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Amy helped me build the foundation that I needed in order to get the results I wanted with my voice. Before meeting her, I thought voice work was centred around one thing only. It hadn’t occurred to me that, before I could improve my voice, I would need to move past several behaviours that held me back, and welcome better practices into my daily life.
Because posture and breath played such a large role in the learning process, I’ve found that improving those things has cut down on the number of headaches I have, and enhanced my over-all well being and self confidence. The lessons would have been worth it for those improvements alone! But, of course, the development of my voice was the most significant gain.
As for the lessons themselves, if I didn’t understand a concept or had trouble relating to the terminology in a lesson, Amy quickly changed the examples or the wording she used until everything fell into place for me. She modified the exercises we worked on to play to my strengths so I could gain confidence quickly and then pick up the more challenging concepts with greater ease. She kept my needs in mind when it came to structuring the lessons and explained exactly how the exercises we worked on would help me realize my goals. Doing so helped me maintain the focus I needed to carry those lessons into my day-to-day life which, in turn, helped me see steady vocal improvements between lessons.
From what I’m saying, it may seem that there’s a lot of work involved to develop a better connection to your voice, and there is, but Amy’s humour and positive attitude made it fun – the lesson time would fly by. Even though I ended up with so much more knowledge and homework activities to consider, I always left those lessons feeling lighter and happier than when I arrived, and more confident. And, at the heart of my quest to improve my voice, ‘confidence’ was what I was reaching for and what I achieved.
As a side note, I had gotten used to avoiding social gatherings in large part because of how wispy and indistinct my voice used to be. I went to a party yesterday and, for the first time ever, no one asked me to repeat what I had said so that they could understand me. An entire evening of good conversations! I was smiling so much by the time I left.
Thank you Amy!
Treena W.
B.C. Government Employee
Donna K.
Senior Legislative Coordinator
Inhale-Exhale is an online course designed for people with Long-Haul Covid who are living with breathlessness and/or anxiety as a result of COVID-19.
The course teaches healthy breathing through breath and body awareness exercises, improved posture, and singing. Participants (re)discover their breath, find improved well-being, and connect with other people living with Long-Haul Covid.
Why does singing help? Life events, such as illness, can leave the body’s autonomic nervous system in a state of partial and continual “fight-or-flight” mode. The deep, slow, and relaxed breaths learned through breathing exercises, and reinforced through singing, help rebalance the body into the opposite state of “rest-and-digest” for improved healing. Further, breathing muscles are like any other: if you exercise them, in this case through singing, they become stronger.
Read more in the Globe and Mail article.
Early indicators are promising:
“More holistic than I was expecting. It was helpful in calming my nerves and breathing more naturally. Helped me get out of my head and into my body. I can breathe through things that come up in my day that would have previously set me back.”
“I have thoroughly enjoyed the course and would highly recommend. I struggle with anxiety and the breathing exercises and body awareness have had a very calming effect on my state of well being. I find myself using the exercise for breathing and body posture spontaneously and if I wake during the night I can easily return to sleep with amy’s voice in the back of my head walking through the breathing exercises.”
“I feel like I’ve been able to re-establish a relationship with my breath. Breathing is still a challenge but it’s getting easier!”
“I very much enjoyed this course and our weekly meetings. The course has improved my mindfulness around breathing and body positioning.”
“It was really great to learn from Amy and also to connect with fellow long covid survivors.”
Do I need to be a singer? No! Participants do not need to be singers or have any interest in music.
Which language is the course taught in? English
Is there a cost? The fee is pay-what-you-can from $100-$600. ($100 doesn’t cover expenses; $600 covers your expenses and helps someone else.)
How do I know if this is a good fit for me and my health? There is a simple, two-part screening process to make sure the course suits your needs.
How long is the course? 1 hour per week for 8 weeks.
Where is the course available? In Canada to anyone online.
Dors, dors, le petit bébé. C’est le beau petit bébé à maman.
Dors, dors, dors, dors,
dors, dors, le bébé à maman.
Demain s’y fait beau j’irons au grandpére;
Dors, dors, dors le petit bébé.
Dors, dors, dors, dors,
dors, dors, le bébé à maman.
E l’uccellino canta sulla fronda: Dormi tranquillo, boccuccia d’amore; Piegala giù quella testina bionda, Della tua mamma posala sul cuore.
E l’uccellino canta su quel ramo, Tante cosine belle imparerai, Ma se vorrai conoscer quant’io t’amo, Nessuno al mondo potrà dirlo mai!
E l’uccellino canta al ciel sereno; Dormi tesoro mio qui sul mio seno.
Soprano, Amy Steggles
Piano, Neil Reimer
(The course is inspired by the successful ENO Breathe program in the United Kingdom.)