Breathe Smart: Claim Your Craft
Everyone has something to say about breath:
Take a deep breath
Engage the diaphragm
Push your stomach out
While there is some truth to each of these statements, there are more effective - and more accurate - ways to connect to your breath. Let's find simple ways to rephrase these statements:
Take a deep breath becomes Breathe Slowly and Softly
When we direct ourselves to breathe deeply, it can seem as if the objective is to take in the most air possible. In reality, the advantage to a "deep" breath is breathing in a way that activates the core (constructive engagement) and leaves the neck, throat, shoulders, and chest relaxed (constructive relaxation).
Instead of increasing your quantity of inhalation, aim to breath slowly and softly through your nose over a slow count of six.
Engage the diaphragm becomes Energize Your Body
Yes, our diaphragm will engage when we breathe. If it didn't, we wouldn't be alive! In reality, the contraction of the diaphragm is the first action in the breath cycle, and its activity is what allows and requires us to take in oxygen. When we're directed to engage or activate the diaphragm, we can infer that our body is under-involved in our singing.
A more productive way to access full-body involvement is simply to move! Walk around the room while you sing, and see how your sound and breath shift. The Psoas muscle, which is largely responsible for our walking, is almost directly connected to the diaphragm.
Push your stomach out becomes Observe 360° Expansion
Once again, there is truth to this statement: as your diaphragm contracts it displaces your viscera (internal organs) in a downward and forward direction, which displaces your stomach outward. While this direction aims to encourage a fuller inhalation, it neglects the many other areas of expansion. Perhaps most important is the inflation and deflation of your rib cage in 360° around your torso (check out the animation in the next section).
Explore the movement of your back ribs and muscles while breathing: Sit comfortable in a chair with your feet flat on the floor. Fold your upper body towards the floor, perhaps finding a flat, horizontal back shape. Rest your hands on your back and notice how your ribs and muscles move as you breathe in and out slowly.
Eager to take your breathing to the next level? Schedule a session with one of our voice specialists to learn how you can feel even more connected to your breath.