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In this week’s How To Warm Up video, we’re tackling that elusive idea of mask resonance. What is it anyway, and how the heck to we get that effortless, ping-y sound? This is a great way to find it, so you can belt like Elphaba!

Check out the Mask Resonance exercise here:

Does this work for you?? Let me know, and ask me any questions in the comments!

xo,

Did you know that humming up and down in pitch is a great little “stretch” for your vocal cords? It’s so valuable that I’m willing to create a gif where I look like a total goof.

In this week’s How To Warm Up video, you’ll learn how a gentle humming exercise can make sure that your air is flowing and your vocal folds are functioning optimally. I recommend this exercise both as a quick assessment to see how your voice is feeling when you’ve been sick...

This week’s How To Warm Up video addresses Breath, the all-important power source of our voice! I’m sharing this exercise before any other breathing stuff because I think you should do it literally. every. day. I mean it.

The way our body is hard-wired to breathe – an effortful inhalation, and a passive exhalation – is the opposite of the pattern we need for voice, speech, and singing. So do this daily to remind your body how to step into the most efficient pattern for...

In this week’s How To Warm Up video, we’re addressing the Body. Here’s a simple, fun way to get your body moving and your breath coordinated in your warm up: half sun salutations from yoga. I recommend doing a few of these at the beginning of your warm up.

Check out the Half Sun Salutations (Body) exercise here:

xo,

This week marks the first official video in my brand new “How To Warm Up” series. Last week in the intro, I mentioned that I’d be rotating between the seven categories: Impulse, Body, Breath, Sound, Resonance, Articulation, and Language. So we’re starting right up at the top today with one of my very favorite Impulse exercises… what I like to call “Do what feels good!”

Check out the “Do What Feels Good” exercise here: 

Thoughts?...

You’ve been asking and it was time to answer. So this week I mounted my phone on top of a tripod, and I made you the very first video! Here it is:

Watch the How To Warm Up Intro Video Here:

Stay tuned next week when we’ll dive in with our first exercise.

Also please let me know what you think! It could be:
“Elissa this is awesome, yay!”
“What do you mean by optimum function?”
Or “I learned this exercise awhile back and I can’t...

I have this theory about us performer/presenter/storyteller/speech-giver types. We are all energy workers.

I know you may not practice reiki or healing light therapy, but I still believe you are a crafter and shaper of energy. In fact, I think all humans are.

Think about it… if you smile at a stranger, you have the power to change their mood for the entire day. If a loved one is getting angry, you have the power to say something to break them out of their anger loop. Sure, you may not...

When I ask you “Do you have a sensitive nervous system?” you may not know your answer right off the bat. So let’s do a quiz…

Imagine that you’re getting up in front of people to perform or give a speech, and the stakes are reasonably high. Answer the following four questions:

How nervous do you feel?

1. Not too nervous.
2. I’ve got nerves but they don’t overcome my ability to perform.
3. So intensely nervous that I can’t focus or think...

Yesterday in the United States, people gathered with their families or people they cherish to celebrate Thanksgiving. To express gratitude, and to engage in – or perhaps avoid – conversation.

I’ve been thinking a lot about conversation recently, and about what constitutes true conversation. Here’s one thing I know (and I bet you agree):

Communication requires giving and receiving.

In the act of conversation, this means that a true conversation requires...

Do you struggle with being present? Do you wish you could learn be present more often?

What if I told you that you are completely in control of your presence, and you can get present anytime?

You can. And guess what… I’ll explain to you how to do it in the next few minutes. Keep reading.

There’s a simple and brilliant system for understanding presence, and I teach it to every single one of my clients. It’s called the “The Second Circle,” or as I like...