Exploring Vocal Freedom as a Healing Art
written by Cullie Treichler
Singing is a spiritual practice for me, my
voice is one of my greatest Teachers in life.
Developing myself as a singer and voice
teacher continues to be a transformative
process. It invites me to drop into myself
at a deeper, quieter level, learning to
listen to the wisdom of my body. I realize
how busy my mind is, how I get caught in
a ping-pong loop between thoughts and
emotions, resulting in anxiety. Any work
that invites conscious awareness in the
body has potential to be transformative
and healing. We have to be present to
what’s happening now, in our bodies, in
order to sing well. Singing is the most
vulnerable thing I’ve done in life. My
desire to find my voice and express my heart with beauty and ease outweighed my
sheer terror of making an ugly sound in the presence of others. Most people I’ve worked
with have a degree of performance anxiety. It saddens me because it often stems from
hurtful messages received early in life that we can’t sing, so the desire to share one’s
voice in the world is abandoned.
My work with singers is sacred. I honor
the courage it takes to stay engaged with
the discovery process of being huma