the playful pitch of children to the middle gusto of adults to cheerfully wobbly, older voices.  We all loved it.

The singing was not fine in any artistic sense, but it was lively, enthusiastic, and committed. In fact, in the beginning, we sang so lustily, that we got behind Maria because we couldn’t hear her. Listening carefully, we laughingly caught up to her crystalline call.

For three hours, we sang every word, climbed every mountain and followed our dream to sing like Julie Andrews. Singing is an instant bonding experience. What was most special about the afternoon was the connection we found with each other, an audience of mostly strangers yodeling, singing, hooting and laughing. We made a singing community; out of diversity, unity.