By Carol Kirkpatrick, author of ARIA READY, The Business of Singing
Has there ever been a time when toward the end of an especially challenging day, you felt compelled to sit, close your eyes and try to calm your body and quiet your mind because you had an important audition or performance a few hours from now? Is your anxiety level beginning to feel overwhelming so it starts feeding on itself and you can’t seem to get out of it?
When you’re feeling anxious and overwhelmed, you’re a different person than when you’re calm, safe and secure. The source of waking up and resetting starts and ends with you. So how do you make that happen? Think for a moment of how you behave at your best. Next, think about what you’re like at your worst, and how radically different those two selves are. They’re both “you.” But in behaving at your worst, you have turned inward to your emotions that are limited in what you choose to focus on, keep you stuck and therefore inflexible. Your inner “Brat” often uses cruel inner self talk and becomes stingy with your behavior. On the other hand, when you behave at your best and turn outward into your senses, you’re capable of making informed choices and have the potential for profound focus, you are awake and present. You can be creative in the moment and become genuinely connected to others.
Here is an exercise I would like you to use when you want to collect and reset yourself. It’s an easy way to get out of your emotions and into your senses. Take your time to focus on and notice as much as you can about each focal point of the exercise. Start by sitting up straight at the front edge of a chair, feet flat on the floor, with your hands resting on your knees, close your eyes, and let the mind and body come to rest. Then – feel the feet on the floor – the body in the chair – the clothing against the skin – the air on the hands and face – taste – smell. Now let the listening go out to include everything in the room and beyond without naming anything and rest here for a good while. As thoughts come in, let them go out and return to listening.
When you are done, notice how valuable and worthy you feel. You feel rested. Notice how your body has relaxed and you feel calm, peaceful, and motivated. You might also notice that you feel organized and centered. It’s good to feel this way. You feel powerful and in control. You are ready to present your best self in whatever it is you are doing. Memorize this small exercise and use it each and every time you need to get back to the “good stuff”. Bravo!!!
You know what I think, now let me hear what you think. Carol
Email Carol at Carol@ariaready.net.
Since retiring from the stage, Carol Kirkpatrick continues to be in demand as a voice teacher, clinician, and adjudicator of competitions including the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Combining her knowledge of performance, business, and interpersonal skills, she has written the second edition of her highly regarded book, Aria Ready: The Business of Singing, a step-by-step career guide for singers and teachers of singing. Aria Ready has been used by universities, music conservatories and summer and apprentice programs throughout the world as a curriculum for teaching Ms. Kirkpatrick’s process of career development, making her “the” expert in this area. She lives in Denver, Colorado.
