Mindfulness for People with Voice Disorders

Mindfulness for People with Voice Disorders

I teach mindfulness meditation to people with voice disorders. As a trained mindfulness teacher and an experienced singer and voice instructor with my own voice disorders, I am deeply passionate about this work.

My online group classes are based on the successful Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction model established by Jon Kabat-Zinn. The classes are adapted specifically for the needs of people with voice disorders, including meditations focused on the throat and yoga sequences designed to target areas of tension for people with voice problems. My curriculum has been tested in a research study of mindfulness in people with voice disorders. I presented the results of the first phase of the study as a poster at the Voice Foundation’s Annual Symposium in June 2023. (I co-presented a poster on mindfulness in voice therapy with Julia Gerhard, DMA, CCC-SLP.) My article about the research has been published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Voice.

I have been diagnosed with three voice disorders: vocal fold paresis and sulcus, which are both permanent, and muscle tension dysphonia (MTD), from which I have recovered. I have had vocal fold paresis twice, 20 years apart, each time after a bout of flu. The first paresis led to a secondary diagnosis of MTD, and I believe mindfulness was an essential part of my recovery from MTD.

I hold a Graduate Certificate in Applied Mindfulness from West Chester University.

This 8-week mindfulness course is specifically designed for people with voice disorders. It is modeled after the evidence-based Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) curriculum and will be delivered online over Zoom.

Mindfulness can help people with voice disorders reduce and manage stress, physical tension and pain or discomfort, social and emotional isolation, and feelings of loss. Practicing mindfulness in a group with a trained instructor has been shown to produce better outcomes than practicing alone. Learn more here.

Drop-in mindfulness sessions for people with voice disorders are ideal for those who:

  • are unsure about or new to mindfulness

  • can't commit to my 8-week course

  • completed the 8-week course and want to keep up their practice

As always, the ability to speak clearly, loudly, or consistently is not required.

Learn more here

These meditation recordings are adapted specifically for the needs of people with voice disorders, including a body scan with special focus on the throat and a lovingkindness sequence that invites participants to practice accepting their voice as it is. The exercises are used in my live online course Mindfulness for People with Voice Disorders and have been tested in a research study and published in Journal of Voice. The following meditation practices can be purchased as MP3 recordings or PDF scripts:

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This webinar includes a summary of my research into mindfulness for people with voice disorders and a mindfulness practice (The Body Scan). It’s an excellent overview of what my mindfulness classes involve, who they can help, and how.

A Collection of My Writings on Mindfulness and the Voice

  • Article: How Mindfulness Can Help Us Process Vocal Setbacks and Regain Agency in the Face of Change (published in NATS Inter Nos, Spring 2024)

    Singers and singing teachers face many challenges that lie beyond our control. Our voices are susceptible to illness, injury, and aging. Environmental factors may take a toll, and economic and technological changes affect our work in countless ways. Mindfulness can give us tools to respond to difficult changes. It may be able to improve our singing (by increasing somatic awareness and reducing unnecessary tension) while also addressing the stressors of life as performers and pedagogues (loss, rejection, aging, isolation, anxiety). Read more

  • Article: How Mindfulness May Help People with Voice Disorders (published in Dysphonia International’s newsletter, “Our Voice,” p. 22, 2024)
    For people with voice disorders, stress can be a causative or an exacerbating factor, potentially worsening the disorder itself and impeding treatment. People with voice disorders often experience high stress levels; social and emotional isolation; and loss, including the loss of work opportunities, sense of self, and the ability to communicate. Mindfulness meditation may help. Read more

  • Blog Post: Singing and Mindfulness Meditation: Complementary Practices

    If you’re a singer who is new to meditation, figuring out where to start can be overwhelming. As a voice teacher and trained mindfulness instructor, I’d like to offer some insight. Let’s start by looking at four ways that singing and mindfulness can complement each other. Then I’ll share some valuable resources that can help you start your own meditation practice. Read more

  • Blog post: How Mindfulness May Help People with Voice Disorders

    For people with voice disorders, stress can be a causative or an exacerbating factor, potentially worsening the disorder itself and impeding treatment. People with voice disorders often experience high stress levels; social and emotional isolation; and loss, including the loss of work opportunities, sense of self, and the ability to communicate. Mindfulness meditation may help. Read more

  • Article: Benefits of Group Mindfulness for People with Voice Disorders

    Did you know that practicing mindfulness in a group has been shown to produce better outcomes than practicing alone? The popular press frequently touts the health benefits of mindfulness, but rarely states that those benefits are almost always gained in group settings. If you've been practicing mindfulness on your own using recordings or an app, consider joining a class instead. Read more