As I share through this series on meditation, specifically on the subject of meditation for voiceover artists, it is important I share my own experiences both personally and professionally. As a consumer, I learned that Headspace offers various 30-day courses focused on different aspects of well-being. Each course is designed to address specific areas like sleep or self-esteem and it aims to create long-term, sustainable change in participants’ mindsets and habits. For me, it was all about letting go of stress and anxiety. I truly needed to ground myself and be able to disconnect. As a voice actor, I was really struggling to balance work and personal life and meditation was key in helping me through it.
Meditation – Breaking Habits
One of my biggest challenges was my sleeping habits. I just could not fall asleep! The thoughts would circle around and around in my head and eventually, they would trigger anxiety and panic. Fortunately, I found a course that was able to help with this. For instance, the 30-day Sleep course is not intended to induce sleep immediately but rather to change the relationship we have with sleep. It involves a gradual training of the mind over a month, creating an environment conducive to a good night’s rest. It’s recommended to use this course during the day, in conjunction with a single sleep meditation at bedtime for immediate sleep assistance. As a voice actor, I could not help but notice the unique, yet exceptional performances delivered by the voice actors I would listen to when meditating, they truly were the anchor to the project and the guide to my breakthrough.
Help for Voiceover Artists
In the modern day world mental health is a massive challenge to almost everyone. Now, I can not speak for everyone but I can certainly speak to people in the voiceover industry. It is hard. Simple as that! The pressure of deadlines, delivering an excellent audition, or going through a dry spell is not easy. But help is out there and for me, it manifested itself in the form of meditation. Another example is the 30-day meditation course on self-esteem. This course aims to cultivate a less judgmental inner life by creating space in our minds to observe negative and self-critical thinking. This topic is intended to shift one’s perspective toward “calm confidence.” I share this with you not because I have taken every course available to me both inside of Headspace and out, but I share it to promote a message to those who are struggling. The message is simple, what meditation did for me, it can do for you too. Meditation can help you in any and every area of life – just make sure you find the right course for you and enjoy that sweet melody of that excellent narrator.
Meditation for Voiceover Artists Wrapped Up
To summarise, it is ok to be going through a tough time! It is ok to say you are struggling. It is normal to have a lot on your plate. It is normal for dry spells with voice acting. Whatever your situation, feelings or circumstance might be the good news is there is a great deal of hope for you in every single area of your life. Check out the multiple courses available in meditation, find that dream voice, and throw yourself into it. After all, this is a nothing-to-lose situation.
Meditation for Voiceover Artists by Kate Marcin
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