Oxford International Breathing Conference
After I had my Carnegie Hall debut in New York, many people asked me with a smile, “do you know how to get to Carnegie Hall?” Unbeknownst to the answer, “practice, practice, practice,” of this age-old adage, I responded to the question by describing the subway train route I took to get to the hall for the performance. I quickly realized by the questioner’s chuckles that I had indeed stated the wrong answer! So, one might now ask, Andrea, how do you get to the Oxford International Breathing Conference? Well, in addition to the planes, trains, and automobiles that made possible my commute here to the beautiful city of Williamsburg, what brought me here is my shared interest with the mission of the Oxford International Breathing Conference in its goals to expand its reach to the larger community of neuroscience, physiology, and beyond, to convey a deeper understanding of breathing, brain health, and wellness.
Reviewing the many abstracts for this conference read like a scientific libretto of sorts to someone like myself more versed in music language and knowledge. Nevertheless, between the words preBötzinger Complex and retrotrapezoid nucleus is, I believe, a space in research for more inquiries into singing! Singing is like an ornamented extension of breath and the voice. Like DNA, every human voice on this planet is distinctly unique. The human voice is our very first instrument. In these thousands of breaths we take in a day, we babble. We sigh. We laugh and cry. We moan. We hum and buzz. We scream and groan! Our instrument is the culmination of all the raw moments of our life, bringing about a sound bath of raspy, clear, loud, soft, mellow, bright, and dark, tones. It is a practice, tool, activity, art, therapy, and science that carries us through the joys and stains of life. I am deeply curious about this amazing neural exercise.
But I am certainly not the only one who has been curious about the body’s ability to resonate to better health and wellbeing by way of musical components! From as early as 400 BC, Hippocrates theorized about the benefits of singing. Electrical engineer Earl E. Bakken and his brother-in-law created the first battery-operated, wearable pacemaker inspired by the rhythmic output of electronic metronomes. Researchers have studied how live theatre performance can synchronize your heartbeat with other people in audience, regardless of if you know them or not. The science of singing is finding its place in research studies, like cardiac health and neurological disorders and its my greatest hope that researchers such as yourself will join me in the pursuit of song and science to study other modes of curiosity within this artform.
For me, my insatiable appetite to understand the science of singing came by way of 1) my performance career as an opera singer, in that I was continually educating myself on my own vocal instrument, 2) feedback from my voice students, and 3) audience reflections. I had so many questions as I made mental notes on the many emotional and physical benefits of singing expressed by my students, who coincidentally, many were struggling with depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Why did my vocal student say she was sleeping better at night? Why did my student with compounded stress start yawning after a session of singing? Why did a young teenage boy who was being bullied at school walk into my vocal studio one day, unable to sing, and by day 180 came into my studio expressing that he had earned the lead role in his school theater production? Why did a very shy middle-aged man, quite afraid to sing, all of sudden grab the microphone out of my hand during one of the interactive breathing singing activities and begin to sing? Why did a military veteran sing as a way to grapple with his thoughts and emotions? Why did a young gal in therapy recount to her mother that she quote ‘got more out of singing’ than seeing her school counselor?
I admit that these are anecdotal musings and are a far cry from randomly controlled trials, yet there seems to be so much anecdotal evidence of singing’s impact on well-being, that perhaps if singing is so unique, so special, it must be worthy of investigation. I think the time is right now for this investigation, as the global community strategically thinks to out-of the-box solutions in bringing communities optimal health from post-trauma of a global pandemic, because singing breathes life into people.
…and…it’s for this reason that Sing4Wellness was born. It brings an appreciation of singing for both its artistic and neural qualities. It is crafted for individual and large audiences and incorporates a combination of live music listening, active singing and breathing exercise participation, positive motivational content, light movement, journal writing, and awe-inducing visuals. Sing4Wellness became the signature program under Be Delighted, the company I founded that produces interactive experiences to enhance well-being. In 2022, Be Delighted entered a national entrepreneurship competition along 1000 other applicants and we were grateful to have finished in the top 30 for our program Sing4Wellness. My long-term goal is to create a national “prescription” program implemented through a consortium of opera companies working jointly with what will become the Be Delighted Breathing and Singing Institute for training and certification. Be Delighted has begun to launch its “Sound Checks” subscription to healthcare providers and the general public. “Sound Checks” offer in-the-moment stress reducing breathing and singing exercises that can be used at home or in the workplace to cope with everyday challenges such as interpersonal conflicts, trauma stimuli, or brain health conditions such as anxiety or depression. So too, we are building singing and breathing exercises that can be used in study for researchers. The Sing4Wellness Experience looks forward to presenting in planetarium dome spaces amongst other concert venues. In addition, as part of Be Delighted’s initiatives, I have begun to host our “Sing Cast,” a program designed to explore topics with experts that meet at the intersection of music, arts, science, and well-being.
We want to stimulate, invigorate, and empower participants to tap into their greatness, with the knowledge that everyone has a place for their voice to hold space in the world! If any of you have the same passion in this space, I would absolutely love the opportunity to speak with you. You can feel free to visit after the talk or my websites at www.bedelightedtoday.com and www.andrea-lynn.com.
In singing for life, we breathe for life and I now welcome you to join me in a short sample excerpt of one of our “Sound Checks” as a prelude before dinner.
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