Recently, I chanced upon a singing instructor who taught me how to use my Hara sub-chakra to improve my singing.

The sub-chakra, which is call DianTien in the Chinese acupunture system, is located about two fingers below our navel.

A good singer will sing from the Dian Tien, each sound he produces come from this region. He literally vibrates his Dan Tien when he sings, so much so the melodious sound comes from this area instead of from the vocal chord. Not only the singer has good vocal quality but also he has depth and strength in his voice.

As novice, we certainly do not know how to "vibrate" the Hara sub-chakra or Dan Tien naturally as we produce the sound. To help us develop this skill, we first place one hand below our navel, covering the Dan Tien or Hara sub-chakra. Let us try and sing "Do Re Mi Fa So La Si Do" When we sing Do, we use the palm to push our naval upwards as if the motion causes air to rush up to our throat and sychronise with the pronunciation of "Do" through our vocal chord. Try it successively with the rest of the musical notes until you become very comfortable doing it. Practice regularly this method until at a point you could contract your Hara sub-chakra or Dan Tien naturally without the need to use your palm to push it up. If we do not wish to use the musical notes, we could substitute them with the simple mantra: "Om Ah Hum".

As a side benefit, the regular stimulation of the Dan Tien will bring about untold health benefits. Your breathing will certainly improve, as you have learned to breathe from below your diaphragm. Improvement in singing aside, this method also helps enhance our quality in our speech, giving us a richer, stronger and more confident voice in our conversations with others.


Lights And Blessings


Diamond

Now, to illustrate on the technique of singing from the Dan Tian, or Hara minor chakra, its like as if you are pressing the horn to produce the sound. First you use your palm to press upon the region below your naval button, and with each upward pressure you sychronise with it to produce a sound from your vocal chord. After some practice, you can do the connection between your Dan Tian and throat to throw out your voice without the need for manually using your hand to press against the region. When you are fully familiar with the method, it is as if you are an electronic keyboard that produces the horning sound without mechanically pressing the horn.

Another method I often used during singing is to lift my chin upward to produce the tenor range. Putting emphasis on the nasal while connecting it to the Dan Tian also helps in the higher notes. For prolonged projection of my voice, or to drag a sound longer, I often lift my shoulders upward while still sychronising with the vibration of the Dan Tian.

A good way to practice this is to shout "Yam Seng" .... "Yam................Seng" at toasts at Chinese wedding dinners. Surprised the other dinner guests on how long you can hold on to the "Yam" while others have used up their breathe.


Diamond

The same singing technique can be applied to mantra chantra. Taking the simple 3-Syllabus Mantra - Om Ah Hum, with your vocal chord you manage to sychronise with your Hara sub or minor chakra (it is close to the Sacral Chakra), you could chant the mantra with more a powerful resonance. The improved strength and depth in vocalising your mantra would help you form a protection shield around you and keep at bay negative entities in the surrounding. In fact, one way of chanting is to let the seed sound, "Om" to reverberate in your head - positively affecting not only the two major chakras - Crown and Third Eye, but also nourishing and cleansing the important organs - brain, eyes, ears and nose and throat.

Blessings

Diamond