Voicework
The Human Voice – A Journey Within.
“All matter is in motion. Our bodies vibrate, sound vibrates. Music and sound permeate the entire cosmos. They awaken something ancient, something eternal within us. A longing for that which cannot die or be corrupted.”
Freely adapted from Wayne Teasdale & Russill Paul
Petra’s Voicework –
invites you to discover, explore, and develop your voice in a playful and pressure-free way.
Vi utforskar ljud, toning, sång och rörelse och arbetar med texter, sånger och tolkning. Genom olika sätt att använda rösten tränar vi också dess flexibilitet, klang, dynamik och uttryck. Här finns plats för både det stilla och det kraftfulla, det lekfulla och det innerliga.
Where and how?
You can experience Petra’s Voicework at Stenaberga Gård through retreats, courses, and workshops. I am also happy to bring this work to your school, workplace, organisation, or company, adapting it to the needs and context of each group.
The work is for anyone who wants to explore their voice for their own sake, as well as singers, music students, and others who want to develop their voice and artistic expression.
No previous experience is required. The exercises are adapted to the group and to each participant’s individual needs and abilities.
Questions
If you have any questions or would like to know more, you are very welcome to get in touch.
Call +46 73 378 32 27
Email me at: info@stenaberga.se
Read more about Petra’s Voicework below.
PRICES & COURSES
Individual sessions: SEK 750, approx. 60 minutes. Group: SEK 400 per person, approx. 1.5–2 hours. Courses and workshops for schools, organisations, and companies: Price depending on format and scope.
Healing vibrations
People have used the voice, song, rhythm, and the drum in ceremonial and healing traditions for thousands of years. Sound and vibration have accompanied us in prayer and ritual, in times of sorrow and joy, in community, and through the transitions of life.
In Petra’s Voicework, we work with the vibrations of our own voice. You are invited to experience what happens when sound is allowed to vibrate through the body and take up space, without judging how it sounds.
Encountering Yourself
Our experiences can be hidden in the body. Grief, other losses, injuries, long-term pain, or anxiety can cause us to tense, hold back, or begin to protect what feels vulnerable within us.
Through the voice, the breath, and presence, we can create more space in the body, allow tension to soften, and give expression to things we may have been holding back.
Healing does not mean that something has to be broken. It can also be about getting to know yourself, becoming more whole, and making space for what wants to be lived.
Everyone Can Use Their Voice
Do you enjoy using your voice or long to explore it more? Whether you use your voice professionally, just in everyday life or simply wish you could use it more freely, this work is for you.
This work can also be helpful if you experience tension in your voice or find that your voice tires easily. If you have more serious or persistent voice problems, you should seek help from a speech and language therapist.
We approach the voice with care. Rather than listening to it from the outside, we experience and listen to it from within.
The voice can carry both strength and vulnerability. We often try to hide or protect what feels vulnerable. Here, it too is given space to be heard and find its own expression.
Sometimes laughter comes, sometimes tears, and sometimes there is just emptiness. There is room for it all. We support each other in being who we are, without pressure, expectations or the need to perform.
By using your voice in different ways, you also have the opportunity to develop it and explore more of its tone, depth, flexibility and expression.
Voice, Interpretation, Expression
The voice is not only sound and vibration. It is also one of our most powerful forms of expression. Through the voice, we can convey emotions, tell stories, and express things that can sometimes be difficult to put into words.
The voice is also an instrument that can be developed. By exploring different tones, registers, dynamics, and ways of using the voice, it can become more flexible and responsive. As your voice develops a wider range of possibilities, it becomes easier to express yourself and to do more of what you want to do with your voice.
We work with songs, texts, and interpretation. We explore what happens when you allow a song or text to pass through you and your own experiences. What do you want to express? What happens when you dare to be both powerful and vulnerable?
When expression is grounded in the body, you can access the power of your voice without having to push or force it.
The body and voice can express all their colours, from the quiet and intimate to the expansive and powerful. There is room for playfulness, improvisation, and creativity.
The Voice Tells a Story
The voice tells us something about how we feel. We can hear when someone is happy, sad, afraid, tired, or excited. The voice carries nuances that words cannot always express.
The voice is also a strong part of our identity. We recognise a person by their voice, sometimes after only a few words. Our voice carries our history, our experiences, our power, and our vulnerability.
When we begin to listen to our own voice, the voice can become a path towards a deeper understanding of ourselves.
Developing the voice is not only about gaining greater resonance or a wider range of expression. It is also about daring to be heard, to take up space, and to be seen.
My own voice
When I was young, my thyroid stopped functioning as it should. Much later, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s. For many years, I lived in a body that did not always have the energy I needed. Singing became a place where there was still flow, vibration, and expression. There I could give voice to my sorrow, my joy, my humour, and who I was beyond the illness.
Only much later did I understand the healing power of the voice and the impact it had on my own life.
Holivoiceyoga
I am a trained Holi Voice Yoga teacher, and over the years Holi Voice Yoga has become interwoven with my experience of singing and performance, breathing, improvisation, and sound. From this, my own way of working with the voice has grown.
The Voice and the Nervous System
The voice and the nervous system are closely connected. When we tone, hum, or sing, we create vibrations with our voice that travel through the body. Using the voice in this way can help reduce stress and support the body’s ability to slow down and relax.
The voice and the nervous system are part of a fascinating interplay, and through the voice we can influence our state and help the body settle.
We have known this intuitively throughout history. Mothers around the world have sung lullabies to their children to help them settle. We hum, sigh, sing, or make sounds when we need to soothe ourselves. The voice is always there, close to us.
Mantra, Chanting and the Meditative State
Mantra is a Sanskrit word and can be described as a word, sound, or phrase that is repeated. Mantra and chanting have been used in different traditions for centuries to focus attention and deepen the meditative state. For me, chanting mantras is both a spiritual practice and a way of using the voice. Through the repetition of sounds and tones, we can shift the energy, come closer to the heart, and allow the mind to become still.
Using Your Voice Makes You Happy
Singing together offers something beyond the purely physiological. We breathe, listen, express ourselves, and share sound and rhythm with other people. And sometimes it does not need to be any more complicated than that. Using your voice simply makes you happy.
Petra’s Voicework – The Art of Vocie, Body and Expression
