Silencing the populace

Sally Bonkrude
GCN Columnist

Releasing stress and tension

1/13/2005 - Culturally, we have swallowed whole the belief that one has to be talented, trained and one of those selected few to enjoy singing, especially if you want to “perform.” Oh, you can go to concerts or pop in a CD, but please don’t make any sounds. In addition, we have, as a group, declared certain vocal qualities as being better than others and some people have “it” and some people don’t. I think this is nuts. I happen to believe that singing is our birthright. The beauty I see as young children create songs and sing at full volume is awesome. However, as children grow into adulthood, they often times become gradually silenced. This is wrong. 

  One of the many psychotherapy methods I use includes the therapeutic use of the voice. As a matter of definition, voice therapy can be anything from humming to making sounds, to singing nonsense, to improvisational singing with words or stories or singing actual songs. Even through I don’t always use this method with my clients, it’s one I feel passionate about. 

  Voice therapy is about giving people back what they rightfully deserve, a love and appreciation for their own authentic voice. In voice therapy, a person learns to play and be free with their voice. Singing as a cathartic release helps a person feel more alive, energetic and expressive, often times relieving things like depression and anxiety. Opening the voice helps you become more able to speak your truth and say what needs to be said from a place of integrity.

  The reason I’m motivated to work with people using voice work is because it can be a gateway to understanding and releasing painful feelings and emotions. Shawna Carol in the book, The Way of Song writes, “When we sing, we allow the song to deeply release painful emotional energy – no matter how long we may have been holding it. Once sung, it is gone for good.” Let’s say a client has experienced a major loss or trauma. I will more than likely spend time listening to their story. Then, I may ask them to take a particularly “charged” word, then say and sing it in many different ways. From here, I may have the person create a sentence or short poem or written story. Using this, I would have the person create his or her own song, sometimes using instrumental accompaniment, other times not. You don’t need to know how to sing or anything about music to have this work for you. 

  Many times people will say to me, “I can’t sing” or “I’m tone deaf.” This is often a result of an early age experience of having been silenced. Sometimes, a parent can inadvertently cause this wound by telling a child to be quiet or stop singing. Other times, I’ve heard that even music teachers have silenced a child because, in their opinion, the child couldn’t sing. By the way, this is never true. I believe that singing and voicing is our birthright. In therapy, you can let go of these old beliefs and embrace the power of your voice to create a full and complete life.

  I can’t tell you the number of times that people will say, “I feel something stuck in my throat.” In voice therapy, we work on opening the throat with various exercises so that a person’s natural voice is allowed to sound and they are able to give full emotional expression to stuck places. 

  By letting the voice go with free flowing sounds, stress and tension can be released. Through many different vocal techniques, such as humming, you can begin to bring body and spirit into natural harmony and alignment. By voicing your truth with words, stories or sounds, emotional healing can be a reality in your life. The therapeutic use of the voice is incredibly powerful and I am humbled by the opportunities I have to use it.