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โIncorporating internal vibrations, such as through a gentle hum, often promotes further relaxation,โ says Nathan Morgan, lead instructor for the Seattle Voice Lab, which provides vocal therapy and training. โThis process allows students to step out of their own way, enhancing their creativity and overall freedom in vocal expression. Iโve watched countless students find this freedom for the first time. It is a joy to watch many years of hard-fought angst and fear just drip away.โ
Chanting is also effective. Many people are familiar with chanting โomโ at the end of a yoga class but might not know that its positive effects are backed by research. A survey distributed to more than 400 people across 32 countries who regularly practise chanting showed an increased quality of life and higher access to mindfulness and โflow statesโ.
Start with a relaxed singing vowel, and end with a hum: Be sure your throat and mouth are relaxed, take a slow breath in, and sing the open vowel โahhhโ or โoohhโ before finishing with a long โmmmmโ.
Helen Lavretsky, a psychiatry professor and the director of the late-life mood, stress and wellness research program at UCLA, has studied the physiological benefits of chanting. Chanting regulates breathing, she says, calming the nervous system and โimproving sleep, reducing inflammation, and it can have anti-ageing effectsโ.
Helping others relax
When someone you love is feeling tense, you can usually hear it in their voice. When theyโre angry or sad, you can see it in their facial expression. Actors and musicians often refer to their bodies as their โinstrumentโ, and theyโre right. We feel emotions in response to their performances. This isnโt magic: Itโs called co-regulation, a process in which one personโs sense of calm helps the people around them relax.
Think of a parent using a soothing voice to calm their newborn baby. Imagine a TV show where the detective uses a smooth voice and neutral expression to make a suspect feel safe enough to confess. These are examples of influencing each otherโs nervous systems.
My colleague, Rebecca Tourino Collinsworth, a theatre artist and the creative director of a Seattle dramatic arts company, has been teaching and practising voice work for more than 20 years. โI tell my students, again and again, that the sounds weโre releasing should not contain any particular vocal quality โ weโre not trying to sound โbeautifulโ or even โinterestingโ โ weโre not trying at all.โ
When practising breath work, pay close attention to the sensations in your mouth, throat and chest, she advises. The feeling matters more than the quality of the sound.
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โThe body naturally creates armouring in the torso, tensing, to protect against trauma. That tension keeps us from breathing fully,โ says Tourino Collinsworth. โOur predictable urge to โget it rightโ may be counterproductive here, introducing unnecessary tension that can inhibit the voice. Simple vocal releases like this are pre-verbal, and we tend to associate pre-verbal sounds with moments of intense vulnerability: the coo of an infant, say, or the wail of a mourner.โ
Studies show that using our voices together also creates co-regulation. โLearning to do this work among others without performing for them can be a revolutionary experience,โ Tourino Collinsworth says.
The most important thing is to give speech work and breath work a try.
โAny attention we give โ any curiosity we bring โ to our breath and voice is time well spent,โ Tourino Collinsworth added.
The Washington Post
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