Although I thought I might, I clearly wasn’t ready to start practicing this week. At least not singing. But I DID start to meditate, which has proven to be a game changer. I joined, at the invitation of my dear friend Anna, an online meditation group through Modo Yoga, that happens every night at 10 pm EST. The facilitator is a lovely yogic kind of guy named Ted Grand, and he has the most amazingly calming effect on all of us. There were over 100 people at the meditation last night, and although we don’t see one another, we can put things in the chat and make little exploding hearts on our phone screens in the Instagram Live app. There was something very powerful about the feeling of connection, and it really did feel like we were there in a group together, breathing, listening, feeling. I’m hooked. And I honestly feel like a new person because of it.
So here’s the thing. I got an invitation this week to a summer program (one that I’ve been going to for the past several years in Quebec), a voice intensive. It’s not going to be in person, obviously, but it will be online, or as we like to say in teacher-speak: remote. So I will be able to meet up with fellow singers on the journey, and check in with one another, have group classes and get remote voice lessons, and learn (in so doing) more about myself and my craft. And because I have committed to doing this, it is going to encourage me to start practicing again. That’s the plan for beginning next week. I’m moving in right, orderly direction, as F.M. Alexander used to say in talking about beautiful alignment. I am feeling more aligned. I hope it sticks.