“Songs are thoughts sung with the breath when people are moved by great forces and ordinary speech no longer suffices”.
“There are so many occasions in one’s life when a joy or a sorrow is felt in such a way that the desire comes to sing. All my being is songs, and I sing as I draw breath.” 
— Orpingalik (Inuit poet and shaman)
From the beginning of time humans sang their stories. Sacred, playful, joyous, sensual, blues, gospel, or wild – song has woven our history on this planet. It was at a “Song Weavers” event last weekend that I realized that it is rare that I break out in song myself, and certainly don’t sing with my friends or my community. It was also at this event that I discovered how tight my singing voice actually was. Yet, within the space of a couple of hours I also realized how easily, within the company of others, that voice can be released and played with.
The video below instructs us on how to breathe for singing. Watch and listen carefully and notice that this breath strengthens and expands our diaphragm muscles and relaxes the upper chest, neck and facial muscles – secondary breathing muscles that are often used in tight, contracted, chest breathing and stressful situations. The emphasis on lengthening the exhale with the hissss sound allows us to find our ground of being, relaxed voice, and our full expression. This also builds and expands our capacity for breath and thus for LIFE. Practice this and then let loose with a song, a sound, a tone!
P.S. For those of you that are Carol King/James Taylor lovers here is a treat – they are back together and are touring. Not only do they love to sing the “hits” – we love to sing along with them!
BREATHING SPACES 