Intuitive Singing

How to Prepare Yourself for Intuitive Singing

To begin intuitive singing, it’s important to first relax both your body and mind. An intuitive singing practice requires you to be open, receptive, and spontaneous. To set yourself up for success from the get-go, it’s helpful to do some relaxing and grounding physical activities beforehand. The goal is to help you release any tension and stress you may be experiencing.

When your body is relaxed, when your nervous system is calm, it’s much easier to sing intuitively. Some exercises I enjoy practising and that I share with 1:1 coaching clients and in my Transformative Voice Training to help with this are:

1. Physical Exercises: Gentle movements like yoga or stretching can help you feel grounded and at ease. Yoga is a beautiful practice of combining movement to breath. It helps focus the mind and also release physical and nervous tension that may be stored in your system. 

2. Breathing Exercises: Focused breathing techniques calm the nervous system and prepare you for vocal flow. Vocalising is a breathing practice. So by consciously connecting to breath, we open up our breathing system, expand our breathing capacity and prepare ourselves mindfully to sing. 

3. Meditation: A few minutes of mindfulness can help clear your mind and centre your awareness. Mindful practices can be as simple as concentrating on a flower, a crystal or a plant. They can involve mantra chanting or repetition, or simply focusing on the flow of breath somatically as it moves through your body. 

Other Forms of Relaxation: Take some time to engage in whatever brings you peace—perhaps a walk in nature or a warm bath— anything that can support your intuitive singing practice.

Creating a Safe, Comfortable Space for Intuitive Singing

Intuitive singing can be a very personal, open, and vulnerable experience where you truly expose yourself. That’s why it’s essential to sing in a space where you feel safe and free to express yourself without concern. My recommendation is to practice at first in a comfortable environment that you are familiar with. Perhaps it is a room in your home where you can be alone, or maybe it is outside in nature. 

It’s best to have a space where you can really feel good and where you can avoid distractions like your phone or the chance of being interrupted by another person. I also recommend avoiding environments where you might feel judged, as this could inhibit your vocal flow.

If you can, set up a comfortable and calming environment to support your intuitive singing experience. You may like to use soft lighting, candles, or a favourite cushion to make the space your own. Do whatever you need to do so that you can feel well and look forward to your intuitive singing practice. 

Setting an Intuitive Singing Intention 

Before you begin intuitive singing, consciously set an intention. What do you wish to manifest for yourself through this experience? What do you wish to connect to? 

The reason for this is to help you align with something deeper. When we align with a deeper intention, it can help bring more focus and also surrender into our intuitive singing practice. Rather than getting lost in mental judgements about how we sound, or trapped in physical blocks that may frustrate us, instead we can give our entire experience over to our intention. In this way our intention serves to hold and carry our practice.

There are different kindy of intentions ou may like to set before intuitive singing. Here are some I recommend:

Personal Intentions: You may wish to heal emotional wounds, express gratitude for something or someone in your life, or you may wish to connect to inner peace. A personal intention makes the journey and your experience within it, entirely about yourself and your experience of yourself. In this way, it can be a deeply healing and strongly connecting.

Universal Intentions: Alternatively, you might wish for your intention to be beyond yourself. You may wish to offer your practice to the greater good, to the universe, or perhaps to use your intuitive singing session to spread love, joy, or harmony to the world.

Regardless of which approach you choose, your intention helps to focus your energy and align the way you somatically connect to yourself and then express yourself through your voice.

Warming Up Your Voice

Before diving into intuitive singing, it’s helpful to prepare your voice with some simple vocal warm-ups. This not only helps prevent strain or injury but also enables you to access a wider range of sounds and pitches, giving your voice more flexibility for exploration.

If you’re interested in learning some simple techniques to help develop your voice, then take a look at my Free Voice Course.

Here are some simple things you can try to prepare your voice:

1. Humming: Start with humming or lip trills to gently wake up your vocal cords. My favourite is the Drive Your Tuk Tuk to India exercise that I share in almost all of my trainings and with 1:1 clients. 

2. Soft Sirens: Use sirens or scale exercises to stretch your voice and ease tension.

3. Single Toning: You could then begin to tone singular vowel sounds for longer periods, first in your lower vocal ranger, then in your mid vocal range and then into your higher range.

Entering a Meditative State

Intuitive singing can be a form of meditation, helping you come fully into the present moment. To deepen this experience:

1. Focus on Relaxation: As you’re singing, imagine letting go of any tension in your body. Whilst you tone, imagine softening into the resonance of your own sound. Imagine the vibrations of your voice dissolving any tension you hold. 

2. Conscious Breathing: Stay connected to the rhythm of your breath as you sing. Allow your breath to support you. Voice is breath, and breath is life. Whilst singing, imagine flowing on the rising and falling of your breath, just like the waves of the ocean, allowing your breath to effortlessly carry your voice. If you need support with breathing techniques, take a look at my blogpost on Breathwork here.

