Voice Yoga Improve your singing wellbeing & self expression

This whole course is based around exploring the seven basic tones that lie roughly in the middle of your range. Once you have mastered seven tones you can go on to explore and expand. There really is no limit but for this course we shall stick with the middle seven to give you a good foundation and understanding of your voice. 

Music has seven tones in an octave and we have seven main chakras in our body so I have matched a tone with a chakra to help you work through this exploration. Starting from the root, for as the trees show us, if you build strong roots the branches will grow. 

In Hindustani classical singing the tones are named Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dhi, Ni and this is what we are going to use. 

Sa can start on any note. I have chosen to start on G in the western scale as this is a good mid range for a woman and I am a woman and we need to start somewhere. So just follow the course as it is set out. If you are a man or have a lower voice you may want to start with Sa being on a C and your practice will run as follows: 

Root Chakra, Sa - C 

Sacral Chakra, Re - D 

Solar Plexus Chakra, Ga - E 

Heart Chakra, Ma - F 

Throat Chakra, Pa - G 

Third eye Chakra, Dhi - A 

Crown Chakra, Ni - B 

Everything else will remain the same. Just change the western note that you tone with. 

RETURNING HOME 

At the end of each practice we always return to that practice’s home note for a final toning. This is to bring the energy full circle from everything we have been doing in that session and close back at the start to complete the attunment of that tone. It is very important to do this before ending with a period of silence to allow all the vibrations to settle 

The Focus of your practice:

The Root Chakra

Building a strong foundation is the key to all things and so it is with voice yoga. During this session I want you to put your attention to your root, the area at the base of your spine. If you are sitting be aware that your root is now connected to the Earth. If standing, you draw the energy up through your feet to the root. Visualise this connection as deep red energy streams coming up from the earth like the roots of a big tree. As you breathe in the energy flows up and merges with your own personal energy anchoring you. You feel stable and strong. While doing your toning exercises I want you to stay present with this space inside yourself. Use this time to connect with the primal nature of sound. Move away from the ideas of sound as speech, rather sound as expression at its most guttural level. 

ROOT CHAKRA 

For this session we are going to focus on one single tone. This time we are assigning a note and that is G on the western scale and we will use the expression Sa 

You can find drone sound recording on Youtube. type in Tanpura drone on G

EXERCISES: 

• WARM UP -Spend five minutes warming up 

• HOME TONE - for 15 minutes make a continuous tone using the expression ‘Sa’. Take full deep breaths, making sure you’re engaging your body, keep the tone steady and constant. When you run out of breath stop, breathe in and continue to tone. Remember the open throat position and filling your whole ‘cave’ with breath. Once you have finished come to silence for a few minutes. 

• VOWEL SOUNDS - For the next 20 minutes explore the vowel sounds A E I O U, try to keep the tone constant and notice how it changes to incorporate the new mouth shapes. Use this time to again deeply listen and feel what is happening and how it feels. Again return to silence once you have finished. 

• SHAPE SOUNDS -You will then move into ‘cat’ and ‘space sounds’ for 15 minutes. These are expressions that go like this ‘MEOW’ ‘Ni’, ‘WOW’. Be imaginative. This isn’t rigid. I just want you to explore making different sounds. 

This should be fun so please enjoy it and go crazy. See what you can do, really tune into yourself as an instrument and how incredible you are. 

• Conclude your session with one more five minute round of the HOME TONE ‘Sa’. Once 

The Focus of your practice:

The Sacral Chakra

The seat of creation, the place where life itself springs. During this toning session you will be focusing on your Sacral Chakra. It is located between your hips just under your belly button. Swirling around inside you like a big juicy ball of orange light. This chakra is linked to the element water and is all about fluidity. You might want to move while toning – rotate your hips, rock, sway, it is all welcome. 

This is the chakra of your creative and sexual energy so really focus into that space and bring the emotions that relate to this forward and into your toning, asking to release anything that needs to go out on the sound as well as calling in new ideas or inspiration. Feel yourself swell with the energy. Make sure you are not holding your tummy in and that your body is relaxed and your spine is straight. You can put your hands on your belly or one hand on your belly and one on your lower back to really bring your focus to this area. 

