The importance of breathing for singing.
As you probably know, breathing is incredibly important for singing, as it provides the power of your voice. It's one of the top topics that my students ask for help with.
Breathing for singing is different to breathing for other activities, like resting, speaking, walking or sports.
(A lot of singers want to understand how to use the diaphragm in breathing and I go into that in my other blog post here)
What's special
So what is that difference, do you think? Well, yes, you probably guessed it right. We need MORE breath for singing. We need to lengthen and pace the outgoing breath so we can sustain our sound for long notes and phrases. And we need to re-fill with air deeply and quickly before the next line of the song.
Muscle habits
I spend a lot of my lessons, helping students change muscle patterns to achieve the above. It's fun, rewarding and liberating.
But it's not enough on its own.
As well as changing physical habits, I've discovered that singers need to shift certain inner mental habits. I've come to call these the 2 Inner Archetypes Of Breathing.
Reliability
Even if we achieve a lot of progress with the outer physical aspects of breathing, if we don't address these inner states, we will rarely be able to complete the necessary shifts and rely on our breath fully for singing.
The Inner Archetypes
So what are they? I’d say that they are two archetypes, two mental states, two fundamental attitudes to life and self, that underpin the movement of the breath.
There are two of them because there are two aspects to breathing. The in- breath and the out-breath.
The in-breath
To allow the in-breath to occur naturally, fully, deeply, automatically and easily, we need to be in alignment with the Archetype of the In-breath.
This is a mental state which says something along these lines:
~ ‘ I am open to the goodness of life’
~ ‘ I am willing to receive the energy of life’
~ ‘ I welcome and allow the life force into my body and being’
This is, on an energetic and physical level, what the in-breath is .
(‘Prana’ is the name given by yogis to the subtle life force energy.
Itcan be translated from Sanskrit as “life force energy,” “vital energy,” “breath of life,” “spirit-energy,” or “vital principle.” The breath is considered to be the most subtle form of prana in our bodies.)
When our minds and emotions are in alignment with these statements, our bodies naturally draw air in without hindrance or effort. The trouble is, through no fault of their own, many people are out of sync with this simple profound attitude.
We've all had trials, tribulations, maybe traumas, and have developed habits for coping. These often mean that we don't feel able to receive the energy of life. We either restrict it coming in, or we feel we have to ‘grab’ the in breath - we suck air in or gasp for it.
(I have also written about the most fundamental muscle habit that blocks the in-breath, in my blog post here)
Sadly, these habits have unhelpful effects. So what I recommend to my students is this: Read the above phrases repeatedly, taking them on as affirmations.
(There may be resistance or negatives that come up in the process, and I usually suggest using EFT* to help release these)
The out-breath
We need to pace the outgoing breath so we can sustain long notes and lines of a song.
To do this easily and freely, we need to be in alignment with the Archetype of the Outbreath. This is a mental state which expresses something of this nature:
~ ‘ I'm willing to be seen and heard’
~ ‘ I am comfortable expressing myself’
~ ‘ I can let my authentic self take up its full space in the world’
This is what the outbreath is physically and energetically.
When our mind and feelings match that state, our bodies naturally allow the breath to flow out without inhibition or struggle.
The issue is, as with the in-breath, that many of us aren't in alignment with with these attitudes. Our coping mechanisms for the trials of life may have meant we can't really let the breath out freely or fully.
We might unconsciously hold it back. Or we might even overcompensate by trying to push the breath out.
So again, my suggestion for shifting any blockages in this department is using the above phrases as affirmations. You can invent your own variations, whatever works best for you.
Shifting poor breathing habits by using the Archetypes
As you get more in tune with these archetypes, these inner patterns, your muscles will respond. They will release poor habits and work effectively, efficiently, freely as they are designed to do.
It's not so much ‘mind over matter’ as ‘mind influences matter’.
So what do you think so far? Does this make sense to you? Do you resonate with anything I've described?
If so, give it a try.
Aligning with the two inner archetypes of breathing is not only transformational for your breathing-for-singing, but it's wonderful for your physical and mental health.
I teach the full array of breathing skills for singing in my comprehensive 1-1 training course, ‘Breathe Right For Singing’.
I go in depth into every aspect of breathing, reactivate your optimum breathing patterns with my Dynamic Flow Breathing method. It works in harmony with your body and sets you up with reliable breathing for a lifetime of expressive singing.
Find out about this uniquely effective course here:
*EFT is short for Emotional Freedom Technique, also known as Tapping. It’s a powerful meridian therapy which you can learn to do on yourself. It can help release limiting beliefs, negative thought patterns, and even trauma. I’ve used it extensively on myself, with friends, and students to very positive effect.
