Voice yoga and sound meditation

• 18 mei 2025
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• Docent: Asia Jokiel

What is Voice Yoga?

Have you ever notice that after good yoga class with a lot of focus on the chest opening, proper posture and deep breathing, your voice sounds different? During our Hatha Yoga classes we often start and finish with chanting OM. The OM chant at the beginning is gentle, soft, a bit scarred and timid, sound feels short and broken. OM chant at the very end of the class is totally different: strong, powerful and brave, voices sound deeper, smoother, breath can carry the note for a very long time. Students are often amazed: how is that possible?

Voice Yoga helps to answer this question. Right, physical movement and aware, deep breathing create space in the body. Since voice is a travelling vibration, when you give it space it resonates like a musical instrument. The sound of the voice changes, it becomes stronger and loud without an effort. Voice Yoga is a practice that combines ancient teachings of yoga and vocal techniques to help not only to produce freer, fuller, effortless sound of the voice; it helps as well to free the true voice from within, so needed for self-expression and good communication.

Who will benefit from the Voice Yoga?

This practice is dedicated to anyone who wishes to find and connect with their true voice from within – literally and metaphorically. Anyone can benefit from this practice on a different level.
• If you are working with your voice (you are a singer, speaker, teacher, therapist, etc.…) Voice Yoga will help to strengthen you voice, make it fuller, more confident and intentional. It will protect your vocal cords and teach you how to speak louder without straining them.
• If you are in search for you own voice and truth, Voice Yoga will help you to dive deep inside and let it all come out to the surface. Your body and breath will support the power of your voice and flow of creativity and joy that comes with it.
• If you want to experience yoga asanas and breathing exercises on a completely new level, Voice Yoga will bring further understanding of how the body works, and where can we find even more space and release within the tissues (and mind).

During the workshop we will:

1. Ground and connect with the physical body.
2. Practice Yoga asanas that improve the posture and create space for the voice to resonate and vibrate.
3. Make sounds during various yoga asanas to discover a new layer of the poses and deeper sense of release and control.
4. Practice Pranayama (breathing exercises) to deepen the breath and engage the entire respiratory system. Sound making is nothing else than breathing out.
5. Experience sound making as the physical sensation. We can feel how the sound travels through the body, same as we can feel the travelling breath.
6. Find the confidence to let the natural, full sound come out loud and brave.
7. Release the fear and need of control that something must “sound right”.
8. Chant OM at the very end for the prolonged period of time (up to 20min) to finish the practice with Sound Meditation and let the body, breath and mind connect in this new, amazing way.