In the evenings, my husband likes to play guitar and I like to sing. My voice is untrained, not a lot of range, but I enjoy sharing the music and the effort to improve. I’ve been using my daily asana practice to melt some restrictions I feel around my neck and throat. Then I get to exercise the new-found freedom in song.

As I’ve said, I think of asana as a language my mind and body can share. Asana is not the only language. Any activity done repeatedly with the intention of improving is an on-going conversation about expectation and performance. But yoga asana was designed for the purpose, with an extensive vocabulary that addresses mental and emotional issues as well as physical.

For singing, I’ve been focusing on the base of my throat, the center of the vishuddha (purification) chakra. This chakra is associated with communication and the energetic quality of rising. Anatomically, it is a complicated area where the breastbone, clavicles, and top ribs come together. They can get stuck. Emotional difficulties with communication may cause physical problems in the upper chest, shoulders, and neck. Physical problems may cause emotional difficulties.

I have a history of problems with my neck – unhealthy posture and a couple whiplashes from accidents. I have some anatomical abnormalities from a fall my mother took when she was pregnant. I’ve been working with neck pain and stiffness for a long time, and I understand the anatomy and know asanas that can address my weaknesses. But things didn’t really begin to change until I started trying to sing and realized how uncomfortable I was emotionally. The house had to be empty. I wouldn’t sing if the neighbors were outside. The imaginative practice of contemplating the chakra during asana brought emotional exploration and understanding into my practice. Through exercise and physical therapy, you can change the muscles and joints, but if you don’t change habits, including emotional habits, you may not solve your problem.

My point is, we don’t start out understanding ourselves, so we don’t know how to fix ourselves.  Regular yoga practice that reaches beyond the physical initiates interesting conversations that will surprise you. My singing has improved. I even found myself belting out a song while people were in the basement. That was my goal, but my practice brought some unexpected side-effects: my bite changed and my sinuses drain more normally.

Go to class to learn the postures. Practice at home to change your life.