Animate the Breath with Sounds

Hi, I'm glad you're here. In this practice, we will be experimenting with sounds, and it truly is an experiment. It's an exploration. The sounds that we will be making are an extension of the breath. We'll be noticing how it feels in the body to make sound, and then to receive the sounds that we're making, that the harmonium is making.

And a couple of things before we begin. The number one rule that I have when we practice like this together is not to worry about it too much, especially if you think you might be tone deaf. This is for you. The idea is to really and truly let it be an exploration without needing it to sound or be anything in particular. And the second thing, one of the reasons I really love using a harmonium is because although it looks a lot like a piano, there are keys, the harmonium requires air, requires breath to make sound. And a lot like us, like human beings, there will be days where the harmonium, I feel like I push and plunk and pull and pull and the teeniest little bit of sound comes out. And that is useful information. And there will be days when we're practicing our breaths and we're practicing making sounds where it feels like no matter how hard we push, nothing comes out. That is useful information. Just record the data.

And so saying that, we set up these practices to be really loose. I'll give you some instructions that are very spacious. And a lot of times, the harmonium tells us when it's time to stop because it'll start playing more quietly. And when the time comes to let things fade out, we just do that. So I did bring an instrument here that plays specific notes. Don't feel any obligation to sing them. It's nice just to have the sounds to be a little bit of a buffer, especially if we're feeling afraid. So that being said, I'll play some notes. Some sounds will come out. We, as the humans part of this practice, will connect with our breath and we'll just notice how it feels to breathe. And when the time feels right, we'll start to animate that breath with some sound. And the sounds that you might sing are sounds like MA or AH or OO, or MOO, or MOON, Scooby-Doo, SUN. Whatever comes to you, let it come out. Find your breathing, seat, or shape. And Breathe Ooh Ah Ah Breathe Breathe Breathe Breathe Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Thank you.