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I am sure you are questioning how these two disciplines are similar. Actually 3 of the 5 principles of yoga are the same principles of voice training. And, because I personally live my life 24/7 making use of these 3 principles, I am able to handle stress and minor pain quite effectively. The 1st principle is relaxation which is something I suggest before training for the speaking (or singing) voice even begins. Any tension in the shoulder, neck, throat, mouth and/or jaw regions will negatively affect the outcome of discovering your ‘real’ or ‘true’ voice. When you can release the tension in these regions as well as in the rest of your body, your state of relaxation will carry through into the other areas of your life, both professionally and personally. The 2nd common principle is diaphragmatic breathing. Without proper breath support, yoga is pointless. The same holds true for the speaking voice. In order to find your ‘real’ voice, you must learn how to power your sound from your chest cavity, the 5th and largest of your vocal resonators. Unfortunately, most people are not using their chest cavity to breathe, relying instead on the upper portion of their torso for respiration. What this means is a voice which will be higher in pitch, thinner in quality, and lacking in good resonance. - Diaphragmatic breathing (which is how all other mammals breathe) allows the entire chest cavity to become the primary sounding board – the primary amplifier – for the voice, and is the technique used by all who possess a rich, resonant sound. Examples of great voices include those of Dennis Haysbert, Julia Ormond, Kathleen Turner, George Clooney, Cher, and, of course, James Earl Jones. Additionally, diaphragmatic breathing rids your body of the toxins that shallow or lazy breathing is unable to do. In fact, this type of upper chest breathing actually increases your stress.
The 3rd principle shared by both yoga and voice training is proper diet. A poor diet results in lack of mental acuity and definitely blocks spiritual awareness. Likewise, a poor diet is very bad for the vocal cords. These delicate organs are like folds of tissue and can be seriously damaged by lack of good nutrition, lack of sleep, smoking, excessive drinking, drugs and other medications, and vocal misuse. In addition, excessive yelling or speaking for extended periods of time can result in chronic hoarseness, a persistent sore throat or even loss of voice. There is no doubt that a healthy lifestyle, coupled with correct breathing and relaxation, is important emotionally, physically, spiritually, and intellectually – and it can do wonders for your speaking or singing voice as well. The Voice Lady, Nancy Daniels, offers private, corporate and group workshops in voice and presentation skills as well as Voicing It! the only video training on voice improvement. If you would like to see a dramatic ‘before & after’ clip, visit Voice Training Website and check out Craig’s video.
Related Articles -
voice training, yoga diaphragmatic breathing, speaking voice breathing, vocal abuse, lazy breathing, the voice lady, shallow breathing, upper chest breathing,
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