An Introduction to the Feldenkrais® Method for Singers

“The way Sarah ties in many different aspects of singing, acting, body movement is quite amazing. Sarah teaches lasting practical strategies for practicing and performing in a way that's fun and immersive… These lessons reminded me to allow my jaw and tongue tension to get out of the way and just let me sing. It's opened up better pronunciation, better stamina, and a more pleasant overall singing experience for me… Working with the eyes and the jaw both released a bunch of tension that I was holding during singing. By releasing that tension, I also felt a release in my lower breath support. I didn't realize how strongly tension in one local area of the body could inform or affect tension in the entire voice. Just by kindly showing curiosity towards one part of my body, a world of singing freedom opened up for me.”

— Chris Mayell, M. Mus.

Hi. I’m Sarah Templeton. I’m a singer, singing teacher, and a practitioner of the Feldenkrais® Method. This course is based on the groundbreaking work of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, who was an engineer, physicist, martial artist, and pioneer in the field of human development. His work is taught all over the world, including university and college music departments and music conservatories.

When I discovered the Feldenkrais® Method, over 25 years ago, I tried it to help me with chronic pain. I was an injured pianist at the time. I thought I had tried everything. But Feldenkrais® worked for me, gradually and messily, but it worked. These lessons not only helped me find my way out of that pain; they have helped me with virtually every aspect of singing, ever since then. These lessons have helped me and many, many of my students, over the past 15 years of my teaching it, in the following ways:

- to lessen or even eliminate tension and pain in the jaw, neck, and shoulders

- to have more relaxed, responsive, and fuller breathing

- to have improved, dynamic posture

- to embody a wider variety of characters onstage

- to express a fuller range of emotions

- to have more stamina as a singer

- to have clearer diction

- to have better stage presence

- to have more flexible and skillful feet

- to have an increased sense of spontaneity onstage

- to be better able to sing in a variety of positions with more ease: on knees, lying down, addressing the audience or other characters to the right or to the left of you; whatever the director wants

But, perhaps most important, to me anyway, is that I have a sense of greater control over myself, through this method. A sense of choice in how I behave. Of having many more tools that I can call upon, no matter what the song or the role or life requires.

So, I’m excited for you to try these lessons. Try them, and see how they affect your posture, your breathing, and your ability to communicate with your audience. And see how they may surprise you by affecting other areas of your life, outside of your singing.

I have been refining these lessons, adapting them to be of the most benefit to singers in particular, over the past 15 years. I have taught this work at major universities, colleges, and even the Stratford Festival of Canada. It is the thing I wake up thinking about, and what I am most excited about teaching to my singing students. Why? Because I find it can really empower you, putting you in control of your craft.

I’ve agonized over which lessons to include here, because there are so many good ones. But I’m proud of the choices I’ve made. And I’ve also thought very carefully about the order in which to present the lessons to you. As well, I’ve made sure that I show you throughout the series how these lessons relate to specific ACTING techniques. This ‘bringing together’ of these three aspects of performing: movement, vocal technique, and acting technique, has occupied my professional life for decades, as a teacher, and also as a performer.

Try the free preview lesson, which I call Triangle Arms. It’s wonderful for posture, the mobility of the rib cage, and breathing function. It’s a great way to get to know my teaching, and to see how these lessons can help you as a singer. Before you do that, though , check out my “How to do these lessons, and what to expect” video. Enjoy.

“I will continue to practice the jaw and tongue releasing class, as this greatly impacted the release in my jaw, and my singing was a new experience… Singing before and after classes showed me marked improvements in my awareness and ability to make corrections in my own practice. Sarah is a compassionate and realistic teacher that makes the classes clear, fun and educational. I look forward to recommending Sarah’s classes to my voice students as well.”

— Jessica Turje, B. Mus.

