Basic Breathing and Breathing Rehabilitation Exercises

            I thought I’d post a few quick and easy ways to build or RE-build your breathing.  These are great for young children, for anyone who suffers from Asthma or other respiratory challenges such as seasonal allergies, or those rehabilitating from an illness that has taxed their respiratory system and overall physical strength.  Check these out and throw a few repetitions of each in with your breathing exercise routine.

·      Take a Lunch-Size brown paper bag and practice blowing the bag up, then, let the air back out.  A person can practice this simple exercise multiple times with essentially no financial investment, low time investment, and even as a fun little game, if handled correctly.

·      Blow up a Balloon.  This may sound exactly like the first suggestion but it’s actually much more difficult, and should not be attempted until a person is healthy and strong enough to begin working on this.  Blowing up a balloon requires strong, focused breath pressure that must be maintained for long enough to initialize the beginning of the inflation.  The first time the balloon is inflated requires the greatest amount of breath pressure.  However, every time the balloon blows up, you strengthen the musculature necessary for producing your respirations, and thus, make yourself stronger and healthier.  Blow the balloon up and let the air blow back out.  Kids have great fun with this.

·      Start by taking a soup can in each hand while standing upright (do NOT lock your knees and keep your neck relaxed) with feet facing forward, and palms turned forward.  AS YOU INHALE, bend your elbows, raising your hands (with the cans) up to your chest.  AS YOU EXHALE, lower your hands back down but maintain a tension in your arms as you lower them.  If you are able or are stronger, use heavier cans, whether standard #2 cans of beans or corn, or even large 28 oz. cans such as those of tomatoes.  Of course, it is also possible to use small hand weights but beware of using heavy weights, especially for children.

·      Simple physical exercises that build and strengthen “core” muscles are also great for vocal breathing.  These would include exercises such as sit-ups, push-ups, and crunches.  Even better, would be these 5 exercises recommended by Personal Trainer, Timothy Bell at http://breakingmuscle.com/bodyweight/5-fundamental-core-and-abdominal-exercises-for-beginners.  These exercises include: 1- Tummy Vacuums - you get on all fours with your spine straight but your neck relaxed and then, as you exhale, pushing the air out, you suck in your mid-section and round your back; 2- Clam Shells – lie on your side on the floor with your left arm extended straight out under your head and your right arm extended along your right side, while both your legs are together with knees bent and held in front of the body.  As you breathe and hold your Abdomen taunt, slowly lift your top/right bent leg and then, lower it back down.  After doing this several times, roll over and repeat the exercise on the opposite side.  3- Dead Bugs – This one is a little more difficult but it’s totally worth it.  Lie flat on the floor with your arms straight up over you, brought together at the hands.  Your legs are once again bent at the knees, but this time, they should be lifted so that the bent portion of your legs is parallel to the floor.  At this point, you are going to “scissor” your limbs.  What that means is that as one arm extends over your head, the opposite leg, straightens out, then, everything moves back to the original position, and then, the other arm extends up as its opposite leg extends out.  4- Band Anti Rotation – This exercise requires a large Exercise Band.  By placing the large Exercise Band around a post on a patio or stairway or the like, stand a distance away so that the Band is pulled tight.  Stand erect with your feet shoulder-width apart, and your arms extended straight in front of you, clasping your hands together around the other end of the Exercise Band.  By pulling in your core area, gently “resist” the pull of the Band and pull back slightly.  Repeat this again in the opposite direction.  5- Bird Dogs – Begin back on all fours.  Just as you did with “Dead Bugs”, one at a time, extend one leg backwards as you extend one arm forward in front of your head.  Then, repeat with the opposite leg and arm.

Keep working; keep breathing; keep singing!  All of these exercises will help you build toward being a better and better singer.  Check out my website if you have questions about me or what I do at www.SingitForward.net. Thanks for reading!  PLEASE send me any questions, comments, and/or suggestions for future posts.  This is all for you!  Sing it Forward!