Breathing RIGHT

Let’s say you are trying to improve your voice and someone tells you to “Take a nice deep breath of air”. Do you vigorously elevate your shoulders and audibly inhale? If the answer is ‘yes”, then you are breathing WRONG.

You have just ACTED OUT, “I am breathing” with visual and sound effects, throwing way too much tension and effort into what should be the most natural and easy of activities. And you have been taught this wrong way by a number of instrument teachers, exercise coaches and yoga instructors.

Get in touch with natural breathing

Your first step is to stop unnecessary tension and get back to what comes naturally to the human body. Just follow these steps:

• Stand in front of a mirror so you can check your shoulder and mid-section movements.
• Allow your arms to hang naturally and your shoulders to be completely relaxed; they are NOT going to be involved in this exercise.
• When you inhale (take air in), imagine that you are breathing through your belly button, with the movement of expansion only at your belt line (mid-section).
• Because you are relaxing your air passages, There Are No Sound Effects. Use your mouth or your nasal passages, I don’t care. Just keep it silent.
• Don’t make yourself breathe: Let yourself breathe. Think of allowing the midsection of your trunk to expand; there should be NO effort involved, no on-purpose contraction of muscle. There is a large muscle inside your body called the diaphragm that is doing the work of enlarging the chest by moving downward. You’ve heard of ‘breathing from the diaphragm”? That’s what we’re talking about.

See the lady on her back at the top of the page? She is feeling the movement of her belly consequent to diaphragmatic action. If you are unsure about this issue, I recommend you get on the floor right now and put your hand on your belly to just feel the relaxed breathing movement. Pant like a dog to feel it exaggerated.

Is there time when that heaving of the upper chest and shoulders is appropriate? (Remember the scolding in the first paragraph?) Yes, in emergency conditions such as:

• Getting ready to swim the length of the pool underwater
• Running from a mugger
• Preparing to sing high C for 6 measures

Now, tell yourself to take a nice, deep breath and watch what you do. Remind yourself to relax the shoulders and let the diaphragm do the work.

If you want to learn more about how Dr. Fleming can help you improve your communication skills, please call her at telephone 415.391.9179 or send her an email at [email protected]

Carol Fleming, Ph.D., is the author of “It’s the Way You Say It”! Becoming Articulate, Well-spoken and Clear. A comprehensive guide to vocal development and improvement of communication skills. For people who want to make their speaking more impressive.

*Belly breathing illustration. Copyright 2004 by Dennis Lewis. Reprinted from Free Your Breath, Free Your Life, by Dennis Lewis (Shambhala, 2004) with the permission of the author. You can learn more about him and read his essays on his blog at http://www.dennislewisblog.com. His website is http://www.dennislewis.org