Breathing 101: Complete Yoga Breath

The foundational breath of yoga is the complete yoga breath, called Dirga* in Sanskrit (pronounced DEER-gah).

Mastering it means you have developed an awareness and freedom of your breathing which will enable other breath practices and also your singing. The increase in oxygen you bring in when you breathe deeply helps decrease stress and anxiety levels, something everyone can use!

Begin by practicing on your back, then try in a sitting position and finally try it standing up.

1. Lie on your back in constructive rest, with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor. 

2. Place your hands on your belly. Breathe in and feel the belly rise on inhale and fall on exhale. Do this for a few cycles.

3. Move your hands to your ribcage. Inhale and feel the belly expand and then feel the breath cause the ribcage to expand on inhale and retreat on exhale. Do this for a few cycles. 

4. The final part is to feel the breath move into the area under the collarbones. Breathe in, feel the belly and ribs fill and then a slight rise of the collarbones as breath enters the upper lung tissue. This final step is subtle and small. 

This breath is about finding freedom in the muscles involved with inhalation in exhalation such that your diaphragm can descend enough to allow for a deep inhalation and your ribs expand to accommodate your filling lungs. If you feel light headed while doing this, back off from the practice and lie with your legs up the wall or on a chair for a few minutes while breathing normally.

Enjoy! 

*If you have asthma and are experiencing symptoms, avoid engaging in practices such as this until your symptoms have abated. Then, begin with gentle breathing to avoid aggravating your condition.

The Deal with the Diaphragm, Pt 1

"What do you know about breathing for singing?"

This is one of the first questions asked of new students in my voice studio at their first lesson. My least favorite, yet most common response is, "well, I know you breathe from the diaphragm," uttered as they hold their hand vaguely over their abdominal area.

If that is their answer we go no further.

The diaphragm, for those of you who don't know, is an involuntary muscle. That means we have no direct control over it. We cannot make it do anything. At all. When not engaged it rests at the bottom of the rib cage. When activated it contracts and pulls and aides with inhalation.

Because it is an involuntary muscle, we do not 'breathe from the diaphragm' anymore than we breathe from our stomach. We breathe through our mouth or nose, down the trachea and into the lungs. Breathing occurs through an interplay of muscles, including the diaphragm, that pull on lung tissue, create negative pressure and allow air to rush in (a very boiled down explanation with apologies to those who do anatomical things for a living and would give a more complex, in depth explanation).

What we want is a diaphragm that is free to descend to its maximum position, allowing the bottom portion of our lungs, where the bulk of our lung tissue lives, to fill with air, giving us the best shot at singing long phrases.

What we need is a set of abdominal muscles flexible enough to allow the contents of the abdominal area (stomach, liver, spleen etc) to move forward when the diaphragm encounters them. Because the diaphragm inserts on itself in a central tendon,  its flexibility is also partly dependent on the flexibility of the hips and spine. (Working on flexibility while building strength is one of the many reasons why yoga can be helpful for singers.)

When teachers and conductors and the like tell students "Breathe from your diaphragm!" what they mean is release your abdominal muscles so the diaphragm is free to descend on inhalation.  We 'feel a low breath' because there is expansion in the belly as things move around.

The way the diaphragm is involved with exhalation and how it is paired with its antagonist muscles in the abdomen to provide the foundation for a supported sound is for another post.

Go forth and sing, but know that you aren't controlling your diaphragm as much as you might think you are!

The Very Opposite of Mindful

In general I work hard to practice what I preach, being mindful in my daily life. For the most part I succeed at this but sometimes life gets the best of me.

September was a busy month. This is the first fall that I'm teaching while running yoga programs for singers privately and at a few schools and have my own two children going to two different locations for their daily routine on top of a million other things that come with living life.

The month began relatively smoothly but quickly went south when my daughter's after school program feel apart. I mean really, really fell apart. As in there was no viable after school option for her to be cared for between 2:30 and 5pm on the days I was working. After a totally sleepless night we decided that in the short term I was going to do pick up while we sought out another alternative. All well and good except that my teaching schedule for the week was set and getting home by 2:30 wasn't exactly easy.