3. Feel the Vibrations: Tune into the sensations of your voice as it resonates within you. Your voice is not something happening outside of you. It is a deeply personal, embodied practice. By feeling the vibrations of your voice as they move through you, you heighten your concentration and your sense of oneness with vocal production.

You become your voice, producing itself in the moment. There is no longer a doer, there is only the infinite moment of your voice. 

Intuitive Singing using Emotion, Not Technique

When singing intuitively, try to release the idea of right or wrong. Technique is important in order to sing with more freedom, however when intuitively singing technique takes more of a back seat. Instead, use your session to tune into your emotions.

Try to let go of mental ideas and judgments and instead sink into your felt experience, allowing your voice to come out from that place. Here are some simple tips that may support you in doing this:

1. Follow Your Emotions: Sing from the heart, allowing emotions to guide your vocal expression. You can also try connecting to any emotions that are present for you. Imagine using them as fuel for your voice, channelling them out of you on every tone.

2. Trust Your Voice: Whether you’re in tune or not doesn’t matter—let your sound flow naturally and freely. Again, try to let go of judgments here. Feel the vibrations of your voice and allow them to flow out of you, however this comes. 

This kind of approach transforms your singing into a deeply personal and fulfilling practice. One where transformation can unfold.

Exploring Vocal Possibilities

Intuitive singing invites you to experiment with your voice. As you sing, try to be curious and playful. Just as you can let the sounds flow out of you, you can also try exploring different shapes, pitches, rhythms, and melodies. Allow your intuitive singing session to be a session of play inspired by childlike curiosity. As you sing, try:

1. Playing with Dynamics: Experiment with volume, try singing loudly and then quietly.  Try changing up the texture of your voice and the length of your sounds. See how this makes you feel and follow what feels good further.

2. Expressing Emotions: Let your voice become an instrument to express your mood, feelings, and personality. Connect to different parts of yourself, giving them a voice and letting them out of you as you play.

3. Staying Playful: Try mimicking the sounds of nature or imagining how different colours or objects might “sing.” Then let them out of you. Again, this can be a journey in complete curiosity.

Trusting Your Intuition

One of the key elements to intuitive singing is listening to, and following, your inner guidance. For this reason, it can be a wonderful practice to return to yourself.

To help as you sing, try:

1. Following Your Impulses: Allow your voice to flow naturally, trusting where it takes you. If you feel like changing something up, then do that intuitively rather than thinking about it. Allow your mind to take a break and let your intuition be the driver during your intuitive singing session.

2. Deep Communication: See your voice as well as your intuitive singing as a tool for expressing thoughts, feelings, and energy, connecting you with yourself and others. Allow it to be an experience of pure, authentic expression and communion with yourself and with the world around you.

Intuitive singing is an invitation to connect with the life force energy that flows through you and the world. By focusing on improvisation, playful exploration, and creativity, you free your voice, and yourself, from resistance, inhibition, and self-censorship.

In this state, singing becomes a spontaneous offering, allowing you to access expansive realms of vocal expression. You may even experience the stillness and presence that animates your flow, transforming your singing into a powerful, transformative practice.

Are you curious about exploring the world of intuitive singing? Then try out some of the exercises below and if you wish to learn more, take a look at my resources on YouTube or consider taking my online Transformative Voice Training, where we deep dive into the world of Voice Alchemy, vocal resonance, voice empowerment and intuitive singing amongst other practices. 

Intuitive Singing with Instruments

It can be a challenge for some to sing with an instrument. There is a tendency to engage the mind. We lose ourselves to the inner critic or compare ourselves to others. Whether you are working with others, or simply for yourself, here are some simple ways you can explore this in a safe, supportive space. 

This is an exercise directly out of my Transformative Voice Training. It’s designed to help you sing intuitively with ease to an object or another instrument. Again, it#s about letting go of judgement and focusing on what you feel. Let your felt sense guide you:

1. Have an instrument at hand. This can be a musical instrument, such as a guitar or a keyboard, or it can be a singing bowl, triangle or anything else available.

2. Strike a sound or a tone on your instrument. Rather than thinking about it, feel into it.

3. Focus on the vibration of the tone from the instrument within your body.

• • Can you imagine the sound you feel expressing itself through you?
  • How does that sound move?
  • Exploring various tones: moving between them

Intuitive Singing as a Daily Practice

Intuitive singing can be a unique and freeing practice that allows you to express yourself authentically. It is not about perfection—it’s about connection, emotion, and creativity. Whether you use it for emotional healing, creative exploration, or meditation, intuitive singing can be a transformative and deeply satisfying experience.

Find your space, set your intention, and trust your voice. You may be surprised at the beauty and depth of what lies within you!