Tips for improving your breathing for speaking and recording…
Breath for wellness and mental wellbeing is so hot right now. Us voice nerds have been banging on about breath for yonks, so I’m glad you’ve caught up! Breathing can help you feel energised, less anxious and more focused so you can go about your day with ease.
If you’d like to improve your breathing for speaking and recording by doing a bit of breathwork each day, here are a few quick tips.
Breathing tip 1
Get comfy – seated or lying down. It’s easier to release the muscles used when breathing, and make breathing easier, if you’re comfy. So find a spot and settle in. You might even want a wee pillow or a blanket.
Breathing tip 2
Against a lot of advice, when working on breathing for speaking, it helps to just let your breath come in and out whenever it wants to. Don’t worry too much about counting it in and out, or holding it in any way. Just let the breath in and let the breath out. End of. Nice and simple.
Breathing tip 3
Nose or mouth. There are many reasons why nose breathing is good for you, but we breathe through our mouth when we speak, so don’t worry about using your nose if you don’t want to. Heck, sometimes it’s hard when it’s allergy season! As long as you’re breathing in and out in some way, that’s fine.
Breathing tip 4
Focus on the out-breath more than the in-breath. If you breathe out, your body has to breathe in – otherwise, you’ll die! Thank goodness. So don’t worry about the in-breath, just let the breath out, pause, release your belly and let the breath come back in for you whenever your body wants it to. Easy. This will help you in the long run with getting breaths in quickly and quietly for speaking and recording.
Check out this episode of The Voice Coach Podcast where I guide you through a 5-minute breath routine that you can easily incorporate into your day to improve your breathing for speaking and giving your mental wellness a wee hug.
For more breathing exercises, check out my book On The Mic.