In this video, I am going to show you three different exercises to release vocal tension
from your strained voice.
Let’s start.
Hi!
I am Katarina, speech language pathologist and here on this channel, I share practical
tips about using your voice in a healthy way.
So, if this is a topic that interests you, consider subscribing to this channel and hitting
that bell notification icon so that you don’t miss any of my future videos.
There are many ways to release vocal tension from a strained, tired or even painful voice.
You may have tried some of them and they did not work.
Well, the truth is that we are all very different and the strain or pain that you experience
in your voice may come from many different places.
Maybe your strain comes from a bad habitual posture, maybe it comes from using inefficient
vocal technique or maybe there is accumulated muscle tension even before you say anything.
Therefore, there are many different techniques to release tension.
Every week in our coaching program Vocal Freedom System for the speaking voice, we explore
several of these techniques.
I then ask the members of the program to choose what works for their voice, body and their
vocal needs.
Today, I will show you three different types of these techniques and it is up to you to
try them and then choose the ones that benefit your voice.
How do you know if an exercise has benefits for your voice?
The answer is: take a baseline.
Briefly assess your voice before an exercise and then compare it to your voice after the
exercise.
If the exercise is beneficial, you will feel an improvement in some way - more resonance
or ease of production?
Assessing your voice is easy, just count from one to ten or say the days of the week or
sing a cut from your song and notice how your voice feels.
And do the same vocal task after you finish the exercise and notice if your voice feels
any different.
So, now it’s time to take your initial baseline.
Pause this video, take a baseline and then come back.
Ok.
You are back.
Technique #1 to release vocal tension from a strained voice is Manual Tension Release
This can be anything from a massage, manipulation, myofascial release, trigger point therapy,
some people even go for acupressure or acupuncture to release tension from the muscles of their
head, neck, shoulders, upper torso or even lower torso.
Everything in our body is connected so even locked knees can affect your vocal function.
If you have that option you can go and find a physiotherapist or other specialist who
can give you a good massage or similar treatment.
In this video, I am going to show you a short self- applied massage to your suprahyoid region
so the area under your chin.
Suprahyoid muscles that are attached to the hyoid bone from up above affect our larynx
and where it likes to sit.
People with tension often have their larynx too high and they feel tension under the chin
or around the jaw and this can spread even further.
So, let me show you.
Go and get a big pillow to support your elbows.
Or you can put your elbows on a steady surface like a table to support your arms.
Place your right thumb under your chin and slowly move your thumb towards the neck in
the midline.
Apply gentle pressure.
Repeat a few times.
Then, slowly drag your thumb on a diagonal towards the chin, more closely to the jaw.
There are several muscles in this area that can be contracted and tense, so take your
time if this massage feels good.
And now, repeat on the other side.
Take your left thumb and apply gentle pressure to your left side under the chin.
Excellent!
How is your voice now?
Take a baseline and see if this massage had any benefits for your voice.
Of course, this is just one example of a massage or myofascial release that can improve your
vocal function.
If you are experiencing vocal strain, tension or even pain when speaking, and you are ready
to work towards a free, strong and confident voice, you can apply to our Vocal Freedom
System coaching program.
Check out the links in the description below this video.
Technique #2 to release vocal tension from a strained voice are Straw Exercises
From my experience, people either love them or hate them.
I personally love them but I know a lot of people who really have not figured them out
yet and they don’t particularly like them.
One of the members in our coaching group, she never liked them in the past.
But I challenged her to give it another try and now she loves them!
It takes time to figure them out!
For our purpose today, which is releasing tension, I want you to use a wide straw.
If you don’t have a selection of straws, just choose the one that has the least amount
of resistance, so a short or wide straw.
If you use a straw with high resistance, you may create more tension.
High resistance straws are good for building muscle strength and endurance once you are
free from tension.
So, let’s use a wide straw and first, we are just going to sustain a sound.
Make a good seal with your lips around the straw.
Inhale through the nose and gently blow through the straw while making a neutral sound underneath.
Something like “uh”.
And just sustain the sound at a comfortable pitch and make it even and stable.
If your voice becomes unstable that is ok.
Just continue holding that sound.
Do not push air at the end of the sound.
Just let go, inhale again and repeat.
You can use this simple exercise for building vocal strength too.
But I talked about it in a different video.
I will put a link to it at the end of this video.
Continue for a few minutes if you don’t feel any tension or strain in your voice.
If you feel strain, then you are either pushing too much air or you're overworking some muscles.
Excellent, how is your voice feeling now?
If you want, take another baseline to see if this exercise has any benefits to you.
Let me know if you love straw exercises or hate them.
Just put the word love or hate in the comments below.
Technique #3 to release vocal tension from a strained voice is very simple - Humming
One of my favourites.
And if you are saying that it’s nothing new, you are right.
You can do humming exercises for the rest of your life and can always find more and
more vocal resonance every time.
This exercise helps you get to know your vocal tract very intimately.
Tiny changes in the shape of the vocal tract can affect the strength and ease of your voice
tremendously.
So, let me show you how to be playful with this exercise and how you can make it fun
every time you practice.
The most important part of this exercise is that 1.
it has to feel buzzy in the face and 2.
It has to feel very easy at the level of the vocal folds.
Then just play around with micro-adjustments of the vocal tract.
Change the position of your lips, tongue, jaw, soft palate, epilarynx, false vocal folds.
Listen to my voice how it changes when I change the shape of the vocal tract.
Do this for a few minutes every day and find a hum that is stable, resonant and strong.
You will release tension from the voice and there is an added bonus!
The vibrations from the hum positively affect the tissue of the vocal folds towards healing.
So, if you have swollen vocal folds or hoarseness, humming actually will promote healing.
How is your voice feeling now?
Time to take the final baseline.
I hope you feel less strain than when we started!
So, these were three techniques to release tension from your strain voice.
But there are more things to consider.
I made a video, in which I walk you through 7 steps that lead to a strong voice without
tension.
If you want to know what voice, body and mind considerations you need to take to truly free
your voice, click the link in the description below this video.
If you found this video helpful, click the like button and share it with your friends.
Check out the video on how to do laryngeal self-massage right here below.
I hope to see you soon.
Bye.