Awaken Your Voice: Day Retreat

As spring begins and new life unfurls, we invite you to discover how your own energy and creativity can also re-emerge – through the channel of your voice.

Whether or not you think of yourself as ‘a singer’, your voice is a potent tool for self-expression and healing. By receiving sound as nourishment and exploring vocal play, you can start to re-awaken the more vibrant, expressive ways of being that are part of your true nature.

Join us for this mini-retreat, on the day of the Imbolc full moon, where we’ll journey together deep into sound bathing, vocal meditation, improvisation, and harmony singing.

All singing abilities and levels of experience are welcome.

Enjoy an Early Bird discount when you book by Sunday 11th January. Concessions available on request – please email [email protected]

Note that sound baths are not suitable for everyone – please check the ‘Contraindications for sound bath’ at the bottom of this page, as well as your responsibilities as an attendee, before you book.

Gently unlock your creative self-expression

It’s a myth that vocal play and improvisation are just for musicians and songwriters. In fact, everyone with a singing voice can experience the joy of these in accessible ways. You don’t need to have studied music, or have any knowledge of music theory.

On this day retreat, you will:

•⁠ ⁠Receive a deeply nourishing sound bath to relax your body and mind, and open your heart.

•⁠ ⁠⁠Learn the ancient practice of using your voice as a meditative tool for grounding and clarity.

•⁠ ⁠⁠Join a safe, welcoming circle of vocal improvisation. Here you’ll have the option to use your voice creatively, with simple improvisation techniques that will allow you to collaborate to create music in the moment. Or you can choose to sing in a way that blends in, or simply listen.

•⁠ Gather around the piano to sing harmonies, create melodies, and even craft your own simple lyrics. If you’ve ever marvelled at how people bring songs into existence, this is the section of the workshop where you might discover that you too, hold that power!

Our aim is to create a space where you feel safe, and free to participate in the day’s activities to the level at which you feel comfortable. (You always have the choice to sit out and listen.) Whether you’re a nervous and shy singer, or you’re an experienced vocalist looking to find new levels of expressive freedom, this retreat is designed for you!

Our day together will be all about exploring our voices, expressing ourselves, and connecting with others in a supportive space – rather than aiming for musical perfection.

What to bring

• Your beautiful self, just as you are
• Comfy clothes that allow freedom of movement
• A journal and a pen
• A cushion or two to sit on
• A small object such as a feather, crystal or a speical item representing a quality you’d like to awaken in your voice
• A bottle of water
• A packed lunch

NB herbal teas and a chocolate treat will be provided.

Meet your facilitators

We are Belle, Danielle, and Claire – three singers, musicians, and songwriters with a shared passion for helping others experience the creative and healing potential of their voice.

Belle Humble

Belle Humble is a multi-platinum songwriter, recording artist, and therapeutic sound practitioner dedicated to the healing power of music.

After decades of success in the commercial music industry, Belle took a transformative hiatus to explore sound as a tool for wellbeing and inner harmony. She trained with leading pioneers in the field, including Jonathan Goldman and Eileen McKusick , and became a certified Yoga of Sound (Nada Yoga) teacher at the Nada Yoga School in India. She also completed professional certification with the Sound Healing Academy in the UK.

Today, Belle continues to create music while offering holistic sound experiences that bridge her artistic and spiritual paths – guiding others to reconnect with their voice, restore balance, and awaken through sound.

“Belle is a talented musician and sound therapist. She has the ability to convey, through her music, a profound quality of peace, depth and emotion. I love her sound baths because she takes you to a depth, while holding a safe container that allows you to relax into that depth and experience what it has to offer. As well as the instruments she plays, Belle uses her beautiful singing voice to enhance and empower this process. I highly recommend Belle as a guide in the realms of sound healing and sonic exploration.” - Rosa Guilfoyle, Musician and Homeopath

Danielle Styles

Danielle is a creative vocalist, and vocal improvisation and songwriting coach. Working under the name Bird Flies Free, she has specialised in helping nervous and inhibited singers to unlock their artist within and sing with true freedom and confidence in front of others.

When Danielle first started studying and practising Collaborative Vocal Improvisation eight years ago, she was challenged by intense performance nerves. This challenge became a ‘call to adventure’ that opened up a deep exploration of her voice, her nervous system and her past. After seeking help from numerous coaches, courses and books, Danielle found ways to overcome her nerves. She now shares this wisdom with her students to help them achieve vocal confidence and expressive freedom.

Danielle’s vocal improvisation teachers have been Briony Greenhill, Emma Coleman, and Guillermo Rozenthuler. Danielle is a piano-based songwriter who is currently writing songs for her debut album.

“I felt entirely safe and held in Danielle’s workshop and I didn’t ever feel exposed or on the spot. Danielle is a wonderful facilitator who created a space that was fun and playful but also tender and open.” - Amy Lawrence

Claire Housego

Claire is a singer, songwriter, and piano player. She specialises in teaching singers and singer-songwriters to accompany themselves at the piano. Having received classical piano lessons for many years – which left her completely unable to express herself freely – she has since been on a long journey to find self-expression through her voice and the piano.

In 2022, Claire attended one of Danielle’s Vocal Improvisation 6-week courses, and was amazed to find that it unlocked a whole new level of songwriting inspiration. She has since remained a dedicated follower of Danielle’s teaching, and is now delighted to weave the magic of the piano into this experience.

She brings a passion for helping singers use chords as a springboard for creativity, play, and self-expression – and a belief that every one of us has melodies inside waiting to emerge.

Claire's genuine enthusiasm for helping me find my creative voice was really inspiring – her belief in me really boosted my confidence. She taught me to trust my own instincts in what sounded good to me – and that was invaluable. - Aisha Ali

Contraindications for sound bath

• Pregnancy – Please do not attend in the first trimester
• Epilepsy or seizures – The changing vibrations of a sound bath could trigger a seizure, but you will know best how sounds affect you
• Metal implants – If you have any metal devices in the body, such as a pacemaker, coronary shunt, artificial heart valves, or metal pins or staples, it is advised to avoid sound baths
• Sensory sensitivity – Some people may be sensitive to certain frequencies or volumes of sound, which can cause discomfort or distress
• Severe mental health conditions – If you experience severe or clinical mental health conditions please check with your doctor or mental health professional before participating in a sound bath
• Recent surgery or medical procedure – If you have recently had surgery or any other medical procedure please check with your doctor before attending a sound bath

Your Responsibilities – Awaken Your Voice

Self-care

Awaken Your Voice does not include counselling, therapy, treatment for medical disorders or any kind of medical treatment.

Belle, Danielle, and Claire will make every effort to create a safe, supportive space for everyone; however, it's exclusively your responsibility to decide which exercises you wish to participate in, and to what extent you participate. You will always have the option to sit out of any exercise that doesn't feel right for you.

Confidentiality of group members

You’re free to talk outside the group about your own experiences of Awaken Your Voice, but if you communicate what another Awaken Your Voice participant has said, done or shared during the day retreat, you agree to respect their confidentiality by anonymising the information you share about them.

Retreat outcomes

Although we expect Awaken Your Voice participants to have valuable experiences on the day retreat, we cannot guarantee any specific outcomes.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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