As a trained classical singer who has taught voice lessons for over 10 years, I have been struck by the many parallels between Yoga and singing. Correct singing posture is identical to mountain pose, but with hands at the sides. Deep, diaphragmatic breathing is taught in both disciplines, and although most singers breathe through their mouths, I have found that a modified, quieter form of Ujjayi breathing has amazing benefits to the singer. It eliminates stage fright, warms and humidifies the air flowing into the lungs, and helps send the breath deeper into the body. The best singers strive to let go of all physical and mental tension and allow their voices to come from an authentic, natural place. Singing is the epitome of being present in the moment. If you let your mind wander, your voice can become unstable. If you tense up and push beyond your vocal limits, your voice will inevitably crack or waver. If you allow your ego to run your singing, your voice will sound false and manipulated. A great singer understands and cultivates a solid technique, and then, when performing, lets go and just sings from the heart.
I was searching for articles about Yoga and the voice, and I found this gem, which crystallizes everything I have wanted to say about healing properties of healthy vocalization.
In Full Voice
If speaking or singing hurts, or if you’ve never taken the time to explore your voice, it probably isn’t bringing you joy, warmth, or calm—or helping you express those feelings to others.
Yoga is a good way to get acquainted with your voice, as it helps you release unwanted tension, fully access your lungs, and improve your posture. The speech-language pathologist Arboleda, who’s also a yoga practitioner, emphasizes posture in particular—and not only because it smooths the breath. “How you’re positioned affects the shape of the throat and the alignment of the very small pieces of the larynx,” she says. “It’s a complex system, and everything needs to come together symmetrically.” Poor posture, she says, can bend the soft tissues of the throat out of shape, muting your sound.
And yoga, by calming the mind, allows you to focus on the quality of your voice. Listen closely to yourself. Do you use only a narrow range of pitches when you speak? Sterling says that people who speak only in the deepest pitches of their range often inhabit only that part of their emotional selves, eschewing lighter, sweeter feelings. By contrast, those who speak only in the high part of their range may lack gravity. Try broadening your vocal range when you talk, exploring expressive highs and lows. “It’s like moving in the full range of your personality as well as in the full range of your voice,” Sterling says.
A daily chanting practice, whether it’s done alone or with yoga, helps develop and strengthen your voice as well as attune you to its particular qualities, much like observing the breath in pranayama does, Dyer says. The more familiar your voice becomes to you, the more it will begin to reveal your truest self. “Are you getting sick? Are you getting run down? Are you falling in love? Or overwhelmed? Each of these things is reflected in your voice,” Dyer says. “The voice is the barometer of your being.” (See Unchain Your Melody for a guide)
Karin Beuerlein is a writer in Knoxville, Tennessee.
