SINGINGMAG
A MUST-READ TO MASTER YOUR VOICE, BODY AND MIND.
A stupid title, if I do say so myself. But how do you attract attention today if you want to share valuable information? 😉 I promise you that after reading this blog you will know a lot more about the link and connection between your voice, body and mind and how you can get started at home.
Your voice is more than just your vocal cords. Your voice is the result of your mindset and your body setting. And by body I mean more than the physical body, but also your emotional body, mental body and energetic body. Everything has to be “in alignment”. If your entire system is in alignment, you will feel healthier, happier, fitter and happier, but this will also be reflected in your voice color. Your voice will sound more powerful, more resonant and more clear.
Voice complaints or issues with your voice find their cause deeper than just from the “local” aspect. Also with neck, shoulders, stomach, intestinal complaints.
How often is it that you go to a physiotherapist who looks from a “local” view, and that you continue having complaints?
You have to see the body as all slices on top of each other. Each bottom slice affects the slice above it. The voice is located on a very “high” slice in the body, so as a holistic vocal coach I always treat the lower slices first in order to bring the high slice, the voice, back into balance. After that, you can work more deeply on the top slices: the voice, the larynx, the jaws,…
Treating only the top slice is certainly also a possibility if the problem happens to be local only. Or when you want a quick fix. (because, for example, the person has to use his or her voice for a concert the day after). But if this is not the case, I prefer the most complete treatment possible. As many slices as possible on the one hand. But also as many structures as possible on the other side (in the depth of the body).
Small side note: many think you should “feel” or “hurt” a good massage. Nothing is less true. A deep muscle massage can be very healing if the muscles are overloaded. However, when the muscles are tense because of, for example, a deeper emotional or energetic problem, then there are other applications or treatments that are preferable such as:
- Acupuncture, acupressure (energetic system, emotional system).
- Craniosacral therapy (nervous system). After all, if you remove the stress from the system, the muscles will automatically release.
- Sound therapy
- Fasciatherapy
…
Treating the muscles hard can also have a contradictory effect in some cases (e.g. with highly sensitive people. Their system quickly becomes overstimulated with a heavy-handed approach. When you are looking for someone for treatment, follow your gut feeling and not your brain, because your “gut” is never wrong 😉
In this blog I want to encourage you to get started yourself. My intention is mainly to be an eye opener, and to wake you up that health always starts with the most important person in your life: yourself. No one, not the best healer or doctor can heal you if you do not realize (and believe) that health is your BASIS. A body heals, period. If you carve a scratch in your arm, it will heal. That’s how it is with everything, as long as you notice the signals your body is giving you early enough. After all, every disease starts with smaller, sometimes very inconspicuous, signals. The more aware you become of your body and mindset, the more you avoid! It’s better to prevent than to cure.
HOLISTIC APPROACH
Your voice doesn’t lie. It expresses – just like the rest of your body through body language or any body ailments – whether you have been stressed, and whether there are emotions that you have not yet processed. Emotions can be perceived auditory. Your voice says with its timbre what is going on with the person “behind the voice”. You can really hear everything from your voice, whether you have been stressed, or whether there are emotions that you have not yet processed. You can even auditory sense the type of emotion. Your voice mirrors and expresses what is going on mentally, emotionally and physically.
But vice versa is also true. The rest of your body also gives you a lot of information. E.g.: You have a headache when you don’t want to be somewhere and do something against your will, your stomach turns when you see something you don’t like, you get a beep in your ear when you go against your own feeling.. . You name it.
I would like to list some important complaints for you that I often encounter and treat as a vocal coach. The complaints seem to have nothing to do with the voice, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Your voice mirrors other body complaints in its own way and provides much more information than you think!
CONNECTION BETWEEN YOUR NECK, SHOULDERS AND VOICE
Your voice loses overtones when your neck is stuck. Result: your larynx does not move freely, your voice sounds more tense, hoarse, weak and muffled.
