Teaching

Learn how the body and mind are integrated from a singer’s perspective. Madeline blends her operatic technique with theories in embodied cognition to investigate how the muscular movements of the breath and voice shape emotions, the mind, and consciousness. In her teaching and keynotes, Madeline offers tools to embody the concepts and gives new perspective on a range of topics, including the future of human creativity, mental health, AI and technology, arts and culture, and the exploration of self-awareness and our connections with others.

Classes, Workshops and Keynotes

Western Washington University – Embodied Cognition and Breath Mapping

Visiting Professor, Spring quarter 2024

Eastern Washington University – Embodied Cognition

Visiting Professor, Spring quarter 2024

  • “Madeline has an engaging manner and presents her material on Embodied Cognition in a way that captivates the audience right from her opening statement! Her knowledge of body and breath connections, and how we interact with ourselves and the world ignite new ways of thinking about this vital aspect of our humanness. She is a gifted musician and laces her talk with examples of the voice and improvisation to highlight her points. Her presentation speaks to anyone interested in understanding and embracing a deeper awareness of body/breath cognition and how it can serve to support our work and life, no matter the field.”

    Jody Graves

    EWU Music Program Director

    Director of Piano Studies

  • "Madeline McNeill has an uncanny ability to take abstract principles of embodied cognition and bring them down to earth by connecting them with the body's musculature and activity. In her view of the embodied arts, emotions are realized in the muscles and religious chant complements the openness of sacred spaces. We respond to the environment in whole-bodied ways, and these ways manifest our thoughts and feelings. The mind-body dualism that plagues so much thinking about the mind dissipates, leaving space for a more humane understanding of the arts and their significance. I've benefitted immensely from our conversations and her insights."

    Charles Lassiter, Ph.D.

    Professor of Philosophy, Gonzaga University

  • “Madeline McNeill isn't just an extraordinarily talented singer, she's a gifted speaker and presenter. Her focus on the intersection between breath and body work and the emotions runs parallel to modern psychological research supporting the idea of the body as a core component to the experience of human emotions and the breath as a powerful tool for working with challenging feelings. Madeline's presentation style is lively, clear, and engaging, capturing the audience's attention with examples they can immediately relate to their lived experience and experiential exercises they can use to get to know their bodies better in real time.”

    Russell Kolts, Ph.D. Psychology

    Director, Inland Northwest Compassionate Mind Center

  • “In her Breath Mapping workshop, Madeline details the thoughtful foundation underpinning her philosophy of humans as integrated body-minds. Emotions originate in the core, then structure up and out to shape our expressions, vocalizations and reactions. Sensory information is taken in and then made personal through core reflexes. Consciously and unconsciously, the body - specifically the core muscles and organs - "shape" our experiences, literally, by shaping themselves into specific postures. These and many other of Madeline's astute observations and hypotheses are explained and discussed with the attendees. The implications of this perspective are staggering, the applications endless. Examined under the lens Madeline puts forth, fundamental beliefs of sociological, physiological, psychological, and spiritual significance take on a new kind of logic. From the seed that Madeline plants, understanding, growth, healing and deeper levels of inter- and intra-personal communication come blossoming forth.”

    Deanna Joy

    Workshop Participant