Chanting the Psalms

Bourgeault’s practical guidance (from Chanting the Psalms), in doable form:

1. Posture and breath first. Sit or stand upright, relaxed, spine long, shoulders soft. Before any sound, take a few slow breaths low into the belly. The breath is the foundation — chant is “sung on the breath.”
2. Use a simple tone, not a tune. You need no musical skill. Pick one comfortable note (a “reciting tone”) and intone the words of a psalm verse on that single pitch, the way monks do — most of the words on one note, with a gentle small drop or rise at the phrase end. It should feel more like heightened, sustained speech than singing.
3. Chant on a long, supported exhalation. Take a full, easy in-breath, then release the verse slowly on the out-breath, letting the tone be steady and unforced. One phrase per breath. Pause, breathe in, chant the next phrase. This naturally slows your breathing right down.
4. Feel the vibration. Let the sound resonate in the chest, throat, and head. Bourgeault directs attention to the physical sensation of toning — this is where the “release” and the drop into the body happen. You are listening to and feeling the sound as much as making it.
5. Let the meaning soak, don’t analyze. Chant the words slowly enough that they “ingest” rather than get studied. As in lectio, you let a word or line resonate. Don’t parse theology mid-chant; let the text move through you.
6. Settle into silence afterward. End by sitting in the resonant quiet for a minute or two — the chant opens a stillness; rest in it. Bourgeault’s framing notes:

• It’s prayer with the whole instrument. Mind (words), heart (feeling/intention), body (breath and vibration) all engaged — her “three-centered” ideal.
• Slow is the secret. The slowing of breath and pace is what does the work; rushing defeats it.
• Communal or solo. Done in a group, voices entrain and a shared field forms; done alone it still regulates and centers. (Sourcing note: the single-reciting-tone, breath-supported, slow psalmody method is the documented practice taught in Chanting the Psalms; the vagus-nerve/“flooded with sensation” point and three-centered framing are Bourgeault’s. Faithful paraphrase; no long reproductions of her instructions.)

Psalmody is the backbone of Benedictine monastic prayer — the Divine Office cycles the 150 psalms continuously. Bourgeault (b. 1947), a musicologist before she was a priest, learned and taught chant within this living tradition and reframed it through Gurdjieff’s Work (“St.

Benedict meets Gurdjieff”) as a tool for conscious, embodied attention. It sits alongside her teaching of Centering Prayer, the Welcoming Prayer, and lectio divina as the “tools of Wisdom.”

Gregorian / Benedictine plainchant — the direct parent: monophonic, breath-paced, reciting-tone psalmody.

• Mantra / japa & kirtan (Hindu/yogic) — sustained toned repetition of sacred sound; same breath-and-vibration mechanism.
• Om / bhramari and yogic toning — long vocalized exhalation explicitly used to engage the vagus and slow breath.
• Sufi dhikr, Tibetan/overtone chant — toned, breath-supported sacred vocalization across traditions.
• Resonance / coherent breathing (~6 breaths/min) — the secular physiology underneath slow chant.

Trying to sing well. Performance anxiety defeats it. It’s toned speech on the breath, not a recital. One note is plenty.

• Going too fast. Speed kills the breath-slowing effect — the whole benefit. Stretch the phrases; one phrase per slow exhale.
• Forcing the breath or tone. Strain causes tension and dizziness. Keep it easy and supported, not pushed.
• Reading instead of chanting. Skimming the text mentally misses the embodiment. Let the sound and vibration lead.
• Skipping the silence after. The stillness the chant opens is part of the practice; don’t bolt the moment you stop.
• Pitch too high/low. Find a comfortable mid-range reciting tone you can hold without strain.