EXERCISES: 

Warm up, then using note A on the western scale and the expression Re: 

15 Minutes HOME TONE 

20 minutes VOWELS SOUNDS 

15 minutes SHAPE SOUNDS 

5 minutes HOME TONE 

You can find a drone on note A for this exercise on Youtube if you dont have a key board

The seat of creation, the place where life itself springs. During this toning session you will be focusing on your Sacral Chakra. It is located between your hips just under your belly button. Swirling around inside you like a big juicy ball of orange light. This chakra is linked to the element water and is all about fluidity. You might want to move while toning – rotate your hips, rock, sway, it is all welcome. 

This is the chakra of your creative and sexual energy so really focus into that space and bring the emotions that relate to this forward and into your toning, asking to release anything that needs to go out on the sound as well as calling in new ideas or inspiration. Feel yourself swell with the energy. Make sure you are not holding your tummy in and that your body is relaxed and your spine is straight. You can put your hands on your belly or one hand on your belly and one on your lower back to really bring your focus to this area. 

This is a big deal as this is where your confidence, discipline and willpower reside. So today’s practice will be focusing on these areas. 

When our solar plexus is out of alignment we are in trouble as no matter how hard we want to be something it just won’t manifest. If it is too weak we don’t have the confidence of self belief or commitment. Too strong, and we can be arrogant, bullish and unable to see the truth of who we really are. So bringing this into harmony is key. It is great to start with an honest look at yourself and ask yourself some key questions. Maybe grab a pen and write this down. 

Who am I? 

• What are my dominant personality traits? How do I see myself? 

• How do I think others see me? Is this in line with the above? If not, why not? How can I make it more aligned? 

• What are my fears around my voice? Are they true or just stories I tell myself? Can they be overcome? How? 

• Do I want to change? In what ways? 

• Am I willing to put in the time and effort to facilitate this change? Have I done my minimum ten minutes practice every day since starting this book? 

Every day is a new opportunity to become who you really are and let go of what you’re not. Focus your attention to the middle of you abdomen, imagine a ball of yellow light like the sun and as you breathe let that sun burn away all the rubbish thoughts and the past and allow it to fill you with radiant energy that you can use to grow. 

EXERCISES: 

Warm up, then using note B on the western scale and the expression Ga: 

15 Minutes HOME TONE 

20 minutes VOWELS SOUNDS 

EXTRA EXERCISE:

In a continuous monotone you will say the following expression on each out breath. Repeat each one at least five times 

• I am confidence, I am perfection, my voice is perfect and exactly as it should be. 

• I am strong, powerful and giving and I express this through my voice. 

• I am expanding and growing every day. I am becoming more and more confident and I love expressing myself through my voice 

• I am dedicated to change and having a daily practice is just who I am and what I do 

5 minutes HOME TONE 

COMBINING THE FIRST THREE TONES 

Now you have mastered the first three tones we are going to start working with combinations moving up and down through the tones. I have outlined a basic practice but I encourage you to expand upon this varying the combinations and lengths of the tone/breath. If you have a harmonium or shruti box I highly recommend toning with your instrument. If not, there are practice singalong tracks available on my website vanessaellen.com/audio

Start your session with a warm up, lip bubbles and sirening for at least five minutes.

Now you are going to scale up and down through Sa Re Ga. One whole breath for each expression. Do this for ten minutes then return to silence.

For the next ten minutes you are going to sound out the vowels as you move up and down in the scale. Start with the vowel A, take a breath and sound A for the whole of the first tone which is on note G then sound the vowel A again for the next breath but move up a note to A – then again for the whole breath but tone on note B. Come back down the scale still using the vowel A. Repeat this process for all of the vowels E, I, O, U. Moving up and down the three notes G A & B. There are also different combinations you can try and this is demonstration on my website vanessaellen.com/audio. Once finished return to silence. 

For the next section you can move into ‘cats’ and ‘space sounds’. Use this time to experiment and have fun, don’t focus too much on ‘getting it right’. Focus on making sounds and witnessing them. 

Stay within the three tones but really explore, allowing your body, ears and voice to attune to the tones and understand the differences between them. How does it feel when you’re singing the pure tone as opposed to being off the note. Can you tell? 

• You can also practice the tones using lip bubbles and try sliding between the tones using a very slow siren and see how it feels as you move your voice through this scale.

The Heart of you is also the Heart of the Earth

The heart is where your inner child lives and is often the one who needs a little extra help when it comes to singing, making sound and expressing yourself in the world. 

You can use this practice to be extra loving with yourself. Take the pressure to be perfect off, stop being the strict or critical parent to yourself. Allow yourself to just be and express yourself however you want even if you don’t think it always sounds nice. Just let yourself play and have fun. 