NECK:
The nerves of your voice are located at your upper cervical vertebrae. If I relieve the tension in your neck during a voice treatment, you will immediately hear a difference in the voice. The neck (back of the body) mirrors the larynx (on the front of the body). Tension in the upper cervical vertebrae will consequently cause tension in the upper part of the larynx.
If you free your neck, your throat will also be much freer, resulting in more overtones and a clearer, more sparkling voice color.
SHOULDERS:
Tension in the upper trapezius muscles (shoulders) cause tension in the neck and then again for a tense voice. It often helps to clear the abdominal region by a holistic voice massage or a by a manual therapist.
- When the abdominal region is cleared, there is again room for low diaphragmatic breathing.
- A low diaphragmatic breathing creates more space in the chest, so that the auxiliary respiratory muscles are not engaged and therefore also relieved.
- This will relax the shoulders again. AND your voice too! Love this domino effect!
Tension in the shoulders – the upper trapezius muscles- cause tension in the neck and then again for a tense voice. Often it is a substantial difference after the abdominal region has been cleared in a holistic voice massage or by a manual therapist.
- When the abdominal region is cleared, there is again room for low diaphragmatic breathing.
- A low diaphragmatic breathing creates more space in the chest, so that the auxiliary respiratory muscles are not engaged and therefore also relieved.
- This will relax the shoulders again. But hey! Your voice too! 🙂 Love this domino effect!
YOGA FOR NECK, SHOULDERS AND VOICE
CONNECTION BETWEEN YOUR PSOAS MUSCLE AND YOUR VOICE
The psoas muscle is a very important muscle in your body.
Did you know that the psoas muscle is often the main culprit for many complaints such as digestive complaints, lower back complaints, but even respiratory complaints, shoulder complaints and voice complaints?
The psoas is located deeper in your abdomen and is the fight flight freeze muscle of your autonomic nervous system. It tightens under stress. This shortens it and you stand with a slightly more hollow back. This results in lower back pain and possible abdominal pain.
What could be the consequences for your voice?
Tightening the psoas muscle sets off a chain reaction:
- The psoas muscle is connected to the diaphragm (also a muscle) via connective tissue. (For healthy breathing, the diaphragm must descend as you inhale.
- When the psoas is tense, the diaphragm will also be tense, causing the diaphragm to descend less well.
- As a result, you will start breathing higher and you will activate your accessory breathing muscles to breathe. This creates tension around the neck, shoulders and neck. This creates even more a feeling of stress.
- When these muscles are activated, your larynx – the area in which your vocal cords are located – will be able to move up and down less freely. (Side note: Your larynx can be compared to an elevator, it must be able to move up and down freely if you want to be able to sing high and low tones easily).
- Result: your voice sounds less warm, resonant and grounded. There is little breath support and more throat tension.
When the psoas is relaxed again, you automatically get space in your throat, so that your voice will sound free again, get more dynamics in your speaking and singing voice and can sing effortlessly again! 🙂
LINK BETWEEN YOUR PELVIS AND YOUR VOICE
Tension in the pelvis is connected with tension in your jaw area. Both the psoas and jaw muscles tighten in response to stress. Result: The voice sounds more tense, less resonant and less stable. The muscles that allow you to sing higher will also be more tense, because they are attached to the ears and jaws. This can make it more difficult to sing high notes. In addition, an unstable pelvis (and additional lower back complaints) can make your voice sound less resonant and warm.
Let’s do some pelvic and psoas exercises for the voice! In the livestream below I give no less than 45 minutes of exercises to bring your voice, body and mind back into alignment with each other. (dutch version)
Goodluck!
45 MIN DURENDE LIVESTREAM VOOR YOGA VOOR DE STEM
Wil je 2x/maand inspiratie in je mailbox?
Schrijf je dan in voor mijn newsletter.
'Ponytales' met motivational talk,
inspirerende verhalen & coachingtips.