Voice & Movement Mini Meditations
Refresh your mind and body with a nurturing dose of breath, movement, voice, and meditation
"The watchful heart is a listening heart
That’s the empty space beneath the breath
Where everything real emerges"
David Whyte
Drawing on meditative vocal and somatic practices, these sessions guide us into a gentle, supportive relationship with body, breath, and sound, as a way to quiet and focus the mind. When we enter a space of deep listening to sensation, we open towards a different way of knowing - an embodied way that taps into what is true and present for us in the now. From this space we can engage with our thoughts and open to our innate creativity with more spaciousness and equanimity.
There will be gentle exercises to energise the body, paired with subtle movement explorations, from which we'll nurture a space for intuitive and creative moving and sounding as a form of embodied reflection. We end the session by each settling on an intention for the day, listening to an uplifting song, and free writing or dancing into the rest of our day!
These sound & movement meditations are perfect for people for whom sitting still during meditation can be challenging. Furthermore, they are a gentle way for meditators to connect with their voice and access their own creative impulses.
Testimonial:
"These sessions are full of joyful paradoxes, a chance to get to know yourself in a different way, and yet also encounter how different consciousness can seem for a short time. Without awareness of purpose, yet full of motion, dance, stretching and smiles. A Monday shaped island on which to recharge batteries you didn't know you had...!" (Alex)
Tickets
By donation (suggested £5-10 per session)
Register to receive the link for each session you'd like to attend
Dates & Timings:
Monday mornings 8:30-9:00 GMT
January 16, 23, 30, Feb 6
March 13, 20, 27, April 3, 10
And now, adding in a new time, so that those folks on the East Coast of the American continent can join in!
Wednesday afternoons 13:30-14:00 GMT
Jan 11, 18, 25, Feb 1
March 15
A note about the science behind this practice:
Many meditative and spiritual practices incorporate singing or chanting, and for good reason. The science is clear - the voice is a powerful tool for calming the nervous system. When we sound from a place of gentleness and soothing, we stimulate the vagus nerve, turning up the para-sympathetic nervous system, and easing us into a state of rest and digest.
When we combine singing with mindful awareness of movement and sensation within our bodies, we begin to develop our interoception, a lesser known sense that refers to the feeling of what is going on inside our bodies. Sounding purely for ourselves and the enjoyment of our embodied experience of vibration and movement helps us regulate our well-being, manage our stress responses, and attune to our emotions.
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About Kate:
Once declared the “singing madame” of Beijing’s cabaret scene (Global Times), Kate Smith has travelled the globe, crossing borders and musical genres alike, continually defying labels. With experience performing professionally in classical, folk, pop rock, improvisation, musical theatre and more, Kate eventually landed in London, studying classical singing and earning her MMus in Leadership at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she also began developing The Embodied Voice. Since then, Kate has become an in-demand performer and maker in British vocal theatre. She is passionate about transforming our relationship to the body by creating music - and facilitating collective music-making - for voices and bodies in motion.
Kate’s teaching draws on many influences including yoga, Alexander Technique, Feldenkrais, Body-Mind Centering®, mindfulness, contact improv, dance, and theatre. She has studied with Meredith Monk, Seke Chimutengwende, Margaret Pikes (Roy Hart Theatre), Grzegorz Braal (Song of the Goat), Guillermo Horta (VABAS) and more. She is a cast member of Verity Standen’s Undersong and Artistic Director of THAT! Ensemble. In addition to teaching voice both privately and at City and Islington Sixth Form Academy, Kate has led creative workshops for the BBC, The Barbican, The Whitechapel Gallery, and more. She earned her 200hr teacher training in Embodied Flow Yoga with Satu Tuomela. She earned her Guildhall Certificate in Coaching & Mentoring, Accredited by the European Mentoring & Coaching Council in 2019.