The heart is connected to nature and the unconditional love of life so you can really focus your practice on bringing that love into yourself and then offering it back ou. When the sounds you make touch your ears, receive them with love, thank yourself for committing to this practice and for showing up. 

Tone in praise of yourself, in honour of your inner child and to help heal the earth with the vibrations of your own heart song. 

Once you have finished the set exercise I want you to spend at least ten minutes free styling, just using all you have learnt so far and singing from your heart to the Earth, you can use words, sounds, you can whistle, click, hum – whatever wants to come out. Just don’t stop. Keep going making sound. If it goes wonky don’t worry, just keep going, it’s not a concert, it’s just you connecting with it, your heart and your heart song. 

If you can, do this exercise outside, by a window or surround yourself with natural things like plants. Spend a few moments just sitting with nature and allowing the feeling of love and oneness to fill your heart space. 

Know that all things are connected and that we are part of the Earth and she is part of us. 

Maybe take your shoes and socks off or touch your hand to the earth or the leaf of a plant and feel its aliveness. 

Once you are feeling connected and your heart feels open you can start your toning session. 

EXERCISES: 

Warm up, then using note C on the western scale and the expression Ma: 

15 Minutes HOME TONE 

20 minutes VOWELS SOUNDS 

15 minutes SHAPE SOUNDS 

5 minutes HOME TONE 

Considering this is a book all about voice it makes sense that the throat chakra is going to be a big deal! Yet we are going to start by going back to our solar plexus questions because they have a great effect on our throat chakra. You have to be really clear about who you are and what your truth is in order to express it. Authenticity is key. Ensuring you’re fully present with all the lower chakras, being grounded, creative, true and from the heart is the base for true authentic expression, trusting and believing in yourself and allowing that to come through your voice and out into the world. Whether it is speaking or singing, when you are aligned to your truth and your heart, you can just trust that what ever comes out is perfect and as it should be. By knowing yourself you can be yourself and then you will never doubt what you say as it is always an expression of your truth and your confidence will grow from that. The more you express from this place the more you will become confident. 

I invite you now to take a look at your thoughts around your voice and inquire as to where these thoughts came from and how true they are for you now. Eg, ‘children should be seen and not heard’. Were you silenced as a child? 

Did someone make a mean comment about your singing? Have you been made to feel insignificant or that what you have to say is not important? Do you believe this to be true? 

Do you suppress emotions because you believe you are supposed to behave a certain way? 

After you have taken a good look into yourself and gained clarity on your truth I again invite you to just let go of the stories and belief and for today’s practice just allow sound to come out and refrain from judging it. Just let yourself have an hour off being anything but sound. 

Start your practice by connecting to your breath. Allow the concept of you and who you are to fall away …the thought of your body, or the room in which your sitting – let it melt away. Imagine a beautiful sky blue colour and as you breathe and as you make your first tone imagine all that is physical just disappearing and you becoming air. You are nothing but the sound traveling on air. 

EXERCISES: 

Warm up, then using note D on the western scale and the expression Pa: 

15 Minutes HOME TONE 

20 minutes VOWELS SOUNDS 

15 minutes SHAPE SOUNDS 

5 minutes HOME TONE

COMBINING THE FIRST FIVE TONES

Start with a warm up, lip bubbles and sirening for at least five minutes. 

And now you are going to scale up and down through Sa Re Ga Ma Pa. One whole breath for each expression. 

You can use a harmonium or there is a singalong tone track on my website vanessaellen.com/audio 

Do this for ten minutes then return to silence. 

For the next ten minutes you are going to sound out the vowels as you move up and down in the scale. Start with the vowel A, take a breath and sound A for the whole of the first tone which is on note G then sound the vowel A again for the next breath but move up a note to A – then again for the whole breath but tone on note B, then note C and note D. Come back down the scale still using the vowel A. Repeat this process for all of the vowels E, I, O, U. Moving up and down the three notes G A B C & D. There are also different combinations you can try and this is demonstration on my website vanessaellen.com/audio 

Focus on listening and experiencing what is happening within the body and how the sound feels. Return to silence. 

Now move into ‘cats’ and ‘space sounds’. Use this time to experiment and have fun. Don’t focus on getting it ‘right’, whatever that is. Focus on having fun, making sounds and witnessing them. 

Return to silence and then finish this session by returning to another round of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa. 