To make a long story a little longer, I rushed like mad out of work the first day to get to pick up. I finished teaching in Cambridge at 1:45 and had to be at her preschool, 19 miles away, in 45 minutes (if you live around here you know that this seems like a potential impossibility, but dammit I was going to make it happen). After walking as fast as humanly possible from the building I teach in over to Mass Ave in Harvard Square, I crossed 1/2 of the street with the light and stood on the median waiting for the light to cross the street and it was taking forever (or so it seemed). Suddenly there was no traffic coming south on Mass Ave. I saw my break and went for it.

You see where this is going, right?

Though I had looked to my right and identified that there was no traffic coming, I failed to look to my left to see whether a bus was coming up out of the underground T station.

I boldly stepped off the curb and walked right into the side of a moving MBTA bus.

My bag was over my left shoulder, my elbow bent, sticking out, my hand holding the straps of my bag. I think that very thing is what saved me from potential disaster. My elbow hit the bus first and I instinctively recoiled up onto the median.

Though I was shocked I wasn't really hurt. The poor bus driver very nearly had a heart attack and it took much reassuring that I was actually ok, for him to be able to breathe again. I walked away with a dime sized abrasion on my elbow and the astounding realization that I had very nearly been badly injured because I was rushing and not paying attention.

How often do we all do this? Go on autopilot getting from point A to point B, only to arrive and have no memory of getting there? Have you ever sung a concert and then can't remember much of it because you were so distracted, stressed and unaware? Have you spent an hour 'practicing' when really you were thinking about everything but the music? More often than not those events result in no harm. But, sometimes, you get hit by a bus.

In hindsight I am grateful for the reminder to be present and focused and I'm sorry that it took being hit by a bus for me to remember.

Be present to your life this day, this hour, this minute. Breathe.

Breathing 101: Extending the Exhale.

If you completed the breath ratio exercise and discovered that your inhale is longer than your exhale, or it is equal and you'd like to extend your exhale, here are a few tips on how to do that.

As a reminder, an extended exhale helps to trigger the relaxation response, shutting off the flow of stress hormones (think about the need to fall asleep after you get home from a performance that ended at 11pm...). If you are a singer who struggles to sing longer phrases of music this exercise can help you as well - as will exercises that improve the efficiency of your vocal cord closure, but that's another post for another day!

***Nota Bene: If you are an asthmatic, please don't try to attempt to extend your exhale when you are symptomatic, you are likely to trigger an asthma attack. Please wait until your breathing feels calm to try this. You may do even better to begin by thinking about shortening your inhale rather than stressing your system with extending your exhale.

1. Lie on your back in constructive rest and allow the body to completely relax into the ground.

2. Place your hands on your belly and take a moment to tune into breathing that involves the motion of the belly out on inhale and in on exhale.

3. Do a few cycles of counting your inhalation and exhalation. Let's say your ratio is 6 inhale, 3 exhale.

4. Now try these three options to extend your exhale 1 count at a time:

• Try first just thinking about slowing down your exhale to see if awareness is enough to bring about change.
•  Inhale normally, purse your lips and exhale like you are blowing bubbles. Changing the shape of your aperture (opening) changes the rate at which you exhale, slowing it down.
• Inhale normally, and exhale creating a whisper sound in the back of the throat called Ujjayi breathing - Please, please, please don't make yourself sound like Darth Vader. This should be a noise that is only perceptible to your own ears.

If it feels easy to extend your count by 1, you can work more quickly toward doubling your exhale length, putting your count at 6 and 12.

Once you've mastered things lying down, move on to trying them sitting up and then standing.

As always, just explore without judgement and enjoy!

Breathing 101: Breath Ratio

The next topic for Breathing 101 is that of the breath ratio. In the first post we covered the basics of breathing and a few common breathing pattern problems. In the second post we looked in depth at breath awareness.

Your breath ratio is important because it tells you something about the state of your body. There are three possible ratios -

* Inhale and Exhale equal in length
* Inhale is longer than Exhale
* Exhale is longer than Inhale

Try This:
Lie on the floor in constructive rest.

Close your eyes and take a moment to settle in.

Take a few breaths before turning your attention to your inhale. Count the length of your inhale over 4 or 5 cycles of breath. Though the pace of your counting doesn't matter, try to be consistent about it so you get an accurate count. File away the number you get most often when you count: this is the length of your inhale.

Now turn your attention to your exhale. Count the length of your exhale over 4 or 5 cycles of breath. Again, keep your pace consistent to get an accurate count. Compare this number to the length of your inhale and you know your breath ratio!

