Welcome to Releasing Perfectionism in Your Singing.
I am Laura Rose.
Let's begin.
I'll invite you to find a quiet place where you can sit comfortably and begin to transition your attention inward.
Perhaps that is closing your eyes and feeling the skin that you're in.
Let's take a full,
Deep breath in,
And feeling the air expand your ribs,
Expand your belly,
And then exhale slowly,
Releasing any tension in your jaw,
Melting away tension in your shoulders and your throat.
Take another breath,
This time sensing how the air moves through your vocal cords and how it vibrates your entire body.
Your breath at the foundation of your voice.
No effort,
No performance,
Just breath.
Moving in and out,
Powering your instrument.
And as you settle,
Bring awareness to the part of you that feels pressure to sing perfectly.
That part that hesitates,
Critiques,
Or holds you back.
Notice where you feel that in your body,
Your throat,
Your chest,
Maybe your stomach.
And instead of pushing that sensation away,
Can you acknowledge it?
Give it space.
Perfectionism is not our enemy.
It's a learned protection,
A way you have tried to stay safe.
A way that you have tried to be good enough.
You don't have to prove anything.
Let that settle into your body.
You are allowed to sound exactly as you are.
Your voice,
It is a living,
Breathing expression of you.
It is alive with every breath.
Information,
It moves like the wind.
Sometimes soft,
Sometimes wild.
It cracks,
It wavers,
It soars.
It does not ask for permission.
What if you let go of needing it to be anything other than what it is right now?
In a moment here,
We're gonna take a breath together and hum.
I want you to feel that vibration in your chest.
Feel that aliveness,
That pulse of life that lives within you.
You can let the sound be as small or as big as it wants to be.
I'm taking a cleansing breath in.
We're gonna hum again,
But this time,
Notice how the sound resonates.
Notice how it changes from moment to moment,
Knowing that there is no wrong way to do this.
Take a deep breath in.
No need for it to be polished or controlled.
Just sound,
Just breath turning into vibration.
What if you trusted that your voice as it is right now is enough?
What if imperfection is not a flaw,
But the very thing that makes your voice human?
Take another breath in.
And as you exhale,
Imagine shedding the need to sound a certain way.
Imagine loosening the grip,
Making space for something more organic to come through.
No need to perform.
No need to be flawless.
You just need to be here with your voice as it is.
And when you're ready,
Begin to come back to the room that you're in.
Take your voice with you.
Take your presence with you.
This can be an ongoing practice,
Not one of mastering your voice,
But of meeting it with curiosity,
Trust,
And freedom.