After you have finished this session I now invite you to add free-styling to your practice. You can set a drone or use harmonium or no accompaniment but practice singing tones with in the scale Sa Re Ga Ma Pa. Just make up different melodies. Play around just set aside at least ten minutes and don’t stop. See what works and what doesn’t. Give yourself this time to get even more used to your voice and what it can do and what the different tones sound like together. 

• Doing scales every day is the quickest way to attune yourself to pitch 

Third Eye Chakra

Using tones in the chakra space is a real invitation to go beyond the confines of the physical and delve deep into the imagination, the land from which dreams come, where ideas are formed where consciousness is all there is. 

BLASTING OUT THE COBWEBS 

This is a great exercise to help blast open the energy channels and resonant chambers of the third eye. 

Take a deep breath in and raise your soft pallet, putting your tongue to the top of your mouth, keep your mouth closed as you will make the sound through your nose. Make the expression ‘UNG’. for the whole of the out breath. 

Do this for ten minutes, really focusing on the area between your eyebrows. If it sounds a bit like an insect noise your doing it right. 

You can try moving higher in pitch but remember not to push your voice it should never be painful. 

Once finished return to silence. 

SESSION NINE 3RD EYE CHAKRA 

EXERCISES: 

Warm up, then focusing your attention to the space in the middle of your forehead using note E on the western scale and the expression Dhi (pronounced ‘Dar’): 

15 Minutes HOME TONE 

20 minutes VOWELS SOUNDS 

15 minutes SHAPE SOUNDS 

5 minutes HOME TONE 

Using tones in the chakra space is a real invitation to go beyond the confines of the physical and delve deep into the imagination, the land from which dreams come, where ideas are formed where consciousness is all there is. 

Use your toning practice as a time to journey. Travel deep into yourself on the tones, let your imagination go wild and see where it wants to take you. 

You can set an intention before you start, maybe there is something you want to know? Maybe to meet a spirit guide, to meet a different version of yourself or just to have fun and see what arises. All of this is done through your thoughts. You are not your thoughts you are the witness to them so allow them to guide you. 

It’s best to not have any expectations, just see where you end up. Use the sounds you are making as a focal point, a door way in. 

• Go beyond the confines of the physical and delve deep into the imagination

CROWN CHAKRA 

It time to fully open to the Divine. To literally get out of the way and let the sound channel through you and out of you, Open to your higher self and surrender to the unity consciousness. 

Divine singing is when it is no longer coming from your mind, your ego, the place that is thinking about the song, sound, or words. It is when you have fully connected to that space beyond self and are just expressing in recognition of that where you now are. And sharing that expression into the world. It is not something you can fake or really teach. This part is all about you and how far you are willing to go in your own personal journey,. It is about your own connection to your higher source in whatever way you deem to feel and interpret it. It’s not a religion. I believe no two humans have the same truth anyway. We all have our own truth and that is the way it is meant to be. We all have our own direct link with what is Divine and I invite you to explore, connect to and channel yours. 

EXERCISES: 

Warm up, then using note F on the western scale and the expression Ni: 

15 Minutes HOME TONE 

20 minutes VOWELS SOUNDS 

Breathe deeply into each chakra by focusing in that area, as you breathe into the root imagine the big red energetic roots anchoring you to Mother earth. Then breathe into your sacral chakra and imagine a big swirling pot of creative orange energy is activating. Go up to your solar plexus and imagine your breath filling it with warmth and strength. Next, go to the heart, letting it open and connect to all of nature and all beings. Now to the throat, feel yourself expand and become light. The third eye – allow a calmness to descend upon you as your timeless nature is revealed. Finally to the crown – imagine a big portal is opening at the top of your head and beautiful white light energy is pouring in directly connecting you to your highest truth, the astral, angelic realms, the place beyond the physical, the place of the highest vibrations of light and infinite love. Allow yourself to open energetically and be filled by this radiance and when you are ready begin to tone. 

5 minutes HOME TONE

WHAT NEXT

Now you have completed this course you will have gained a better understanding of how your voice works and how you feel about it. You have all the tools you need to move forward with a daily toning and sound practice. It’s up to you now where you take this. You can explore your voice further by expanding into the higher and lower octaves. You can investigate the half tones, that’s the sharp and flat keys. Just continue to tone, sing and have fun. 

For more information on Voice Yoga or further courses and one to one sessions please visit my website 

vanessaellen.com 

Follow my intagram 

@voice.yoga 

@ _vanressa.ellen_ 

@kirtan_heartsong 

Email: vanessa@vanessaellen.com