Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture

‘Yoga for Singers’ Workshops Explore Mind-Body-Spirit Connection

Wednesday, January 2, 2019, By Rob Enslin
Share
College of Visual and Performing Arts
head shot

Laura Enslin

Singers interested in using mind-body awareness to improve their vocal technique and overall performance are encouraged to register for a series of public workshops presented by CNY Singing Garden, a Syracuse-based private voice studio.

Soprano Laura Enslin and tenor Daniel Fields ’17, professional singers and certified yogis affiliated with Syracuse University (SU), will co-lead a trio of Sunday afternoon workshops called Yoga for Singers. The series runs Jan. 6, Jan. 13 and Feb. 3 from 3-5 p.m. at DeWitt Community Church (3600 Erie Blvd.).

Yoga for Singers is open to all singers (preferably ages 14 and up), regardless of musical or yogic experience. Admission is $50 for one workshop, $85 for two workshops and $110 for all three. College students are eligible for a 10 percent discount, but must present a student identification card upon arrival.

Space is limited, and registration is required. To register or get more information, visit singinggarden.org/yogaforsingers, or call Enslin at 315.436.2970.

head shot

Daniel Fields

“This is an opportunity to see how the science of yoga can be incorporated into a vocalist’s daily practice,” says Enslin, CNY Singing Garden’s founder who also teaches voice and yoga at SU. “The science is used to balance prana, which refers to the life force given to us at birth—our first breath. Yogic practice builds good breath management, while reducing stress and performance anxiety.”

Fields agrees, saying increased focus also promotes expressive and authentic singing. “These time-honored techniques help you tap into your higher potential, whether you sing onstage, in church or in the shower,” he adds.

Yoga for Singers is the brainchild of Fields, who earned a bachelor’s degree in voice performance from the Rose, Jules R. and Stanford S. Setnor School of Music in SU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA), and Enslin, who teaches voice in VPA.

The duo takes a trifecta approach to their work, combining the mental, physical and spiritual aspects of singing.

The first workshop, “Free the Body: Authentic Movement for Singers,” is Jan. 6 in DCC’s Miller Commons. The program uses expressive ritual movement and dance to help integrate one’s mind, body and spirit. Special emphasis is on the vocal technique of intoning and on a unique physical and spiritual practice called JourneyDance.

Fields, a certified JourneyDance facilitator, says no dance experience is required. “It’s not about learning steps; it’s about rediscovering your natural intuitive movement,” he explains.  “JourneyDance invokes a physical and emotional transformation.”

The next workshop, “Free the Mind: Mindfulness and Energy Awareness for Singers,” is Jan. 13 in the DCC parlor. The session explores how mindfulness techniques, including meditation, pranayama (ancient breathing exercises and techniques) and energy work, can unlock one’s vocal potential.

“Sound is a form of energy associated with the vibrations of matter,” says Enslin, who has taught musical theater and jazz and commercial music at SU for more than 12 years. “If parts of your body are blocked, the vibrations cannot freely flow. This workshop shows you how to clear such tension, while keeping your instrument in tip-top shape.”

The final session, “Free the Spirit: Yoga for Singers,” is Feb. 3, also in the DCC parlor. Singers will acquire a basic, daily yoga routine that increases vocal strength, flexibility and stamina and reduces jaw, tongue and neck tension. Each participant should wear loose, comfortable clothing, and bring a yoga mat.

“We’ll explore a variety of basic asanas [poses] and pranayama that can be incorporated into your daily vocal warm-ups,” says Fields, a rising star on the regional concert circuit who regularly performs with the Society for New Music.

Like Fields, Enslin is a critically acclaimed soloist, recitalist and teacher. She previously taught voice in Rochester, New York, at Nazareth College and the Eastman School of Music, earning a master’s degree from the latter.

Enslin recently founded CNY Singing Garden to offer private lessons, workshops and small-group classes to singers of all ages and backgrounds.

“Singing is not an elitist endeavor, but, rather, is one’s birthright,” she says. “Each person’s voice is as unique as a fingerprint, and deserves to unfold, blossom and share its beauty with others. Through mind-body awareness, we singers can heal ourselves and ultimately the world around us.”

 

  • Author

Rob Enslin

  • Recent
  • Empowering Learners With Personalized Microcredentials, Stackable Badges
    Thursday, July 3, 2025, By Hope Alvarez
  • WISE Women’s Business Center Awarded Grant From Empire State Development, Celebrates Entrepreneur of the Year Award
    Thursday, July 3, 2025, By Dawn McWilliams
  • Rose Tardiff ’15: Sparking Innovation With Data, Mapping and More
    Thursday, July 3, 2025, By News Staff
  • Paulo De Miranda G’00 Received ‘Much More Than a Formal Education’ From Maxwell
    Thursday, July 3, 2025, By Jessica Youngman
  • Law Professor Receives 2025 Onondaga County NAACP Freedom Fund Award
    Thursday, July 3, 2025, By Robert Conrad

More In Arts & Culture

VPA Announces New Drama Department Chair

The College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) has appointed Eleanor Holdridge as the new chair of the Department of Drama effective July 1. Holdridge comes to Syracuse University from the Catholic University of America, where she served as professor…

Swinging Into Summer: Syracuse International Jazz Fest Returns With Star Power, Student Talent and a Soulful Campus Finale

Get ready for the sweet summer sounds of jazz in the city and on campus. The University is again a sponsor of the Syracuse International Jazz Fest, a five-day celebration of world-class jazz music and community spirit, taking place June…

Tiffany Xu Named Harry der Boghosian Fellow for 2025-26

The School of Architecture has announced that architect Tiffany Xu is the Harry der Boghosian Fellow for 2025–26. Xu will succeed current fellow, Erin Cuevas, and become the tenth fellow at the school. The Boghosian Fellowship at the School of…

Syracuse Stage Concludes 2024-25 Season With ‘The National Pastime’

Syracuse Stage concludes its 2024-25 season with the world premiere production of “The National Pastime,” a provocative psychological thriller about state secrets, sonic weaponry, stolen baseball signs and the father and son relationship in the middle of it all. Written…

Syracuse Stage Hosts Inaugural Julie Lutz New Play Festival

Syracuse Stage is pleased to announce that the inaugural Julie Lutz New Play Festival will be held at the theatre this June. Formerly known as the Cold Read Festival of New Plays, the festival will feature a work-in-progress reading and…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.