Why Sunlight and a Brisk Walk Makes Me a Better Professional Voiceover Actress

I took a walk this morning with my husband (who also happens to be my VO business partner), and as is usual for these sunny walks around the neighborhood, it provides us with not only a bit of exercise and a healthy dose of vitamin D, (sadly lacking sometimes during our winter months here in Michigan) but also a chance to carry on a little business discussion, outside of the typical office environment.

I find that walking and progressing forward with my body tends to jog my mind and move thoughts and ideas through my brain in a very free way. It’s amazing sometimes what serendipitous ideas come up for us on these walks. Especially as a professional voiceover actress, I do tend to spend the majority of my time indoors, and most of that within a booth with no windows whatsoever.

I sometimes get to the end of my day and realize that I have not ventured outdoors all day long! While this can be great for holding laser focus on projects, it can also stifle physical and creative energy flow. That energy and life experience is so very necessary to continue to breathe life into the copy that clients send me, as well as continuing to inspire me on a marketing level…to say nothing about just maintaining my sanity and quality mental and physical health.

Check out this interesting article on the topic: “Take a Brisk Walk — It’s Good for the Brain” As our bodies age, it’s almost counter-intuitive to realize that simply taking regular brisk walks can have such a profound positive effect on so many levels of the mind, body, and spirit.

As a Professional Voiceover Actress, I Make Getting Outside a Top Priority

I ran across this quote recently from one of my favorite sources for inspirational and outside-the-box thinking, which seemed to be a great fit with this subject:

“Get out into the sunlight where everything has a vibration that is so dominant, so pure, so clean, that those who annoy you, disagree with you or make you feel uncomfortable don’t come into your experience. And the world that revolves around you just feels like that great feeling vibration.” – Abraham-Hicks

The “vibration” of nature, especially on a warm sunny day, can have a powerful effect on our state of being, mood, attitude, and ways of thinking. Being out in nature helps to “reset our vibe” to a more healthy state.  A change of scenery and the moving of one’s body can often un-stick some stale thinking, solve a nagging challenge, and just plain make you feel better.

I was recently dealing with a little technological glitch with my new computer, and I noticed how much more resourceful I felt talking about it while walking versus talking about the problem while sitting in my office. It was a striking difference!

Because my physical health (and wealth) as a professional voiceover actress depends on my overall wellness, it seems a pretty good practice to spend 20 – 30 minutes a day just exercising my body and mind outside in this terrific summer weather. I know, as a transplant from So Cal to the Midwest, that not all days or seasons allow this easily, and it’s not as inviting to be walking on icy streets and in freezing temperatures.

But now, in the middle of summer, I am inspired by just breathing in the fresh air, hearing the happy birds, and witnessing the green and multi-color landscape. I don’t even mind the drone of the occasional lawnmower!

Balance in all things, outside and inside, seems to be my mantra for this season. I do hope as a fellow voiceover professional. You can make the time for some outside enjoyment as well, amidst all that necessary indoor time.

Please share your comments on your practice for balancing your daily routine. How do you maintain a healthy mind, body, and spirit working as a professional voiceover actress or actor?

Debbie Grattan has worked as a professional voiceover actress since the late 90′s. She has collaborated on thousands of projects and teamed up with scores of production companies, marketing, and advertising firms, commercial voice-over recording studios, and corporate/business clients around the United States and throughout the world. Listen to her professional voiceover actress demos and request a Custom Voiceover Audition for your upcoming project on her website.