8/6/2019 The Importance of Proper Breathing

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The Impor tance of Proper Breath ing

I f you run out of breath or your voice sounds thin when you speak, it is l ikely that you do not

have a suf f ic ient s t ream of breath to suppor t your vo ice.

For most of us, insuf f ic ient breath is cau sed by the fact that we hav e bad posture and

slouch out of habi t and/or s t ress. Bad posture automat ica l ly reduces the volume of the

chest cav i ty and promotes shal low breath ing f rom the upper chest . When we breathe us ing

the uppe r chest , we f i l l on ly the upper lobe s of our lungs that const i tu te only a sma l l f ract ionof our lung capaci ty .

In cont rast , when we are re laxed (but not s louched) , the f ree and easy expansion and

cont ract ion of the lungs, d iaphragm ( i .e . that muscle layer that separates the lungs f rom the

digest ive system), r ibcage and spine is enhanced dur ing breath ing, thereby increasing the

volume of a i r that we inhale/exhale. Consequent ly , we have more breath to susta in the

length and qual i ty of our speech.

In addi t ion, breath ing we l l is a lso be nef ic ia l in other ways . As P aul Wi lson (instant Calm: Over100 Successful Techniques for Relaxing Mind and Body. London: Penguin Books , 1995, p . 58) observes ,

breathing " is the most vital of al l bodily funct ions", because "all other funct ions depend on it ;

not only does ( it ) give l i fe, but i t also enhances the quality of l i fe. . . Your general health and

wel lbe ing, indeed, the way you th ink and your overa l l s tate of mind, are inext r icably l inked

with the way you breathe. . . By being able to cont ro l your breath ing, by harness ing th is

incredib ly power fu l l i fe force, you can cont ro l the way you feel . You can f ind calm in t imes

of s t ress. You can cope wi th a lmost any pressure. "

An Exerc ise in Breath ing

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6. Imagine that you are a puppet and that the puppetee r 's s t r ing is cont ro l l ing you f rom the

topmost point of your head (when your head is held level) . When you are s tanding

upright, imagine that i t is not your spine that is keeping you upright, but i t is this str ing at

the top of your head that is suspending you. You should feel that your sp ine then

st ra ightens ef for t less ly .

7. Imagine that the puppete er sudde nly cuts the s t r ing at the top of your head : you have

no cont ro l over the top par t o f your bo dy and i t f lops dow n into the hang ing posi t ion(descr ibed in Point 3). As you f lop over, let your breath come out In a quick rush.

Remember to keep your knees loose.

8. Imag ine that the pupp etee r is pull ing you upr igh t f rom the str ing on the top of you r head ;

as he/she pul ls the s t r ing, you uncur l s lowly ver teb ra by ver tebra in to an upr ight pos i t ion.

As you uncur l , s lowly breathe in .

9. Repe at Points 6 to 8 a few t imes.