The Power of Singing in Unison

Singing together has a powerful energy. It draws out something primal in us, as we become one voice, one sound, and one pair of lungs. Whatever your experience or level of singing, there is always a choir you can belong to and the benefits are paramount.

Not only do you move in time with others - much like running or dancing - but you continually engage in collective breath-work: something ancient, natural and vital. Most of us grew up with morning assembly at school, in which we sang hymns or song together, as one.

Singing in unison is also seen at Olympic Games, football matches, team sports and life markers; like birth, death and marriage. Many cultures have songs and rituals for these turning points and engage in collective healing, initiations and transformations through collective singing, dancing and drumming.

In Indian weddings, for example, singing marks and narrates the different stages and moments of the marriage - such as the bride first entering the home of her husband or leaving her parental home for the last time. A Shabbat meal also includes the collective singing of hymns.

Singing, too, can be a way of a way of honouring and preserving oral traditions, story-telling and cultural identities. Again, belonging and connection have enormous power and resonance through song.

Many of us sing in the shower, while we cook, when we party, at birthdays and in the car on long journeys. It is something we do to celebrate, resonate and express our emotions and press our presence into our days.

If we can regularly make time to sing in unison, such as through a choir, we might activate something sensational and vital within ourselves and within one another. Anyone can sing and we should all do it. The benefits outweigh the initial embarrassment or hesitancy.