I asked AOTOS member Anne-Marie Czajkowski 

to share her expertise on mindfulness for us here as many of us work out how to move our teaching forward or whether to bother and work out the implications. 


Mindfulness for Singers
I’ve recently completed my PhD studying the effects of mindfulness on singers. I’ve run several studies teaching mindfulness to singing students which complement their normal singing tuition and the results have been overwhelmingly positive. Participants found doing 10 mins mindfulness before singing lessons, practice and performances helped them to learn singing technique more deeply, develop more efficient and effective practice, helped them with performance anxiety, and brought them into the present moment on stage allowing them to be more creative and responsive. 
Anyone who has seen my FB posts knows that I’ve found teaching online really tough over the past week. I’ve felt quite stressed that I wouldn’t be good enough, anxious about money reduction, pressured by all the backing tracks that I’ve had to make and worried about setting up the technology. But something I have found that helps is doing a few minutes mindfulness fairly regularly. It really helps me to come into the present moment and respond rather than react to whatever is happening around me, or inside me. 


 So, what *really* is mindfulness? It’s intentionally becoming aware of the present moment in all its toughness and glory whilst being kind to yourself in the process.


You start by doing something that is very familiar to singers – becoming aware of the sensations of the breath. The exercise, Mindfulness Breathing Journey, is something I run with my students to help them become aware of sensations of breathing in the present moment and it’s here free for you to try (see links below). I often do this myself before teaching.


I also like doing a singer’s version of the Body Scan which is based around becoming aware of some of the muscles that we use as singers. Doing this has really helped me become aware of small changes in my posture and breathing when teaching online that are different to my normal teaching state and often detrimental. 


For example, I’ve noticed my jaw is tense, I’ve tense shoulders, I’m “pushing” into the screen in an effort to connect with students, and my voice is strained from listening to students through headphones whilst singing live. I’ve discovered that I can do something about these to give me some comfort. So now, I’m teaching for half an hour in every hour which has doubled my day but gives me time to have a few minutes between lessons to relax. As soon as I notice my jaw tense, I do some relaxation of those muscles, and I’ve done yoga between lessons to relax my shoulders. 


Also, during lessons, I’m trying to *feel* my singing in my body, rather than hear my voice through the headphones. Please feel free to try out my Singers Body Scan too if you wish. As a result, you may start to notice things about yourself when online which could draw you to consider how you do things yourself that you might change to make life a little easier for you.


If you would like to know more, please see more info in the comments on the AOTOS forum. Feel free to ask me any questions as well.


I can’t tell you that mindfulness will solve ALL your problems and take away all your stress, but what I can say, is if you’re having problems, do give it a try and see if it helps.



Whatever you do, just remember this...in all things, be kind to yourselves just like you would be kind to a friend or a student. Best wishes and happy days to you all.


(Warning: Mindfulness isn’t for everyone. If you have clinical depression, PTSD, schizophrenia or another serious mental health issue, check with your GP/mental health specialist before doing any mindfulness. Thanks)



Mindfulness Breathing Journey link:

http://www.mindfulnessforsingers.co.uk/annies-mindful-breathing.mp3

Singer Body Scan link:

Do this lying down somewhere quiet with a blanket for warmth.

http://www.mindfulnessforsingers.co.uk/mfs-body-scan.mp3

Mindfulness for Singers link:

http://www.mindfulnessforsingers.co.uk/

One of the BEST mindfulness 8 week courses (if you have the time, this is truly excellent):

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mindfulness-Eight-Week-Meditation-Programme-Frantic/dp/B004ZFZJWA/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=frantic+world&qid=1585912115&sr=8-1

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