As long as I can remember I have been a person that has suffered from stress. I often felt anxiety, sense of emptiness and being lost and have a tendency to enlarge things. I have also had ache in both shoulders and my back for a long time and I guess that´s where the stress got stuck.
I got in contact with qigong through my vocal coach. During autumn 2012 and spring 2013 I participated in three basic courses. I daily started to do qigong by myself and took part in weekly group practice.
My shoulders fell into place
During the summer 2013 I participated at my first summer course. A lot happened in my shoulders and in my back. My posture got better and some pain got less. It felt like the shoulders dropped down to the right place and now I can relax more easily. I also got another concrete result from the summer course. I felt that my breathing came deeper in my stomach. Earlier I had such tension in my back that made it harder to breathe normal. It resulted in that I now find the support easier when I sing and I can come down in my pelvis.
My singing still gets influenced in a positive way by qigong. I am better in relaxing and I sort of sink deeper in myself with my breathing today. I can sing both lower notes and higher notes than before and my voice is more steady, warm and with a rich note. I have also got more perseverance than I used to have; I manage to sing for longer periods.
I can see today that I can work much better during stress. With my daily qigong practise I can now control my tendency to enlarge things and to get nervous. I can also control my nervousness before singing on stage. Sometimes I can even enjoy it.
I allow myself to here and now
In my daily life I have noticed that I have become better in meeting new situations and people, become more aware of my surrounding and dare to be here and now. I no longer hang up as much as I unaware used to do on what other people say or do. I can easily get shy and then it can be hard for me to take contact with other people. The qigong makes me more open and brave and I appreciate more people than I usually do. It is a constantly ongoing process and an incredible feeling when I feel that things have started to change. I have become calmer and more positive as a result of my qigong practice and today I can find harmony more easily.
Angelica Krans