Sutherland voice coach wins bursary to set up Singing for Lung Health Group
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A SUTHERLAND-based voice coach has been awarded a bursary to set up a Singing for Lung Health Group (SFLH) in Bonar Bridge.
Simone Laraway has won one of only 12 bursaries on offer by charity Asthma + Lung UK, which works to promote good lung health.
Simone said she had been “very fortunate” to receive the funding, and the new group’s first meeting will be held on October 23.
A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, London, she has been a singing teacher, choir leader and voice coach for more than 20 years. She is also a VoiceGym practitioner – Voicegym is a exercise programme for adults and children to develop and maintain the voice.
Simone last year took Phoene Cave’s Singing for Lung Health course to become a qualified lung health singing practitioner. She is also currently training at the Naturopathic College of Medicine towards a health coach qualification.
A growing body of research suggests that group singing is especially good for people living with long-term lung conditions.
Singing teaches people to breathe more slowly and deeply. It improves the sense of control over their breathing, reducing anxiety and panic; and it also improves posture which helps with breathing. In addition singing is a fun group activity which reduces social isolation and loneliness.
People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), who join singing groups, say singing regularly reduces their feelings of being short of breath, and helps to manage their symptoms better.
Simone said: “I believe that singing is important for overall mood and wellness. I am passionate about how voice can not only be used as a diagnostic tool to uncover underlying issues but also as a method of healing.
“I am running this SFLH group because I believe that singing is an easily accessible form of respiratory exercise for people with an impaired or compromised breathing system.”
The new group starts on October 23 at 10am at the Kyle of Sutherland Hub, Bonar Bridge. For more details contact breathe@singing4health.org or phone: 07765 916 534.
For more information on workshops held by Simone, visit: www.simonelaraway.com and www.thevocalbureau.com
