Your Hosts
Where & When
A confirmation with the zoom link will be sent to registered participants the week of the event.
Live attendance required - no recording.
Monday, May 3, 2021 from 1:00-3:00 pm EST (New York - US)
Times worldwide: convert to your time zone
The Voice is a fascinating occurrence. It simultaneously contains aspects of very different kinds of nature - physical and emotional as well as cognitive and interactional. Moreover, it is produced in the larynx, which is placed directly between what we in our everyday lives refer to as “Head” and “Body”. What an interesting place to be and to put our attention to.
We are born with the instincts and reflexes to express ourselves vocally in a spontaneous and undisguised way - be it our momentary physical or emotional state, the desire to connect with others or to be in touch with ourselves. As we grow up, we learn to adapt our voice patterns to the likings of our environment. Are our sounds (and feelings) welcome? How much space are we allowed to take? Are we being truly heard? Early experiences shape our voice patterns –from our sound up to the structure of our muscles and tissue.
In this Roundtable we will explore our relationship with our voices today. We will visit the source of the sound within us, gently inviting it to express itself in the way it wants to do in that moment. Some questions we might explore together are:
- If we think of our voice as a carrier from the implicit to the explicit, what does it carry besides the content of the words?
- What is our relationship with our voice today, and what can it tell us about our relationship with ourself?
- How can we use our awareness of the act of speaking as a means to better connect with ourselves and others, including our Focusing partners?
Other questions may emerge from our mutual exploration during the Roundtable.
Who might be particularly interested in attending this Roundtable?
Anyone who senses that there are some treasures hidden in the relationship with their voice and anyone wo is curious to listen to and experiment with the realm of sounds and noises behind the words.
CONNECTION>CONVERSATION>COMMUNITY
Each Focusing Roundtable is designed to promote informal peer-to-peer conversation. Rather than acting as expert presenters, the Hosts will serve as conversation moderators to encourage sharing and exploration of the topics from the participants’ own perspectives. All participants’ sharings are welcome and valuable, no matter what level of experience or knowledge you have on the topic. To preserve the nature of informal conversation, the program will be offered live only and no recordings will be available. Registration is limited and on a first-come, first served basis. Participants are encouraged to create follow up opportunities for connection among themselves after the Roundtable.
The TIFI Membership Committee is pleased to offer this series of Focusing Roundtables designed especially for members of the Institute. If you are not a member, please join at http://www.focusing.org/membership, then return to this page to register. This program will afford members a valuable opportunity to engage in casual peer-to-peer conversation with other members who share Focusing-related interests.
About your hosts:
Martin Schäffner’s professional roots lie in musical theatre, where he played in the German productions of Hairspray, Avenue Q and Chicago amongst others. A strong passion for singing, as well as fears surrounding it, launched Martin on a search that led him from body-work to trauma therapy to finally to becoming a Focusing therapist. For him, the voice is a perfect symbol for the Focusing process itself – emerging from the implicit to the explicit. He currently works as a voice teacher and as Children’s Director at TINA – The Tina Turner Musical in Stuttgart, Germany and just finished an education at the Lichtenberg® Institute for Applied Voice Physiology.
Karin Mayer is a psychologist, a teacher of developmental psychology, and a practitioner of Cranio-Sacral-Balancing and the Feldenkrais Method in Vienna. When she attended theater classes at University, she became aware that her voice sometimes doesn`t carry what she expected it to. She also noticed that her voice is influenced and colored by inner processes which are not always conscious. Focusing is another step for her to combine body and mind and everything else that happens in ourselves.
Registration Information and Price
Registration Closes: Monday, May 3 at 9:00 am, or when the class is full, whichever is sooner.
Zoom: We use Zoom for all of our online offerings. Please attend by computer so that we can have your video presence as well as your audio. Calling in by phone is also possible but not preferred.
Price: The co-hosts are volunteering their time in order that this program may be brought to members of TIFI at no charge.
PLEASE NOTE: When you register, if your dues are current, your registration is confirmed. If your dues are not current or or if you are not yet a member, please go to the membership page to pay your dues or join and then return to this page to register. Membership page: http://focusing.org/membership. Because this is a members only program, your spot in the Roundtable is not held until your dues are paid. Thank you!