Breath and airflow are essential for healthy voicing but breathing can be a tricky business. Our bodies know how to breathe well. Our bodies want to breathe well. The problem is our brain, our emotions, and the way we go about our daily lives often get in the way.
The stresses of life contribute to the development of detrimental physical habits. We sit for too long in one position at work, labouring over a desk or at a computer, so we develop poor postural habits. Difficulties with relationships – with our colleagues, our children, our partners – create emotional upheavals which manifest in tension within our muscles. Fear and anxiety take hold of us and we hold ourselves tight in our necks, shoulders, backs, torso and sometimes, we even hold our breath. This tightness becomes habit. We often don’t even realise the amount of tension with which we live on a daily basis.
All these ramifications of psychological, emotional and physical stress stop us from allowing the body to breathe the way it was designed to breathe.
How were we designed to breathe?
There are many supporting muscles involved in respiration, but the star of the show is the diaphragm. This large muscle, which essentially divides our torso in half and separates the thoracic cavity from the abdominal cavity, is primarily responsible for inspiration (drawing air into our lungs).
The diaphragm is a large slow-twitch muscle that is dome-shaped and rests just under the ribcage. This type of muscle never fatigues or gives out; it works non-stop from the moment we are born until the minute we die. When it works, it contracts and flattens, moving downward on top of the abdominal cavity. This movement, paired with contraction of the external intercostal muscles of the ribcage, create a reduction in pressure in the area surrounding the lungs. The air moves into our lungs as a result of this drop in pressure. The motion of the diaphragm also creates more room for the lungs to expand. This movement, along with contraction of some abdominal muscles, can be seen as the rise and fall of the abdominal wall.
As the air leaves our bodies during exhalation, the diaphragm relaxes and naturally recoils back into its resting dome shape, tucked high under the ribcage. The action of the diaphragm, both contraction and recoil, is autonomic and we don’t need to think about it. We can indirectly exert some control over how the diaphragm moves, by contracting abdominal muscles and intercostals. That’s ok, because sometimes we want to exert some control over our airflow (singing, yoga, meditation, etc). But, inhibiting the movement of the diaphragm with excessive muscle tension in the thoracic and/or abdominal cavity is not good. Less movement = less breath.
Image from azopt.net
We need to be aware of our physical, psychological and emotional states and how they affect our breathing. Mindfulness, relaxation strategies and focusing on our airflow can help us to allow our body to breathe as it was designed to breathe. Breathing should feel easy and free. Only then will we have voices that are easy and free.