Activating the Voice Course: A Vocal Transformation & Creative Journey

"You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories." - Anne Lamott

On November 3rd, take the first step on a transformative 7-week journey to discover, nurture, and express the parts of your voice longing to be heard.

The voice contains the map of our soul: the places we have been in this life , the ideas we have absorbed from culture and from our lived experience, and the voices we have inherited from our ancestors.

Activating the Voice is a deeply personal odyssey that invites empowering singing and working through fear around self-expression by tapping into the joy of music, writing, chanting, and learning new techniques for brave communication.

When you sign up for Activating the Voice, you are signing up for support in being accountable to your creative potential, you're initiating a healing process, and you are committing to moving towards expression and embodiment of greater authenticity.

This is the 15th time this course is being offered and past courses have supported participants in their personal expansion. We have seen folks who came into this course creatively stagnant go on to actualize their art and offerings. We have seen friendships and communities form around this work and continue to grow after the course ends. We have witnessed people change relational dynamics where they were not sharing their voice in its full power. We have even witnessed individuals experience healing on throat-centered and thyroid related health issues.

Activating the Voice is designed for singers, people who have no interest in singing, anyone who doesn't sing but would like to find a safe space to try! anyone who has been told they have a "bad voice" and is scared of singing, and those who would like to be able to say "no" more confidently.

This is also a course for anyone who has trauma related to expressing their truth or anyone who has experienced physical trauma in their throat area, anyone who feels unheard or has difficulty speaking up, anyone interested in learning about the chakras, and anyone who is seeking structure and connection with a supportive community.

If you find yourself nodding along with any of the following questions, this course has something to offer you:

• Do you sometimes limit your speech for fear of "saying the wrong thing?"
• Are you wanting to create a healthier relationship with your art and creative process?
• Do you feel cultural conditioning has kept you from taking up space?
• Do you have difficulty advocating for yourself?
• Are you looking to get more in touch with your singing voice (and have fun while doing so)?
• Do you have difficulty sharing your creative work or speaking in public (performance anxiety)?
• Have you ever felt alienated, judged, or punished for sharing your truth?
• D o you desire to experience more range and tonality in your voice?
• Are you looking to strengthen your ability to hear and honor your intuition?
• Do you find it challenging to identify and/or ask for your needs to be met?
• Do you often lose your voice, suffer from thyroid issues, have chronic sore throats, grind your teeth or suffer from sinus infections?
• Is your identity and self-worth overly dependent on your voice? (This question is especially for those who work in music, entertainment or public-facing jobs)
• D o you often feel unheard or invisible in group dynamics?

The voice is a source of both personal power and creativity. Throughout history, we have seen how the voice is used to inspire and mobilize revolutionary movements. We manifest our ideas through speaking them into reality.

The voice is a pathway to instantly accessing the truth of our hearts and a connection to spirit -- consider the experience of having a song move you to tears unexpectedly. There is something mystical about the voice: It is felt and heard but not seen. In our visual culture, by nature of this very fact, the voice is radical, speaking to something deeper within us and potentially bringing us into a non-distracted, inner presence.

Privately, the voice is a precious gift we all have for self-soothing. Many tears have been calmed through the lullaby of singing or the experience of writing a song or just listening to music that made you feel understood and less alone in the world. Whatever your inspiration is for getting to know your voice more intimately, it is a worthwhile and soul-fulfilling journey.

This course integrates a variety of different healing modalities: vocal exercises and technique, dream interpretation, non-violent communication, ancestral work, creative writing, breathwork, yoga, chanting, singing, medicine songs, and affirmations. One of the joys of this experience is connecting to and being supported by an accepting and safe community that is doing this work alongside you.

Each week corresponds to a specific chakra, starting with the root chakra and moving up to the crown. The chakra system is used as a bodily and transpersonal map to discover where in your personal or cultural history the voice began to feel unsafe in its expression. In identifying these key moments, we are able to reframe the narrative of the voice beyond limiting beliefs, and you will begin to discover your voice and its wild power on new terms.

Facilitated By:

Sonia K/ Doe Paoro

Vocalist | Songwriter | Soundhealer | Creator of Activating the Voice

Sonia K is a singer, songwriter and sound healer and has released four full-length records under her project, "Doe Paoro." Her music has been featured in film, television and radio internationally. She is certified as a yoga teacher, and designed this course based on her experience working with the voice, music, and community as a form of healing. She believes much of our collective and individual healing work begins with feeling empowered in our voices.

What you will receive:

• Opening Ceremony
• 7 weekly live and interactive sessions with recordings
• Access to Membership on Peerboard Platform, along with Supplemental Materials
• Opportunities to Share your Creative Work
• Accountability to Speaking Your Truth in your Relationships
• Optional Daily Morning Creative Writing Community Space for 7 weeks on Zoom
• An accepting environment and the support and flexibility of community to have the experience be whatever you wish it to be

Investment: $300 (total - this covers all 7 sessions)

Course Schedule:

• Start Date: Sunday, November 3rd, 2024, at 9 am PST / Noon EST (First session: 1 hour and 40 minutes)
• Remaining 6 Sessions: Sundays at the same time and link, lasting for 1 hour and 20 minutes each

Mark Your Calendar for Course Dates:

• Nov 3, 10, 17, 24 / December 1, 8, 15

In the event that you're unable to attend a session, everything is recorded and you will have access to the recordings within 24 hours. *If you are not comfortable being recorded, please consider if this is the right course for you as we do need to record these sessions for those taking the course remotely.

****If you feel called to attend but are limited by finances, please email [email protected] to discuss sliding scale or payment plans. Payment via Venmo is also possible to avoid Eventbrite fees. If you feel called to join, we want you to be there and we will find a way!

Please reach out with any questions. We look forward to this experience with you.

LEGAL DISCLAIMER from the facilitator:

I share this work because I truly believe that empowering the voice is a way that we begin a deep generational healing process around what has been silenced, suppressed, and dis-embodied both individually and collectively. I have seen this work change lives through supporting meaningful personal transformation and am encouraged and inspired to continue sharing it based on these past experiences.

Everything I offer here is based on my personal and life experience exploring the voice as a singer and sound healer. By participating in this course, you acknowledge that I am not a licensed psychologist, medical doctor, or health care professional and my services do not replace the care of psychologists, doctors or other healthcare professionals. Please do not misconstrue this course as a substitute for psychological counseling or psychotherapy.

Working with the voice and chakras has the potential to stir up a variety of different emotional responses because you are embarking on a process of giving expression to that which has been unexpressed or even repressed. If you have been treated for, or believe you may have suffered from a psychological and/or traumatic injury, please consider if you are in a position to safely engage with the course at this time, and/or consider enlisting the support of a professional who can be a resource to you both during and after the course.

L astly, we do not offer refunds once this course has begun. If you register for the course and did not participate as fully as you had intended, please reach out to discuss a discount to sign up for the next one.

Voluntary Participation

By choosing to sign up for this course, you understand and agree that you are voluntarily choosing to participate and are solely responsible for any outcomes or results (positive or negative.) I cannot be responsible for any action you may choose to take regarding the information provided, and you acknowledge and agree that I am not responsible nor liable to you should you sustain any negative ramifications. You agree that you are fully responsible for your health and well-being, and any decisions you make to implement or follow anything offered in this course.

Community Agreements

Please review our Community Agreements for this course .

Host or Publisher Doe Paoro/Sonia K