Breathing Life into Zoom / Part II

A recent Zoom class with Jean.

When New York City closed down on March 10 so did the in-person classes at the New York Open Center.  Drawing on the resources of its staff and teachers, the Open Center brought their classes online in less than two days.  It was a gargantuan task but enormously successful in that suddenly we had people from all over the country enrolling in our programs.   The Free Intro for Awakening Your True Voice on March 16 was the Open Center’s first class on Zoom, and after our first class meeting, where we were all acclimating ourselves to this new format, we soon forgot that a screen separated us from one another.  We became a vibrant community. 

Breath and breathing have always been the essence of the vocal work I do with students.  Now, because of Covid-19, it has become more urgent to literally everyone.  In our class we work to develop strength in the diaphragm.  This is vital to keeping our lungs healthy.  Fuller breathing will also help to keep us more vital during this challenging time.  Pandemic fatigue is real, but we can combat it through better breathing and better use of our bodies.  Breath exploration translates beautifully to Zoom which is why I have added a subtitle to my Open Center course: Support Health and Vitality through Better Breathing.  When one begins to understand the physiology of breathing and experiences the power of the body to “breathe itself,” it almost becomes transcendental.  After one of our classes a Zoom student wrote, “Last week, when we began by exhaling, allowing the inhale to take care of itself, and being ‘breathed’ by the wave of the breath, it was like I was being rocked in a cradle.  Quite extraordinary.  Thank you!”  This is the path through which we build strength in our respiratory muscles and awaken and strengthen our true voice.  It is truly inspirational.