Out of the Woods (Dance Class #4, Healthy Meal #14)

UPDATE: My voice is back! It's really incredible how much of a mental impact comes with losing your voice. And yes. Of course it always crosses my mind, the "I'm a singer and what is my purpose in life if I can't sing?" type of deal.... But it's also a matter of the fact that I'm a human who can't communicate with other humans right now. I'm sad to say I finally gave up on vocal rest during last night's rehearsal because I was so frustrated with not feeling heard, having my questions answered, feeling like I wasn't doing my part in the process. And it didn't do much good even then, I could only rasp at people and hope they could tell what consonants I was trying to spit out!

When you don't have your voice, your right to put your ideas out there into the world, you start to realize how important your words are on a daily basis. I mean, hell, I couldn't even call across the living room to my roommate. It was frustrating, and I'm glad I can make sound today! Though... Maybe I should stop talking now so it stays with me!

Today I had another lovely dance class with Cherie! We had a small class due to a lot of absences today, so she decided to lead a stretching, mindful class. I love the sensation when your mind becomes more in tune with the inner workings of your muscles. You start to release into places you thought would forever be rock solid and obtain stretch you can barely get to on a normal day. And the mental effects are equally as incredible! I left the class feeling as though I had gotten three extra hours of sleep. So thank you Cherie! Now I feel stretched and mentally prepared for the last of Chicago tech tonight! Oh, and I learned some really cool new stretches I need to implement into my routine.

I had to pack a super quick dinner for tonight between classes and rehearsal. To make it easy and most importantly FILLING, I did some plain Greek yogurt full of protein, walnuts for a dose of healthy fats, and some blueberries for antioxidants and... Sweetness! :) I added raw chia seeds to the top so that they will expand I my stomach and make me feel more full. I always get the need to snack during long rehearsals, so I'm hoping this will curb that craving! 

And look at my adorable little princess cups for the toppings! They make me smile. 

This ended up being the perfect meal, 

cool and soothing on my sore throat! 

For my daily practice, I had to take another day off. The doctor told me to baby this Laryngitis and stay quiet, so I am going to obey!

Minutes: 30

Repertoire: Black Velvet

Technical Work: I spent a lot of time, once again, studying the notes and words of this song to get it memorized. You'd be surprised how confusing the verse of the song can be, due to the fact that it's got a blues verse which is based in scatting. Really any of the notes within the chord would work at any given time! 

Musicality Work: I've always loved how gritty and mournful this song sounds and I just now found out that it's practically a eulogy to Elvis and a tribute to his fans. The songwriter was on the bus to Memphis with a bunch of people traveling down to hold a vigil for the 10th anniversary of his death and it inspired this song! I love researching songs and the personal stories behind them. This makes me love this song all the more. Plus Alannah Myles is a total badass in the music video and I definitely wish I could be her.

That's all for tonight, folks!

All my love,

Jadi Rae