“After each lesson I just feel so aware but calm. I feel like this is what people mean when they talk about the benefits of meditation but I’ve never been able to keep focused on meditation. This is what I assume meditation is like for normal people. Not only was this non-judgemental and soothing, the main point is not just to be aware of yourself, but to have fun. And I had so much fun. It was such a joy and delight to be able to experience these lessons, and I’m very grateful for them.”

— Brittony LeFever, BAH, Music

“Taking this course was my first experience with Feldenkrais technique – and I highly recommend it. I enjoyed experimenting with the subtle movements in these sessions and was pleased to see a direct application of these movements to my own singing. This course exceeded my expectations, I sensed an increase in my body awareness, easing of tensions, and found a greater sense of balance within my own body. At the end of each session, I felt greater freedom of movement within my own body as well as a more mindful and calm attitude.”

-Danielle Cyr, M.Mus.

Here is the overview of the courses, if you are curious about how it all fits together:

Here, I’ve chosen the three or four main benefits or ideas you will address in each lesson, to help you get an overview of how these movement lessons work together to improve your abilities as a singer. There are benefits other than those I mention here, and everyone will experience something different, but these are some of the concepts or improvements you may notice as you go through the lessons. As well, this is an explanation of how the lessons build on each other as they proceed. You can look at this list before and after each lesson, if you like, and you can see if you understand or relate to these concepts. As always, feel free to ask me questions in the group chat next to each video lesson, or email me at [email protected]. And please be aware that using this document is totally optional. You may like to see the theory I’ve used to design the course, here, or you may choose to just do the lessons, and see what you discover. It’s your choice.

Lesson One: Triangle Arms

- Increasing options for movement through the rib cage, aiding your posture and breathing (because, instead of using the same option for how you arrange your rib cage, you use a greater variety of options, depending on what you are doing in the moment; imagine the rib cage, spine, and pelvis being able to come to rest in slightly different positions, depending on what you need, to be effective/comfortable in that moment)

- Beginning to learn how to calm ‘parasitic activity’ (which is what I think of as activity not needed for the movement; experienced as tension), so that you use a more appropriate level of activity for what you are doing; no more than that

- Learning to differentiate the movements of the upper torso from eye movements and pelvic movements, leading to greater freedom in relating to the audience (or other people on stage with you) to your right or your left, in standing and sitting

- Using the example of the ‘constraint’ of keeping arms in a triangle shape, discovering how movement relates to being specific as an actor, and how using a similar idea (the ‘impediment’) to create characters that are unlike you

Lesson Two: Hip and Shoulder Integration

- Building on the Triangle Arms lesson, increasing options for movement through the rib cage, this time lying on your side

- Sensing the difference between what we could call your habit and your new abilities

- Learning to use imaginary movements effectively

- Finding more coordination of oppositional movements of the shoulder and hip, which improves balance (and therefore easy breathing) in walking

Lesson Three: Jaw and Lips

- Using the more effortless quality of moving you discovered in Lessons One and Two, calming parasitic activity in your tongue, lips, and the muscles of the Temporal Mandibular Joint

- Increasing your ability to pronounce vowels and consonants more clearly

- Being able to express a wider variety of emotions, as your face is not ‘stuck’ in habitual patterns

Lesson Four: Rolling Fists

- Differentiating the movement of your shoulder blades from that of the rib cage, and from movements of the pelvis; first forward and back, and then right and left

- Lifting your pelvis with skill and power, which benefits your movement in standing and walking

- Finding more coordinated eye movements, in relation to bigger movements of the limbs

- Finding ways to balance (and even find elegant movement) in a challenging or new position, which we are often asked to do as singers, especially in stage shows

Lesson Five: Eyes on Horizon, Near and Far

- Calming parasitic activity in the muscles surrounding your eyes

- Identifying and learning how to use your ‘non-dominant’ eye to lead the movements smoothly, and how that ability affects overall posture and tonus of the muscles

- Calming parasitic activity of the whole person, as most movements are either initiated by the eyes or at least involve them; this leads to easier breathing and more elegant stance/movement

