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Breath is the power of your voice. The quality of your voice will never exceed the quality of your breath. To have a better voice, you must learn how to breathe properly, i.e. to breathe with the support of your diaphragm.
Most of my clients and participants find great difficulty in breathing with the support of the diaphragm. Do you experience the same?
There are two common mistakes they make in diaphragmatic breathing practices. The first one is trying too hard. One client told me with a sudden seeming enlightenment, “I got it! It’s to suck the air in!” I shook my head with a smile. Diaphragmatic breathing is never meant to be a hard work. It’s really a process of great relaxation and rejuvenation. As Iyengar, the living legend in yoga, said in his book Light on Life, “Pranayama (breath control) is not performed by the power of will.” The key is to be open, to be receptive, and to allow it to happen.
The second mistake is that they focus on too many things at the same time. “I need to open my mouth.” “My stomach must move outwards.” “Did my shoulders just move upwards, again?” … If you focus on too many things at the same time, you’ll achieve nothing. Diaphragmatic breathing will be achieved if you just put your focus on allowing the air to flow in and out. The rest will happen as accompanied results. It reminds me of what Chuang Tzu said, “无为而无所不为 (wu wei er wu suo bu wei).” meaning, do nothing in controlling the results of things, (do what brings the nature and people the best) and everything will fall into its place.
We live in such a fast-paced and competitive environment. We multi-focus. We multi-task. We try to get the results as soon as possible. We do, do and do. We’ve been concentrating too much on “doing” while having lost touch with “being”, an activity of focusing on every present moment, on only one task and one person at a time; a process of allowing things to happen; an essential force in bringing you balance both internally and externally. The imbalance of doing over being, in breathing practices, causes us to try to control the result of diaphragmatic breathing: no shoulders moving up, no chest throwing out, but stomach coming out. What you really need to focus on is allowing the air to flow in and out of you.
Diaphragmatic breathing not only brings power to your voice, but gives you the opportunity to get in touch with your “being”. If you could spend just five minutes a day in this simple breathing exercise, you’ll be fully refreshed and recharged.
“Be still and know that I am God.
Be still and know that I am.
Be still and know.
Be still.
Be.
(Ps. 46:10)”
P.S. You may want to join me on 14 August in our Voice out Happening here and experience breathing into your soul.
