Find your deep, strong singing breath

SING WITH JILL: The Blog

Finding your deep, strong singing breath

(it's easier than you think)

A fresh approach to finding the breath and supporting your voice

Breathing… it can be one of the most daunting things about singing. And yet, the breath is your motor when singing and you need a strong, supportive breath to carry those beautiful vocal sounds.

If you find that you run out of breath when you sing, or like you just can’t bring in a nice full breath, read on:

First off, I promise you that shallow breathing or running out of breath doesn’t need to stop you in your tracks or make you feel like you’ll never understand it. There is hope!

We simply need to re-frame how you think about breathing for singing. (And bonus: this also works for speaking too).

Your first step is to envision where your breath should go: Think about filling up an imaginary inner tube around the circumference of your belly button.

Fill your beautiful inner tube up with air – give it a color if you like – and then, when you start to speak or sing, it will slowly deflate.

It really can be that simple!

Remember to start SLOW: many of us don’t breathe properly… We tend to breathe shallowly most of the time (unless you’re an avid meditator / yoga connoisseur), so breathing can feel like unchartered territory).

Just start by filling up that inner tube with your mouth closed, inhaling through your nose. And really connect to it and feel it deeply.

If you’re a visual person and need to really SEE this process (with fun animations) and be guided step-by-step, I created a micro-course all about breathing. Learn more about it here.

You might notice that connecting to this deeper breath can bring up emotion, a feeling of vulnerability, and loss of control. And if you’re feeling that, that’s OK!

Because guess what? …That is the spot where you need to bring the breath to. That deeper place where the breath, on the exhale, can really propel the sound.

It’s not enough to do this kind of “inner tube” breathing once. Like anything, it takes practice, practice, practice.

Here are 3 steps to help you connect to your breath throughout the day:

1) When you wake up and YAWN feel your inner tube expand, and put your hand on your belly to feel the expansion. Yawn and connect to the breath 3 times

2) When you are walking or driving to work, take 3 inhales from your inner tube (3 through the nose / 3 through the mouth). Connect to your breath and exhale slowly!

3) Before you nod off to sleep, put one hand on your belly and one hand on your chest and inhale deeply feeling the expansion in your belly, sides, and back.

This practice of connecting to your breath daily is going to make breathing for singing (and speaking) feel SO much easier and way more accessible.

Want to transform your breath even more? Check out Big Bold Breath!