Exercise Your Voice
No matter who you are or what you do, chances are you need to use your voice most of the day. Everyone knows the importance of exercising the body but few people realize the voice needs exercise too. It is best to relax the body with simple self massage and light stretching before doing vocal exercises. Perform these eleven quick and easy warm ups in the privacy of your shower or wherever you feel comfortable to release physical and vocal tension...
Contents
Steps
- Massage the base of your tongue, in the spongy area just behind your chin bone. Start by resting your index fingers on top of your chin. Drop your jaw which will cause your mouth to open. While resting your index fingers on your chin, simultaneously use your thumbs to massage deeply into the base of your tongue.
- Release tension from your temporal mandibular joints. To find the joints, place your fingertips just by and in front of your ears on both sides of your face and open your mouth. The space that opens up as your jawbone moves is your temporal mandibular joint. Massage these joints using your fingertips or the palms of your hands. Release your jaw further and massage deeper with each exhale.
- Stretch your tongue out of your mouth as far as you can in all directions.
- Make as many funny faces as you can to exercise all of your facial muscles and stretch your cheeks.
- Massage your neck and shoulders. It is also a good idea to add basic neck and shoulder rolls to loosen up.
- Make some silly noises while shaking out your entire body or jumping up and down to let go of any other tense areas that may be stuck.
- Yawn 10 times to open up the back of the throat.
- Hum holding any pitch for 10 or more seconds feeling a tingling sensation around your lips and nose.
- Buzz your lips making a Brr sound. Start on any pitch. Then go up and down your vocal range.
- Vocalize on an open ‘Ahh’ sound going up and down your range.
- Sing or hum any song that uplifts or inspires you.
Tips
- Make sure to keep your back straight while doing these exercises. Have proper posture.
- If you experience any tenderness or pain during massage, there is tension trapped in your body. Just continue to breathe into the tension, releasing and letting it go.
- Take one tablespoon of honey with lunch or dinner every day to coat your throat .
- Note that this will take practice and should be done on a regular basis.
- Vocalizing with open sounds like ‘maah’ or ‘aahh’ on the exhale while massaging or stretching can help you release even further.
Warnings
- Most people experience tension specifically in the tongue, jaw, face, neck, or shoulders and are normally unaware of how much that consistent stress impacts their verbal and non-verbal communication.
