The inextricable physio-psychological link between singing and well-being

Mastery of breathing techniques potentially taught during singing lessons has a direct, often immediate, impact on nervous system regulation. I have been teaching voice to a broad range of students for the past 15 years using an integral approach consisting in merging breathing, vocal and movement skills. From my experience, singing lessons are beneficial to students beyond improving the quality of sound by reinforcing their well-being. In fact, the mechanism underlying this experience became clear during my master studies in Music Therapy, when I got acquainted with  the Polyvagal Theory of Dr. Stephen Porges. A possible application of this theory is the alleviation of typical stress and anxiety symptoms through music-related breathing exercises. During this workshop I intend to offer therapists a variety of breathing and vocal tools aimed at improving their vocal presence and which can potentially translate into a better engagement with the client during interventions.