BREATHING

Breathing for singing and speaking should be easy. Children and animals automatically breathe correctly, but adults tend to breathe inefficiently. Stemming from bending over desks in school, computers, steering wheels or cell phones, many develop a habit of clavicular breathing, or breathing from the chest rather than from the abdomen. This creates problems when speaking or singing for extended periods of time. The body was designed for diaphragmatic breathing. The diaphragm is a large muscle which divides the lungs from the abdominal cavity. When inhalation occurs, the diaphragm contracts, dropping downward, creating a vacuum which pulls air into the lungs. As the diaphragm returns to its “resting,” dome-shaped position, air is expelled from the lungs. Maintaining an upright position, with chest high and wide facilitates diaphragmatic breathing.