Good breathing patterns are essential for better voice. Breathing should be relaxed and easy, you should have enough breath to support your voice for your everyday needs. When your vocal demand grows, it is your breath that helps increase the volume of your voice and maintain vocal stamina.
Often, people with voice problems take shallow breaths and find that they run out of air when talking; this can then tighten the muscles in your voice box, causing hoarseness. The following exercises aim to improve your breath support by reducing tension in the shoulders and upper chest and encouraging deeper, more relaxed breathing.
During these exercises you are taking larger breaths than you're used to. For this reason, it's necessary to breathe more slowly than you're used to. If you breathe at the same rate you use with small, shallow breaths, you will probably feel a little lightheaded from over breathing, and it might make you yawn. Neither is harmful; they're just signals to slow down. Try not to practise for more than 5 minutes at one time.
Try to:
- Practise breathing after relaxation
- Maintain good posture with shoulders ‘open’ (but relaxed)
- Limit movement of shoulders / upper chest
- Pause for a moment each time before breathing in
If you cough, you will feel the muscle of the diaphragm move. This is the muscle below your ribcage that contracts to create space in the chest as we breathe in. When breathing in, we should notice the stomach pushing out. As we breathe out, the diaphragm and stomach relaxes.
Think about a balloon and how as we put air into the balloon the latex stretches and the balloon gets bigger and as we let the air out, the latex relaxes and gets smaller.
Exercise 1
Lie on the floor or on your bed with your head supported and knees bent up to prevent back strain.
Place a light book on your midriff. Keep your mouth closed and breathe in slowly through your nose. Allow the air to flow through the nose into the area of the diaphragm, making your stomach push out. Don’t fill your chest up, try to keep your chest still, and let your stomach do the work. Feel the book rise up. As you breathe out in a steady stream, feel the movement of the diaphragm muscle as it relaxes back to its resting position
Exercise 2
Stand in front of a long mirror. Place your hand on your midriff, below your ribs. Take a deep breath, keeping posture good and shoulders relaxed. As you breathe in, your hand should be pushed out when the diaphragm moves downwards.
Place your hands on your sides, above the hips. As you breathe in, your hands should be pushed outwards as the diaphragm moves down.
Breathe out slowly and count (mentally) as you go. As you breathe out feel the movement of the diaphragm muscle as it relaxes back to its resting position. Whatever the total number is, try to add 1 to it on your next attempt.
Exercise 3
Breathe in deeply as before, checking that your hands on your diaphragm move outwards as you breathe in.
Let the air go on a prolonged /ssssssss/. Keep the /sss/ going until your whole breath is used up.
Practice at different pressures i.e. forcefully firstly and then produce gradually more gently until you can barely hear the /sssss/ at all.
Exercise 4
Breathe in as before, and learn greater control over the outgoing breath by varying the speed of movement of the diaphragm:
SssSssS
sssSSsss
sssSsssS
SSsSS
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For further information
Contact details
North Cumbria Adult Speech and Language Therapy Department,
Room 1450, Lower Ground Floor, Cumberland Infirmary, Newtown Road, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA2 7HY
Tel: 01228 608332
Email: VoiceSLT@ncic.nhs.uk
North Cumbria Adult Speech and Language Therapy Department,
Level 4, West Cumberland Hospital, Homewood Road, Hensingham, Whitehaven, Cumbria, CA28 8JG
Tel: 01900 705082 (referral line)
Email: AdultSpeechTherapy-AllerdaleandCopeland@ncic.nhs.uk
Useful websites
If you would like further information about health conditions and treatment options, you may wish to have a look at the NHS website at www.nhs.uk
If you would like to find accessibility information for our hospitals, please visit https://www.ncic.nhs.uk/accessibility
Visit the NCIC Adult Speech and Language Therapy website at https://www.ncic.nhs.uk/services/speech-and-language-therapy
https://www.britishvoiceassociation.org.uk/ has free literature with advice on voice care.
We kindly thank the ENT SLT Team, Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for permission to reproduce and share this advice sheet and video link.
Disclaimer: This publication is designed for the information of patients. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, the information contained may not be comprehensive and patients should not act upon it without seeking professional advice.
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