You Can't Pour from an Empty Cup
©2020 Linda Marchisio
Linda will be presenting her workshop You Can’t Pour from an Empty Cup:
Discover Movement for Self Care at Sharing the Fire 2020.
Register today at https://www.nestorytelling.org/conference-details/
- You can’t pour from an empty cup. A familiar adage. It reminds us to take care of ourselves. To refill, revive, relax. As storytellers, teachers, keynote speakers, and actors, you probably remember to take care of your voice or at least recognize you’ve gone too far when your throat hurts or your volume is strained. You might even practice vocal warmups before performances. Our voice is our avocation and our vocation.You can’t pour from an empty cup pertains to more than your voice. Your physical body needs care too. In fact your body directly affects your voice. I first learned about the voice body connection during an introduction to the Alexander Technique. F. M. Alexander was an actor who experienced laryngitis whenever he performed. Traditional medicine did not help him. Finally he discovered his own solution which is now known as the Alexander Technique. He concluded that body alignment (especially the head, neck and torso) were essential to the creation of voice. He changed the way he stood and moved and reduced vocal strain.
When you drive 3 hours to a job exiting the car stiffly, when you are filled with annoyance and tension from the airport rigamarole, when you are anxious about telling that brand new story, a massage would sure feel good but you are on stage in 30 minutes. What can you do? You can’t pour from a stressed, tense, empty cup. Gentle stretches, body alignment movement, and breathing exercises can release pre-performance tension and reduce travel stress and stiffness.
“Standing is harder than moving” asserts Moshe Feldenkrais, and so is sitting. Physical therapists will tell you how bad sitting is for your body so take a little stroll before a performance, even if it’s around the parking lot. Try a few gentle neck rolls. Roll your shoulders. Yawn with a big stretch letting your arms reach far out or over your head. Shift your hips from side to side. No, not twerking (LOL), but a gentle weight shift. Try a bit of laughter yoga with ha, ha, ho, ho and engage your diaphragm and wake up your breath.
Be mindful of your body. Nothing should hurt when you stretch and move. Be gentle. Feldenkrais developed a method of movement based on body awareness -- finding the most efficient way for your body to move, decreasing pain, increasing flexibility, and improving the all-over feel-good feeling. Your respiratory system is physically connected to your spine. As Feldenkrais says, “breathing reflects every emotional or physical effort and every disturbance.”
When I balance my body and align my posture, I breathe more freely. I feel stronger. I tell the stories from a strong base. I feel powerful and positive. You can’t pour from an empty cup, so fill up with some gentle movement warm-ups.
Barker, Elizabeth. "Physical (re)education: the Feldenkrais Method helps prevent aches and pains by changing the way you move." Natural Health, Feb. 2007, p. 98+. Gale In Context: Science, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A158091367/GPS?u=s1353&sid=GPS&xid=c9a03051. Accessed 20 Dec. 2019.
Fedlenkrais, Moshe. Awareness through Movement. Harper & Row Publishers, 1977. p. 37.
Sagolla, Lisa Jo. "Intelligent body: practicing the Feldenkrais method." Back Stage West, 14 June 2007, p. 16. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A166001222/GPS?u=s1353&sid=GPS&xid=eb649b9b. Accessed 20 Dec. 2019.
About Linda: Linda Marchisio is a storyteller and dance movement teacher. As a storyteller, she is an animated performer who frequently uses song, dance, and audience participation. She majored in Movement for her Master’s degree at Wesleyan University. She studied anatomy-kinesiology, Laban's Efforts, and creative dance. Her thesis was on Movement Assisted Storytelling to Motivate Reading. She taught creative movement for Eugene O'Neill Theatre’s school program and exercise/dance programs to adults at many locations. Linda is offering a hands-on workshop session at Sharing the Fire 2020 on Movement for Self Care. Librarylinda10@gmail.com
