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SingYo™: Singing For Your Soul

Therese M. Pope | May 27, 2008

Benefits of SingYo™

For centuries, music has brought a sense of joy and inspiration to people’s lives, while also lending a therapeutic effect. Yoga teacher Lynne Feingold has coupled her passion for music and yoga to create SingYo™. (www.singyojoy.com)

SingYo™ combines yoga and singing simultaneously, which helps control both breath and mood. It not only eliminates anxiety, but allows the singing voice to reach new heights.

“The health benefits of SingYo™ include a sense of well-being and joy, greater breath control leading to a sense of peace and calm, integration of brain function, and increased focus. It's so much fun that you don't know you're exercising,” says Feingold.

SingYo™ is for Everyone

You don’t have to be a professional singer to participate in a SingYo™ class. SingYo™ appeals to people of all ages with diverse professions including lawyers, software programmers and professional singers/actresses.

Her students are drawn to the class for different reasons: some people have dreamt about singing but were told they couldn’t sing; and some already love to sing but also want to improve their yoga practice.

“The bottom line is that people who are attracted to SingYo want to feel JOY! What surprises people the most is that it’s so easy and they aren’t self-conscious about singing and yoga when done together,” Feingold comments.

The Music/Yoga Phenomenon

This new music/yoga phenomenon is based upon research that demonstrates singing plus movement integrates brain functions and neural networks, especially the temporal and parietal lobes, which create a sense of well-being.

According to tenets of music therapy, the rhythms of music helps reduce heart rates and promotes higher body temperatures, which represent the physical signs of relaxation. Singing can also be used as a healing technique to release both emotional and physical pain.

Lynne Feingold: Lifetime Student of Voice and Yoga

Feingold has been a lifetime student of both voice and yoga. She has an extensive professional music background, which includes formal training in music performance and music therapy. She is also a certified yoga teacher from the Integral Satchidananda Ashram.

“I have sung professionally in various genres of music including opera, musical theatre, and early music. I have taken master classes with noted singers and coaches including Mildred Miller, Marianne Siebel, Elizabeth Schwartzkopf, and Cornelius Reid.”

The Inspiration Behind SingYo™

Feingold was inspired to create SingYo™ in the early1990s. She was a yoga student at the time and the class had just participated in chants led by the teacher. After class, her teacher asked Feingold if she could teach him to sing so he wouldn’t feel self-conscious.

She replied without thinking and told him to get on the mat. She asked him to assume his favorite yoga position and asked him to start singing any song he wanted.

“He instantly found that, while combining yoga and singing at the same time, he was able to go to the place of centeredness and he found he could sing--effortlessly and with abandonment. That was the beginning of SingYo™,” shares Feingold.

Family Ties

Feingold has been inspired over the years by supportive mentors, including her father who made a big impact on her life.

“He was the President of the Association for Counseling Psychologists, a futurist and an author of over 50 books. He was one of the first psychologists to write books encouraging women to become successful entrepreneurs.”

She also thanks her grandmother for introducing her to yogic pranayama (breath work) when she was seven years old.

Musical Mentors

Her singing mentors include Andres Maspero, former Choral Director of Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Julie Lenzer Kirk.

“Right now, one of my mentors is Julie Lenzer Kirk, who is a very successful entrepreneur with the ACTiVATE program, a National Science Foundation sponsored program. She inspired me to follow my heart to bring SingYo™ to people of all ages who are looking for moments of joy in their lives.”

SingYo ™ Classes

Feingold teaches SingYo™ classes in Washington, DC and Virginia, and is one of the only yoga teachers offering SingYo™ in the country.

“I don’t know any other teachers doing this. However, I will be starting a certification program in the near future.”

Spreading Joy to People’s Lives

Feingold is spreading joy to people’s lives through music and yoga. The yogic elements of SingYo™ help to bring about a greater awareness to her students’ lives.

“Yoga is about being mindful and conscious about something we often take for granted: the gift of the breath; the gift of being present; and the gift of life,” reflects Feingold.

Sources:
www.singyojoy.com
http://holisticonline.com/Stress/stress_music-therapy.htm
Interview: Lynne Feingold