Echo Exercise
Materials Needed:
To Support Feeling:
Grief
How to Do It
Go to a place where you can hear echoes, such as a canyon, large room, or tunnel. Speak or shout your feelings of grief into the space and listen as the sound echoes back to you. Imagine that with each echo, the intensity of your grief is lessened, as if the environment is helping you carry and process the emotion.
Why It Works
The physical experience of hearing your voice echoed back can be a powerful metaphor for being heard and understood, even by nature itself. It also allows you to release emotion in a controlled way, feeling your grief echoed and then gradually fading.
Guided Practice
Standing in a place where you can hear echoes, feel the ground beneath your feet, and take a moment to become aware of your surroundings. Close your eyes if you’re comfortable, and take a deep breath, letting the sound of your breath fill the space notice any subtle sounds in the environment, or the stillness that surrounds you.
Now, making a soft sound—perhaps a hum or a gentle call—and listen carefully for the echo that follows. Notice how the sound moves through the space and returns to you, altered by its journey. Experiment with different sounds, varying the pitch, volume, and length. Feel the vibration in your throat as you produce each sound, and listen closely to how the space responds. As you continue, become aware of the interplay between your voice and the echo. Feel the resonance of your voice in your body, the sensation of the sound waves moving through the air and returning to you. Notice how each sound you make creates a unique echo, and how this dynamic interaction fills the space around you. When you are ready to finish, allow your sounds to become softer and quieter, gradually letting the echoes fade into the silence. Stand quietly, noticing the stillness that follows. Take a few moments to be with this quietness, feeling the solidity of the ground beneath you. When you feel ready, open your eyes and bring your focus back to the room around you.