Canto Vital & Voice Yoga

What is voice, what is yoga?

 

My classes and workshops are spaces free from prejudice and expectations,

a place to deepen your connection with yourself, to better know yourself,

and to express yourself from your deepest essence.

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Chanting and singing is my main practice, and as a practice, it's not about "what can I do?" but rather "who am I?". The path of chanting, and especially of self-inquiry through chant, is a path of spiritual self-development. This is what we do with Canto Vital and with Voice Yoga.

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Through a non-dual approach, we join sacred chant with somatic practice to take a journey with the voice, the breath, the body, meditation, mantra, and the art of listening. One of the goals is to help you cultivate a vocal practice —and a healthy relationship with your voice.

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Canto Vital is a method to free the voice and the body. I also call this work The Embodied Voice. We work with the body and the voice from one feeling —energy united with matter— to take a journey with the voice, the breath, the body, meditation, mantra, and the art of listening. It is the method that forms the foundation for my classes and workshops.

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What do we do in Canto Vital? We use different tools to discover, develop, and cultivate the vocal and energetic body. Through developing the body as an instrument, we work with posture, breath, intonation, articulation, presence, resonance, and listening.

Posture

• We become aware of the importance of the alignment of the body and its spaces for the correct use of the vocal and breathing apparatus.

Breath

• We use different breathing practices to open the channels in the body and create a more grounded connection to the body.

Intonation

• We use different techniques to unblock, open, harmonize, and strengthen our energetic centers so that our energy can flow freely.

Articulation

• We use different phonation and articulation practices with the aim of refining our use of the muscles involved in singing and speaking.

Presence

• We cultivate a more centered, grounded, and rooted presence to open ourselves to the fullness of our vital song, our Canto Vital.

Resonance

• We connect with different fundamental frequencies and resonate the body to feel vibration as the essence of matter.

Listening

• We pay close attention to listening as a key element in discernment and a deep connection with sound and vibration.

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The Voice Yoga course (based on the principles of Canto Vital and the Embodied Voice) has a transversal format. During the course we will look at different technical and practical aspects and explore ways to open and deepen our connection with our voice.
Introduction

• The voice as a bridge; the body as an instrument

Basic principles

• Anatomy for singing; basics of breathing and resonance; the phonatory apparatus; effects of chanting

The body as an instrument

• The vocal/energetic body; caring for the instrument; body-mind connection; the ego in chanting

Body, pleasure, power, sound, presence

• Earth, water, fire, air, space

Earth (body)

• Stability, structure, strength; posture; anchoring; mapping and registering the body

Water (pleasure)

• Fluidity, adaptability, patience; flexibility in structure; openness and vulnerability as strengths; the bowl of the pelvis and the pelvic floor; the connections between the diaphragms

Fire (power)

• Strength, passion, identity; just the right amount of ego; the muscles of chanting; breath control

Air (sound)

• Humility, expansion, elevation; the directionality of chanting; sensitivity; the helix of the heart and its connection with the earth

Space (presence)

• Unity, presence, multidimensional listening; attention, connection; individual and group chant

Meditation

• Focus the mind to channel the voice

Practice

• The vowels that open the way; the consonants that give form; the tongue, the palate, the jaw, the lips; techniques and concepts