Every Wednesday, Diane Frรฉmaux organizes a voice yoga class for people of all ages. A meditation technique based on breathing around the voice.
“Aaaaaaaah”. The participants in the voice yoga class can be heard throughout Vigier Park in Nice. Passersby stop for a moment, intrigued by this new relaxation method devised by 57-year-old Diane Frรฉmaux. The singing teacher is well-known for her musical show “Women, a Moment in Song” .
Gesturing, vocal cords… all at once
The session begins. Sitting cross-legged on the grass with her students, the teacher gets into position and starts her class with a deep breath. The others follow the rhythm. “Inhale, then exhale imagining you’re releasing the pelvis downward”.
Diane Frรฉmaux (in the back left) during a deep breathing exercise with her students.
For the next 60 minutes, participants go through exercises to relax the entire body (abdomen, chest, neck, arms, etc.). Then comes the practice of the voice.
All standing, Diane begins to sing a small note that her students repeat right behind her. “Yayayayaya! Yaaaaaaaah!” As amusing as it might seem, the small yoga group takes the class seriously, smiles on their faces, and with a common goal: seeking well-being and calm.
The benefits of voice yoga
This voice yoga technique was developed by Diane Frรฉmaux herself during her years of singing lessons in Liรจge and Paris. A technique that combines respiratory mechanics and relaxation, as the discipline requires, through voice and vocal cord exercises.
This class can be highly recommended, especially for people practicing professions where the voice is an essential asset used regularly and intensively every day (journalists, lawyers, singers, teachers, etc.).
“I’ve been practicing voice yoga for four years alongside my singing career. Personally, it has helped me understand the mechanics of breathing. Compared to singing, I have better breath control. It has given me confidence in many aspects. […] I received a lot of feedback from some saying they slept better, lived better, and felt better in their bodies.”
The teacher wants to remind that voice yoga may surprise many, as it’s a practice not found everywhere. Note, you don’t achieve your goal overnight. It takes several weeks of regular practice to see real results.
