Body Connection

I’ve connected to something and I think it’s important.

I’ve been in a yoga class all semester and it just ended, and it got me thinking a lot about my body, my health, and the connection it has to my voice and my performances. I’ve never valued and respected my health, both physical and mental, as much as I should, and I’ve suffered some setbacks this semester because of that. But I want to dive deep and figure out what exactly the relationship is between my health, my voice, and my emotions, and I think voice and diction has been very helpful in at least one side of the equation.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am an extremely rambunctious person. I despise sitting still, I’ve played at least three competitive sports for my entire life, and anytime there’s something physically exerting to be done or participated in I am the first one there. This has often been a great benefit to me, and I’m very grateful that I’m in shape and healthy, but there are some drawbacks to this way of life. I often find that since I’m so willing to throw myself into anything and everything, often without taking the proper precautions such as stretching, checking landings, etc. As such I have extensive experience with injuries, the majority of which have been minor but several of which have had impacts on my participation in different activities. The first one that comes to mind was back in my sophomore year of highschool. I was an avid sports fan as I remain today, and one night I went to a football game and screamed my voice out. The next morning I woke up unable to talk, and continued like that for the next 9 months of my life. It was one of the worst things I’ve ever experienced, and it taught me so much about respecting my voice and its health. Much more recently I suffered an injury to my knee, leaving it inflamed and filled with liquid. This severely limited my activity, both from sports and rehearsing Urinetown, and was extremely frustrating. This was a result of me just throwing myself around onstage during rehearsals and not taking the proper care on the court and the field. This was extremely irresponsible and threatened to hurt my performance, something that for me and in this industry is unacceptable. I’ve had a steep learning curve in terms of what I am capable of and what is threatening to my health and my body, and I’ve seen my injuries negatively affect my voice and my performances.

It really is a fine line to find, because on the one hand I’m a very active person and I don’t ever want to lose that side of myself, and it has helped me a lot when a director needs something active done or when the coach wants someone who will just go for it. But I’m starting to confront the possibility that I am not immune to everything, and it is my responsibility to take care and be aware of my health, and do the things I need to in order to protect and preserve it.