Foreword by Lotte van Lith vIntroduction viiPart 1. Voice and… 111. Vulnerability 131.1. The Origin of Stage Fright 141.2. The Inner Critic 161.3. Your Vulnerability is Your Strength 172. Safety 192.1. The Polyvagal Theory 202.2. Four Means of Expression 292.3. How You Can Regulate Your Nervous System 323. Personal Growth 373.1. Struggling to Adapt to Society… Seeking Acceptance 383.2. Discovering My Voice... and Its Vulnerabilities 393.3. Reconnecting to Creativity…Letting Go of Everything Else 423.4. The Tumultuous Years After Seizing Agency 443.5. Reconnecting with Society—On My Own Terms 463.6. Dąbrowski and His Theory 473.7. Re-relating to Creativity and Voice 503.8. What TPD Has to Offer for the Time We Live in Now 524. Developmental Potential 554.1. Nature | The First Factor 574.2. Nurture | The Second Factor 624.3. The Third Factor 695. Overexcitabilities 735.1. What Is Overexcitability 735.2. Your Voice as Vulnerability and as Strength 765.3. Taking a Closer Look at the Sensitive Nervous System 876. Transformative Inner Forces 916.1. Unilevel vs. Multilevel Dynamisms 926.2. The Unilevel and Multilevel Development of Marvin Gaye 997. Emotions 1097.1. Our Evolving Understanding of Emotion 1107.2. Emotions as the Source for Values 120Part 2. Work with Your Voice on a Deeper Level 1238. Breathe 1258.1. How Voice and Breath Are Connected 1258.2. The Right Way to Breathe 1298.3. Other Benefits of Healthy Breathing 1339. Feel into The Body 1399.1. Confidence is a Physical Experience 1399.2. The Basics of Body Awareness 1419.3. Building Confidence 14710. Make Sense of Your Emotions 15110.1. Read Your Body’s Cues 15210.2. Become Introspective About What You Feel 15410.3. Accept What You Feel 15510.4. Don’t React, Regulate 15610.5. Identify Your Unmet Needs and Values 15911. Step Back from Your Thoughts 16511.1. Don’t Think While You Speak 16511.2. What Are Thoughts? 16711.3. Three Senses of Self 17411.4. Show Your Enthusiasm and Engagement to The World 17611.5. Values as a Gateway to Feelings 17812. Become Self-aware—Then Transcend the Self 18312.1. How Developing Awareness Helps the Voice 18312.2. Contemplation 19312.3. From Contemplation to Moral Development 198Appendix – Two Extra Exercises 2031. Take the Musician’s Approach 2032. A Contemplation Exercise in Interconnectedness 205Acknowledgements 209Notes 211Index 215Do you experience your voice as a blockage? Does your voice change according to the situation you’re in? This book provides an answer to why your voice doesn’t always seem to be in your control.Voice mentors the self-examination of our voice and the related emotional processes. Once you get to know yourself, become increasingly self-aware and acknowledge your vulnerabilities as well as your talents, your voice and your message will become more powerful. As a result, you will build self-confidence, express yourself better and be heard.Do you experience your voice as a limitation or a blockage? Do you feel that you are not always being heard? Does your voice change according to the situation you’re in? This book provides an answer to why your voice doesn’t always seem to be in your control.Voice coach Laura Stavinoha struggled with stage fright from the age of fourteen. In this superb book she shares with you the knowledge she gained in the field of vocal development. She explains her own experiences and those of her clients within two theoretical frameworks: the polyvagal theory and the theory of positive disintegration. The exercises she offers are practical, down to earth, and will contribute to your personal development. Laura has found her voice, and offers you a guide to do the same.“When all eyes were on me, tension went to my throat and my voice started trembling. I wanted to speak with confidence and have a more powerful voice in presentations, during meetings and in groups when telling a story. Laura has helped me to understand what holds me back, how my voice works and how I can reconnect with it.”-Kim (one of Laura’s students)Voice mentors the self-examination of our voice and the related emotional processes. Once you get to know yourself, become increasingly self-aware and acknowledge your vulnerabilities as well as your talents, your voice and your message will become more powerful. As a result, you will build self-confidence, express yourself better and be heard.Do you experience your voice as a limitation or a blockage? Do you feel that you are not always being heard? Does your voice change according to the situation you’re in? This book provides an answer to why your voice doesn’t always seem to be in your control.