Breathe Your Way to Success

Breathe Your Way to Success Breath is life. We breathe from the moment we are born until the moment we die. And we do it naturally. But how often do you ever stop to really think about your breathing? And are you actually breathing as effectively as you could be? When it comes to public speaking the ability to breathe effectively has many benefits: - It helps you to relax and manage nerves It supports and protects your voice It enables you to project your voice without impacting on the vocal quality It allows for more vocal control, energy, flexibility and expression It increases your ability to concentrate helping you to feel more focused and alert Instinctively, we all know how to breathe properly and we probably do it naturally when we are feeling very relaxed; however, many of us have forgotten how (partly due to sitting hunched over computers so that we can’t expand our lungs effectively). Learning to breathe deeply and correctly will help in every aspect of your life so it is worth taking the time to practice until you do it naturally all the time. If you ask most people to take a deep breath in, their shoulders will lift up, their upper chest will expand outwards and their stomach will go in. Correct breathing technique is the complete opposite to this – shoulders stay level, the ribs expand at the sides and back and the stomach actually protrudes slightly as the diaphragm pushes downwards (watch a baby sleeping and you will see that they seem to breathe into their tummy). Keep this in mind as you complete the following exercises which are adapted from Mel Sherwood’s own training as an actor and singer and based on the work of renowned voice coach Cicely Berry. It is important to focus on doing the exercises properly rather than rushing through them so that you can feel what is happening in your body. It is also important to keep your body free from any unnecessary tension, in particular around the head, neck and shoulders so check in with your body every so often to make sure. ** Please note that sometimes deep breathing can lead to feelings of light headedness particularly when standing; if you experience this, stop immediately and return to the exercises when the feeling subsides. Preparation - Lie on your back with arms loosely by your side and feel your back spreading long and wide on the floor (rather than ‘sinking’ into the floor) Bend your knees up so that your feet are flat on the floor and you can feel your lower back on the floor. Feel your spine lengthening from the top of your head to the base of your spine Gently roll your head from side to side, feeling your muscles free up and then do whatever you need to do to gently loosen any other tightness you may be feeling in your neck and shoulders Exercise 1 Breathe in through your nose and feel your ribs opening out to the sides and back along the floor. Sigh out through an open mouth and throat; push all the air out of the lungs. Repeat three times trying not to let the upper part of the chest move by concentrating on the lower part of the ribs. Exercise 2 Using the same technique as before, focusing on opening the ribs out to the side and back, breathe in slowly, hold a moment and then breathe out slowly through the open mouth counting to 10 in your head. Only breathe in again when you feel the muscles between the ribs needing to move. Do this exercise for 5 minutes gradually increasing the out breath to a count of 15. Exercise 3 This exercise concentrates on the diaphragm, the sheet of muscle that separates the chest from the abdomen. When you breathe into the base of your lungs this pushes downwards which is why your stomach will protrude slightly. Making sure the neck and shoulders are still free, as you breathe in through your nose, imagine your stomach is filling up with air like a big balloon. In order to concentrate on getting the breath deeper, some people find it easier to imagine they are breathing through their butt (use whatever works for you!) You may find it helpful to put a book or bag of sugar on your stomach so that you can focus on pushing it upwards as you breathe in. Breathe out through your mouth. Repeat this several times until you can separate your diaphragm breath from your rib breath. Exercise 4 Now that you are aware of both sets of muscles (ribs and diaphragm), you can practice getting them to work together. On your next in breath, think about filling your torso with air right from the base, feel your ribs expanding to the side and the back as your diaphragm expands and your chest fills with air as well. Hold for a moment before breathing out making a ‘ssss’ hissing sound using the muscles in your abdomen to support the sound so that it flows smoothly. Count in your head as you breathe out and aim to increase the count each time you do the exercise. Exercise 5 Lie still for a moment and just notice the sense of length and width in your back. Then, when you’re ready, slowly roll onto your side and then slowly stand up. Keep the same sense of openness and length in your back. Stand tall so that you have an imaginary straight line running from your ear down your body to your shoulder, hip and ankle. Give your body a very gentle shake to release any tension you may be feeling. Exercise 6 Whilst standing tall, repeat exercise 4, concentrating on breathing fully and deeply in before breathing out with a hissing sound. Do this a few times so that you can recreate the same feeling of freedom and openness you experienced whilst lying down. ********** These exercises are designed to help you breathe deeply and freely which is a fundamental part of relaxation and vocal expression. You may not completely ‘get’ it or ‘feel’ it straight away and that’s okay. It will take time and practice before this new way of breathing will come naturally but it is definitely worth the effort. Once you have mastered the art of breathing effectively, you can start to develop your vocal skills with my handout ‘How to Sound Clear, Confident and Credible’.