Diaphragmatic breathing.. a dangerous thought

I got an email in this week asking about help with diaphragmatic breathing. The question itself is dangerous. Here's the question:

Hi Judy,
I am coming to visit the states for a week (I live in London)... I have an eleven hour flight and I thought it would be perfect to practice on strengthening my diaphragm as I won't be doing much else. My question: When i practice diaphragmatic breathing (and even singing along to songs without producing sound but focusing on when to breathe and the amount of breathe coming out) I can maintain strong, consistent breath. However, the second I begin singing and producing a tone, my breath goes all over the place. My voice is breathy and I can't even hold a consistent exhalation to support the tone. Why is this and how do I overcome it to keep that strong balanced breath when producing tones?
Cheers,
Nav

OK, why is this a dangerous question? Because I have found that "thinking about diaphragmatic breathing" invariably causes tension right where you don't want it... at the bottom of your ribcage where your diaphragm is connected. Even if you try to keep it open there, you may be freezing your position, which is STILL TENSION!

Here's the truth.. the diaphragm works as an involuntary muscle, like your heart. If you were to squeeze or otherwise physically interfere with your heart as it beats (unless you are a great heart surgeon :), your heart would have a problem, so yes, you can affect it by voluntary muscular actions. However, what you usually do is to interfere with its natural and automatic actions.

The only way to help your diaphragm is to stay out of its way. KEEP YOUR RIBS WIDE. This is universally taught by all correct vocal training. But even this begs yet another question... how do you keep your ribs wide? There's a place just below your shoulder blades in your spine. From this point, you can shift your ribcage forward. This point must remain alive and flexible, not frozen stiff even in a correct position. If you move your head so it is balanced over your tailbone, you will find this point moving in and your ribcage opening up.

You must not take this posture too far in a "swayback" spinal position. The point is in the middle of the UPPER, not the lower back. You must also not freeze it in place.

Then apply power (squeeze) from the pelvic floor. Singing this way will strengthen the diaphragm naturally, as well as other muscles in the abs, chest and back that do the work to hold the diaphragm open.

Learn about how the diaphragm works, what affects it and what you need to do for it, but then stop worrying about your diaphragm. In my "Power, Path & Performance" 6-CD training course, I teach everything you need to know about your diaphragm, and include illustrations. This training, comprehensively balanced with all the rest of the techniques taught in this package, will put to rest "stinking thinking about breathing" that gets so many singers and speakers in worse trouble than before they started thinking about it.

Trust your automatic nervous system with it's silent conversations. Diaphragmatic breathing is created, strengthened and correctly joined with other muscle groups important for breath support and control when you concentrate on sensing your power in your pelvic floor.. not your chest!

3 Parts to singing breath

I got a new student in who complained of not having enough breath. Sounds like a simple fix... she just needs to breathe in deeper, right? Not.

It's more complicated than that. The truth is, you can be quite compromised in the lung area you have available, from respiratory diseases and scar tissue, and STILL be able to have plenty of breath to sing. How is that possible?

Because there are three parts to the kind of breath you need to power your voice.

1. The Inhale: Moving air inwards

An amount of air inhaled lower (at the bottom of the lungs) than that same amount inhaled higher in the chest will give much more effective breath to the voice. It should actually feel like you are inhaling air into your lower belly and back - all the way to the pelvic floor. Open and relax the lower abdominal wall, while at the same time feeling very tall. That should give you a great inhale.

The last two parts have to do with the exhale:

2. Breath Support: Moving air upwards

When it's time to move some air upwards (through your vocal cords), your diaphragm is told by your brain to relax. Because its rim is attached to the bottom of the ribcage and its dome is attached by a scaffolding-like network of ligaments to the sternum, etc, when the diaphragm relaxes it bows upwards, pressing air out of the lungs which sit on the diaphragm.

You need to support the diaphragm by tightening the lower abdominal and back wall so abdominal contents shift upwards and don't drag the diaphragm down by their weight. When you squeeze your butt, notice the accompanying squeeze in the lower abs.

3. Breath Control: Holding air back

Air moving upwards MUST be controlled (held back) when the vocal cords come together for speech or singing. When just the right air pressure is applied... not too little, not too much... you will not feel a tightening against that pressure in your throat, neck, jaw or shoulder muscles. It will seem as though your voice floats out of you. Breath support must occur and must be balanced by breath control. Breath control is enabled by keeping your lower ribcage wide... just like with the inhale. The difference between inhale and exhale, then, is in the expanding and contracting lower abdominal area. The ribs stay wide.

With these three parts working properly, you will sense your breath falling in... then being squeezed at the pelvic floor, not the ribcage. This low squeeze will cause you to have "laser beam" breath rather than "flashlight spread" breath.

The truth is, it doesn't take much breath to sing, if the breath is applied properly with these three parts working together in synergy. This is the "Power" part of "Power, Path & Performance". Put it together and you won't believe how long you can hold notes (just ask some people who sang in "Runaway Home" last week - the last note of the last song was a killer!)

What are your experiences with breath issues? Is there anything more specific you'd like to know or share?