Lesson Six: Breathing, Relating to the Lower Ribs and Sternum

- Becoming aware of the anatomy of your own ribcage (including the floating ribs), clavicles, and shoulder blades

- Increasing options for how your rib cage can move in relation to your inhalations and exhalations, using gentle lifting and pressing of the lower ribs (making sure not to confuse them in your self image with the lumbar region of the back) to improve breathing; learning to initiate these movements with your lower ribs and your sternum

- Using ‘seesaw’ breathing and ‘ring’ breathing images to increase your choice of options for breathing; this can be helpful for decreasing stage fright

- Finding patience and an ‘unambitious’ way of approaching learning, as this is a complex lesson with great benefits if we are patient and skilled in noticing the movements of the rib cage and elsewhere; and if we are skilled in doing subtle, gentle movements that feel good to repeat, once the lesson is over

Lesson Seven: Edges of the Feet

- Using the arches of your feet to increase skill in standing

- Using ‘tripods’ of the feet in standing: awareness of the head of the 4th metatarsal and how it can help with posture and skilled movement in standing, and how the bones of the lower leg can be used to make standing easier and more spontaneous; further building on the Breathing, Relating to the Lower Ribs and Sternum (as these two complex lessons directly build on one another), and on Triangle Arms and Rolling Fists

- Relating how you stand on your feet to increase your easy breath capacity and spontaneity as an actor and singer

Lesson Eight: To Weld by Breathing

- Putting together what you’ve learning in Edges of the Feet, Triangle Arms, and Rolling Fists (about tripods, and driving the force of the movement up through the spine to the top of the head) to lift your pelvis with skill and power

- On your back with pelvis raised, and in a variety of other positions, using the image of ‘welding’ with the breath to change the perceived shape (from moment to moment) of your rib cage, sternum, shoulder blades, and clavicles; building on the breathing skills learned in Breathing Relating to the Lower Ribs and Sternum lesson

- Using the floor to provide resistance and awareness, to access movement throughout the entire rib cage; again, this can help posture in standing, as you continue to find options for the rib cage, spine, and pelvis to come to rest, depending on what you need for your singing in that moment

- Empowering yourself through the very concrete concept of the floor providing resistance, to find new options for movement while breathing; this can be calming, helping with stage nerves and even anxiety

Lesson Nine: Interlacing the Toes

- Using movements of the fingers to teach yourself greater dexterity of your toes

- Using your sense of humour to continue learning in a challenging situation; using the puzzles of the lesson to observe how you react to challenge, and whether you can still remain present to sensation and movement, and maybe even smile and laugh in the midst of it (as this can be a challenging lesson, but also a bit ridiculous, which helps. )

- Being able to react from moment to unanticipated moment in standing, and how that relates to acting while singing; keeping the performance ‘fresh’ and adding a grain of realism at the root of the song, even if it is a big moment, or a very extended phrase over a big orchestra or band

Lesson Ten: Equalizing the Nostrils

- Using the vowel ‘a’ and the nasal consonant ‘ng’ to equalize the resonance between your right and left nostrils

- Using your own judgement of sensations to increase skill, instead of relying on outside feedback (though I acknowledge, of course, that such feedback can be very helpful, as well)

- Using constraints of your jaw, tongue, and lips as a novel way to learn to express a text more clearly, and therefore to ‘get what the character came for’, or even create a character in the song or scene; using those constraints to challenge you to find new movements of the tongue, jaw, and lips that would might not have found without the limitation of the invitations in the lesson

- Using your imagination to constantly ‘see’ your imaginary scene partner, and whether you are ‘winning’, or getting what you set out to get from the partner; all the while using clear pronunciation to express the character’s thoughts and emotions, discovering whether diction can help us with emotion and expressing thoughts, not get in the way of them.

Please note: The Feldenkrais® Method is gentle, but please consult with your doctor before beginning any new physical activity. Sarah Templeton will not be held liable for any injury or loss sustained during, or as a result of, these lessons.