After 20 years touring the world as a professional vocalist, experienced live performer Emily Gervers made a decision that would change her life. Here, she explains in her own words how yoga rekindled the magical feelings of simplicity, joy and ease:
“I took a breath, and I started to sing. The lights on me were so bright, and the audience eagerly took in each note, the music of their heroes swirling around them. I could hear my own voice in my head, rising and soaring, controlled and passionate, gentle but strong, and I could feel my ribcage moving as I breathed, as my fingers ran across the piano keys as if on automatic pilot. My heart was beating loudly in my chest, my palms were sweating, my legs were trembling, but in that moment, nothing else mattered except the song, and my voice saved me. Every time.
Since I was a little girl, my voice has been my safe place, my freedom, my way of expressing myself to the world and as a selfconscious and shy child with physical imbalances and anxiety, it allowed me to feel grounded and reassured. I often struggled to be still, and even on stage throughout my career I would constantly move to the music, shifting my weight from foot to foot, unsure what to do with my limbs; but when I was singing, I had a purpose, and I wished for everyone listening to feel something. If people cried, all the better.