on 06-Sep-2019 (Fri)

Whether you are performing while standing or sitting down, the idea is to feel a solid foundation from your waist down.

One way to find your center is with the invisible hula hoop exercise.

For instance, what it feels like when you nail the opening, what it sounds like when you nail the opening, maybe even what it looks like when you nail the opening. Remember when the golfers in the Arizona State study were focusing on the general feel of a successful shot? Same deal. As soon as you can hear it, feel it, or see the desired end result, you will be more engaged in this right brain type of processing, and be ready to let loose and trust your body to do what you’ve trained it to do.

The idea is to use your imagination, and visualize all the nerves as a tangible form of energy in your body that you have control over. And then to discharge that energy into the room (like you do when discharging static electricity into a friend on a dry winter day), so you can use it in your performance.

Then, direct it upwards through your torso. Through your neck, into your head. As it reaches your head, open your eyes and fire it out to your focal point. Direct it like a laser. I envisioned directing a stream of energy towards the very back row of a hall, and almost like currents in the ocean, feeling the sense that there was this energy stream that carried my sound all the way back to the very last row.

It’s a little like proposing. I mean, you don’t really know for certain how it’s going to go, but once the mood is set, and you start to get down on one knee, it’s too late to back out. You might as well go for it 100%.