Breathing is like receiving a compliment. It’s not easy to let it in…

Letting in or allowing in the breath, takes time. It requires that you pause and pay attention, and notice the impact of the breath on your whole body. This is a fundamental way to work with stress and tension, even just for a moment. And it’s the first step to claiming your full voice. Connect with your breath first. Then, you can experience the power of your full voice!
Allow the breath in…don’t take it…
Taking a breath is a lot of effort. Allowing the breath is an act of letting go. It’s a release! It takes awareness and attention to let go of tension.

The body is your vocal tube, because it is the instrument for the voice.  The way that you embody your instrument, from the ground up, impacts the way you use your voice. When it comes to breathing, you want to focus on your “inner tube”. The ribs, muscles, tissues and cells that are flexible, moveable and inflatable, like an inner tube. Try it!

Here’s how:

Place your tongue on the your lower lip, to get it out of the way. Glamorous, I know! Place your awareness behind the tongue, in the back of the throat. Visualize a cave that is the entry way for your inner tube. Now,  send a message to your brain:  ”Allow the breath in.”  Then, when you’re ready: “Release the breath out.”   Let the breath come in and out through your mouth. Feel the coolness on the back of your throat. Become mindful and observe your body opening. Take your time and wait for an impulse to breathe in. There may be a natural pause here.

Tips:

• Do not actively try and calm down or relax your breathing. Simply pay attention to how…you…breathe

• Relax the eyes into peripheral vision, letting the jaw go slack, and become aware of your back body. Let go for a moment of the speedy, forward moving busy, busy world, and touch into a quiet place of observing and trusting your body’s wisdom..

• It’s crucial that you release the muscles of the abdomen or belly, and not wear tightly fitting clothes around your middle.

• You do not need to  take a deep breath. It’s not important at this point to fill up your lungs. Less is more.

• You can do this at a stop light, on a walk, or in a stressful moment. It’s true, you may need privacy to let your tongue hang out!

Being with the breath is nourishing for the nervous system. It can also open up a reservoir of deep feelings that are held in the body. Our habitual way of breathing, which may be shallow or restricted,  is often due to how we managed feelings in the past that were too painful to experience at the time.

So, these feelings can come to the surface when we turn our awareness towards our breathing. At the minimum, this is an opportunity, to acknowledge that the feelings are there. You may not be ready to address them, but there is relief in taking that first step and acknowledging them. And if you have the opportunity to speak with a friend or therapist, then by all means. It is a gift to unburden yourself of grief or pain that you’ve been carrying for so long.

Let the light in…Allow the breath, don’t take it.

Do you feel terrified to perform? I do! … The pressure takes your breath away…your heart pounds, palms sweat, hands or legs shake… It gets in the way of sharing your gifts, doesn’t it?

Over the next few weeks, I’ll share a few tips that I use when I perform.

Take some time by yourself to have a ‘check-in’ before you perform. Here’s how:

Close your eyes and say hello (out loud or silently) to the part of yourself that is scared to death.   For example, you might say, “Kind of scary, huh?”

Then, listen for an answer.  “I’M TERRIFIED!!! GET ME OUT OF HERE! I DON’T WANT TO DO THIS! THIS IS A REALLY BAD IDEA!!!”

You’ll be surprised!  Often, you really do get a response when you take the time to do a check-in, and really listen for that voice or voices inside.

Lovingly respond to the scared part:  “I know it sounds crazy to you, but we can do this! It’s normal to feel scared. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere. Right here, right now, we’re doing just fine.”

Our fear comes from our nervous system remembering experiences in our past when we felt isolated and frightened, with no help at hand.  These are potent memories that can get triggered by performance situations.   Our bodies remember what it felt like to be alone and scared.  So, we have to work extra hard to prove that actually in this moment… EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE JUST FINE.

One of the most helpful aspects of doing this work with yourself, is that you align yourself with the more confident adult part of yourself, rather than the often younger, scared part of yourself.  As odd as it may sound, it’s natural to have different aspects of ourselves that take charge at different times.

When we perform, we want our confident Self to be in charge.  BUT you’ll feel much better if you stay connected to the scared part, rather than hating it and wanting to wring its neck.  Try it!  Take time for a check-in to acknowledge that terrified part of yourself,  and you’ll be on your way to a stronger, more grounded performance!

HAVE QUESTIONS FOR MOVINGVOICE? Leave a comment to hear my thoughts!

Recently, a client said to me, “I want to have a beautiful voice and I want to get started today.”  So, will we arrive at our goal if we simply do vocal exercises? No. Vocal exercises will help, yes, but a voice that moves us comes from the inside out.

A beautiful voice is a voice that is connected to our essence, to the natural voice that we were born with. It is connected to the part of ourselves that expresses our joy and our pain spontaneously. A beautiful voice is a voice that moves us because we hear sincerity and honesty in it.

How do we build a beautiful voice? We begin by becoming aware of and identifying what’s in our way.
I can give you exercises and I can teach you about anatomy and how to get a full breath and project your sound into the room…but until we look at what’s in the way of the voice, your habitual voice will run the show.

For example, what are the beliefs that you have about voice that keep you from speaking up or singing out? Until we unpack some of what lies beneath the surface, the vibrancy and energy  inherent in your natural voice may not yet come through. The true beauty of your voice requires your full attention in order to unfold.