I recently delivered a workshop to a choir and naturally started with how to breathe for singing (as discussed in previous weeks). After the session a choir member came up to me and told me she was a respiratory physiotherapist and that all that I had said about breathing for singing was also what she would talk about with patients who had lung problems and how to improve their breathing and their health.
Breathing is a basic automatic function yet so many people don’t breathe well enough. It is crucial for the body to get good deep breaths and to fully empty the lungs. Most people only use 1/3rd of their lung capacity and don’t expel all of the air. Our lungs are capable of taking in 12 litres of air yet a normal breath only takes in 1/2 a litre.
Proper breathing is good for mental health, physical health, lowering of blood pressure, pain relief and relaxation. Your aim should be to start your breath by relaxing your abdomen and focussing on expanding the rib cage as that will always start the air coming in to your lungs. Once you feel you have taken in the maximum amount of air you can – know that you can always take in more – so focus again on expanding your ribcage and see if you can fit more air in to your lungs. Focus more on expansion of the lungs versus breathing in. This is an unusual approach to breathing but it is the most efficient and takes in more air.
For relaxation breathe in for 4, hold for 4 and out for 8. Make sure that you gradually exhale so that by the final count all air has gone and it has been breathed out in measured amounts. Increase the duration of your exhalations and this will slow your heart rate if you practice it a few times a day. One student I teach didn’t have to have her blood pressure medication increased as she had managed to lower it by just breathing as suggested here.
Another student reported that she found it easier to walk up hill even though she hadn’t been training for fitness. She would have been taking in more air and holding on to it for longer so that more oxygen is transferred to the body for creating energy.
Exercise
Experiment with how quickly you can take in large amounts of air. For singing we need to (on the whole) breathe in quickly and release slowly whilst keeping our rib cage lifted, practising a slow long inhale is useful for when there is a long introduction or a long interlude. Slow songs should have slow breaths. Hold on to the breath by keeping your chest lifted.
Breathe out, and then breathe out some more and again (by pulling in your stomach) and then just relax your belly. Notice how big your in-breath is naturally.