What your ratio means:
 A ratio of equal length is what we strive for in physical (asana) yoga practice. In every day life an equal ratio indicates balance and ease as you move through your daily activities.

A ratio of inhale longer than exhale means you are over inhaling. When your inhale is longer than your exhale, you will over oxygenate the body and contribute to your stress level. Over breathing sets your sympathetic nervous system in motion (this is the branch of your nervous system that oversees fight or flight mode. While fight or flight mode is appropriate if you are running out of a burning building or away from a charging elephant, being in this mode as a chronic state will create a loop of stress and anxiety. You may over inhale out of habit, or if you are an asthmatic, it may be part cause, part effect of your asthma.

A ratio of exhale longer than inhale means you are relaxing and also able to sing through longer phrases of your music! This process triggers the parasympathetic nervous system which governs relaxation. In this state you are able to be present to your surroundings, calm on stage and connected to your breath and body.

In our next post we'll look at some exercises to do to help lengthen your exhale and shorten your inhale.

Yoga of My Own Voice

It has been a long, long time since I've taken a voice lesson. And even longer since I've performed on stage. Four years ago life called me in the direction of starting a family, moving to a new town and getting the Mindful Singer off the ground and that left no time or energy for my own singing. At first resentful of this loss, I eventually learned to embrace the impermanence of life and shifted my perspective to "it's just not my time right now". That softened the blow of not singing and helped me remember that when I was ready again it would be there for me.

The close of this summer has brought about a desire to sort out who I am as a musician in this iteration of my life; as a suburban dwelling parent of two small children with a busy life. It is driven in part by my meditation practice which has revealed the sensation of a block in my throat. The guided meditation that I've done in August is my fall back staple meditation where energy is brought from the crown of the head, down the spine and into the heart center. In the past I worked just fine with it, but this time when I reach the cervical spine area I can't sense anything. Nor can I move anything through it. All I sense is a big, black space that is impenetrable.

I am also someone who believes firmly that to teach you must also do, so just as I engage in my own yoga practice I want to return to my own singing practice to better myself as a teacher. So, I scheduled a voice lesson with my old teacher who was kind enough to let me return after a nearly 5 year absence.

When the dust settled on the scheduling I realized there's definite apprehension in me about singing again. Is my voice gone from years of pregnancy and nursing related reflux? Is the block entirely emotional and the result of pushing my voice aside to help others the last 4 years? Am I just going to open up to my voice and spend an hour crying in her studio?

Yoga tells me those are all options and the best I can do is be present to my emotions in the moment, breathe in and out and accept whatever is. So I'm going to try that. Rather than thinking I'm going to walk in, sing, choose rep. and be off and running on a concert plan, I've identified three things I'd like to get out of my hour lesson. I'd like to get an honest assessment of my voice, a short set of exercises that I can do on a somewhat regular basis to begin to rebuild and know when I'm going back for another lesson. I could do this on my own, but I know myself well enough to know that working with someone else is a powerful motivator and something I so desperately miss.

Send good thoughts Wednesday morning as I delve back into me and see what's going on vocally!

Stilling the Lake of the Mind

When I was doing my yoga teacher training I got to do a weekend intensive with Rod Stryker. It was through his workshops that I finally found some meditations that worked for me (i.e. I did them more than just once and found I actually looked forward to meditating).

In one of them he talks about 'stilling the lake of the mind'. That image worked for me. It helped to imagine my mind as a body of water that is often full of thoughts causing rough waves. Those thoughts prevent me from really seeing or hearing my inner voice which is powerful, but quiet as opposed to my fear voice which hollers at the top of its lungs and makes all the waves to begin with.

What I learned from my meditation practice is not only that difference, but also that when my mind is quiet I can see and hear my true self. My quiet, inner voice speaks what is true in my heart and the ability to express what is in one's heart lies at the center of creativity.

I took the above picture while my family was on vacation in Maine last week. As I looked out over the lake early one morning, I was struck that the stillness of the morning water, before any boats have driven by or the winds have picked up, is exactly what a quiet mind allows. Just as I can see the entire tree reflected in the water, rather than the distorted version later in the day, I see myself clearly when my mind is still and quiet. A still mind allows me to open to creativity and discern what I want to express with my art.

How still is the lake of your mind? If you'd like to learn more about this meditation, you can visit the ParaYoga Store and scroll down to the CD "Meditations for Inner and Outer Peace" or read a description of the meditation from this blog post.

Enjoy!