Sing As If Your Life Depends On It

“Where do you sing from?” someone asked me. “I sing as if my life depends on it.”

What?! Did I really just say that? But as soon as I said it, I knew it was true.

When I began my vocal journey 15 years ago, I was going through a mysterious illness-and singing was one of the few places I felt whole, connected to something larger.

The experience of the illness was so scary and difficult that I had to drop underneath it, to source my identity from a deeper place. I sang from this depth, and my voice responded to my vulnerability and commitment. The more I trusted its wisdom and power, the more it opened. The more I sang as if my life depended on it, the more I sang what was in my heart, my soul-the more freedom and connection I felt. I didn’t want to sing from any other place. There was a truth telling, that although scary at first, felt right.

In one-on-one sessions or my group classes, I often ask people to sing or sound from their hearts. There is such a power in singing from our vulnerability, a way of letting the soul speak, that is beyond words. A way of touching the depths that we carry inside, and expressing them.
And to be witnessed in this expression is such a gift, both for the listener and the sounder. It is sacred territory.

Dedicating your song or sounds to someone in need is a powerful practice. What I call “singing on behalf” touches into this same depth.
If you sing from the depths, whether it’s giving voice to your heart, or a prayer on behalf of someone else, it carries a power that touches people. “To sing is to pray twice,” a quote often attributed to St. Augustine.
It’s an invitation to be fully present, to touch the sacred.