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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. Doing a few minutes of simple vocal warm up
exercises can increase your vocal power, variety, range,
stamina, and fitness and dramatically improve the overall
quality of your communication.
To release excess physical tension it is best to open up the
body before opening up the voice. 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. When
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speech
isn’t enunciated clearly, consonants are dropped off at the
ends of words, singers strain for high notes or if one
experiences vocal fatigue too quickly it is a sure sign of
tension.
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.
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1. |
Massage the base of your tongue, in the spongy area
just behind your chin bone, above and in front of
your Adams apple. 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. Breathe in and on the exhale, massage deeper
to let go of tension along with the breath.
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2. |
The temporal mandibular joints normally hold a
significant amount of tension. 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.
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3. |
Stretch your tongue out of your mouth as far as you
can in all directions. If this is difficult for you
to do, use a washcloth or handkerchief to gently
pull and stretch your tongue up to your nose, down
to your chin, and side to side in the direction of
each ear. Then slowly draw clockwise and
counterclockwise circles with your tongue.
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4. |
Make as many funny faces as you can to exercise all
of your facial muscles massaging any other tense
head areas like your temples, forehead, eyebrows,
and scalp.
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5. |
Massage your neck and shoulders. It is also a good
idea to add basic neck and shoulder rolls to loosen
up further especially if you spend a lot of time on
a computer.
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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. Vocalizing with open sounds like
‘haaaa’ or ‘aaaah’ on the exhale while massaging or
stretching can help you release even further.
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6. |
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.
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7. |
Yawn a few times to open up the back of the throat.
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8. |
Hum holding any pitch for 10 or more seconds feeling
a tingling sensation around your lips and nose.
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9. |
Flap your lips making a Brr sound. Start on any
pitch. Then go up and down your vocal range.
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10. |
Vocalize on an open ‘Aah’ sound going up and down
your range.
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11. |
Sing or hum any song that uplifts or inspires you.
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A voice
is most beautiful when its sounds are unleashed from deep
within the authentic self. Your voice may not be perfect,
professional or even what others may call “on pitch” but
don’t let that stop you from singing your heart’s song.
Vocal warm ups will help you to open up your mind, body, and
spirit to a playful, productive, and powerful day. Give
yourself permission to let your inner voice roar and reap
consistent benefits in your external world.
Copyright © 2006
~ Deborah Torres Patel ~ All rights reserved
For reprint permission, please email
info@expressingyou.com
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