The experience of singing among the trees is one that has the potential to deepen our connection to the land, and also to ourselves, since much of nature is a mirror of us.
 
How so?
 
It’s easy to think of forests as pacific, beautiful, expansive, and awesome, since they often elicit those states in us. Just like humans, plants and trees have that potential for beauty, gentleness, creativity, and must also be aware of their survival. Plants must defend against potential predators, such as beetles, worms and other insects.
 
Plants are equipped with immune systems that produce chemicals to defend against pathogens, some have spiky thistles and needles along their stems and branches, or take shapes, in order to make them unappealing or inedible to prey.
 
In their quiet way, they say yes or no.
 
In each one of us, is the potential for tenderness and bad-assery, to be un-defended and to protect.
 
In these times where we need to stay woke, we sing to honor all available apt responses within us. Sometimes, “no” is the deepest kind of love.
 
 
 
 

​Greetings,
 
Abby Lincoln said: “The music is the magic of a secret world, it’s a world that is always within”. Aaaahhh yes…I notice I feel more overwhelm than usual lately, and I have shared before how my treatment for overwhelm is to sing for 5 minutes, so I’ve been popping that pill several times a day.
 
Ani DiFranco said “If more people were screaming than I could relax”. Do you ever feel other’s unexpressed material inside them? I do. I am almost relieved, even if a bit shocked when someone lets out the kind of scream that helps them release. It always makes me laugh, and I feel inspired and amazed. I ain’t talkin’ about people screaming at others, we can work our anger out on our own, I am talking about the kind of expressions that we feel welling up in us at times, and we are taught to be polite in the company of others so we dare not…skip down the street, sing, talk out loud alone…
 
In line with this, I find how music can be soothing and also invigorating – both listening and making, depending on what you’re looking to shift or express. Do you need to receive or release? You can use music and singing to get you there.
 
Let’s create the container, then you can bring it home into your life, because its your little secret pocket medicine of joy, your own friend, lover, muse…dare to dare, cos there ain't no voice police out there. The space is all yours if you take it.
 
“How can I live one day without music?”
 
                                     - India.Arie
 
As always, looking forward to our time together!
 
René

Happy Summer!
 
I am honored to have just had the opportunity to facilitate a Vocal Improv session at The Brain Fitness Forum at the JCCSF.
 
It happens that just prior to this event I became aware of Dr. Robert Lustig’s (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Lustig) new book, “The Hacking of the American Mind”, which I strongly recommend reading! I have been following Dr. Lustig’s work around sugar intake and metabolic disorders for a decade or so now, and am always roused by his truth telling mission to heal our culture from addiction.
 
In his latest book, he makes the distinction between foods and activities that elicit the dopamine .vs. the serotonin response in human beings. The dopamine response will bring pleasure, whereas the serotonin response will bring happiness. A hit of dopamine is likely to elicit an addictive response. We can get this hit by eating sugar or unhealthy foods, ingesting caffeine, attempting to create connection on social media, engaging in high risk activities, doing drugs, etc…
 
A hit of serotonin is likely to elicit a feeling of contentment, such as when we exercise, engage in authentic connection, sing, dance, create, engage in life affirming activities, feel love, touch others, eat well, connect with nature, etc…
 
These are only a few examples of each, but the idea is that searching for a dopamine hit feels good right now, but it overexcites the cells, ultimately causing cell death. When we engage in serotonin increasing activities, we actually feel a longer sense of contentment and happiness, without building a tolerance for higher amounts.
 
Although music infuses my heart, body, mind, and spirit, and I often feel high when I make music, especially with others, there is a steady progression of joy in my heart in anticipation, during, and after the experience. This has me thinking that making music is a serotonin producing activity, and its no wonder because I am often thrilled to let go of the technical toys in my life, or even conversation, and dwell in the land of music with my instruments, my voice, and with you.
 
I can’t wait until the next time we can be together!
 
René
 
 

Hey, hay!
 
I love it when BAVI lands on Super Bowl Sunday because it reminds me of the wonderful research in Daniel J. Levitin’s book “This Is Your Brain On Music”, where he shares that scientists discovered that making music stimulates more parts of the brain than any other activity. No concussion either, what a deal!
 
But seriously, in this time when we are all thinking more about brain function as we age, I encourage all of us to enjoy listening to music you love AND move beyond listening and observing music, to making music.
 
Whether it is singing or an instrument of some kind, the process involved in creating music is deeply engaging your Corpus Collosum (bilateral communication), the Auditory Cortex (listens to sounds and analyzes tones), the Nucleus Accumbens and the Amygdala (involved with emotional reactions to music) along with many other functions.
 
When you are in a circle together with others singing and inventing sounds/music this turns up the learning curve a notch as you engage making decisions in the moment, taking risks, and taking the oldest and most amazing natural anti-depressant: Being in a non-hierarchal circle where people are rooting for each other. Delicious sustenance.
 
I am extremely happy to announce that Bay Area Vocal Improv will be one of the presenters at this year’s “Brain Fitness Forum” at the San Francisco Jewish Community center on June 10, 2018.
 
Stay tuned here as more information gets posted:
 
bit.ly/2BzYeMO
 
Let’s jam peeps!
 
See you soon,
 
Renee