Posture and tension. Free your voice from its tension prison. Free yourself from migraines, TMJ, and poor posture.
Treating and preventing poor posture, muscle tension, TMJ, and migraines
Can you open your mouth and easily put in 3 fingers, like making a 'gun', between your top and bottom teeth? Do you often suffer ear pain on one side of your face? Do you suffer from tension headaches and migraine? Do you have trouble getting your ears to 'clear' when descending in altitude, or when diving down into deeper water? Is your face slightly 'lop-sided.' Do you favor one side of your mouth when chewing food?
YES?
Can you relax your jaw, then take your chin in the thumb and fingers of one hand, and move your jaw easily up and down, (with your fingers not your jaw muscles) like your jaw is disconnected, just hanging loosely?
NO?
Well then you probably have at least some degree of TMJ. While this sounds like bad news it is actually good news. Because it means you have more potential than you realised. Both in terms of singing, and in terms of becoming 'migraine-free'.
This book is going to offer you some very effective self-help remedies and preventative exercises. Think of it as a ‘TMJ tool-kit’’. We are going to 'release' your jaw. We shall, 'free' it. And this will ‘release’ and 'free' your singing voice. Right now your voice is being held prisoner by neck, jaw, throat and tongue tension. Tension is a real voice 'killer'. So as part of your vocal training you are going to learn how to relax your neck, jaw, tongue, and throat, and adopt good posture and breathing habits.
Before you even get out of bed
Most of the tension in your body is 'stored' in your neck, tongue, and jaw. My dentist told me I was a tooth grinder. I had no idea what he meant. No-one ever diagnosed my TMJ. Now I am constantly vigilant of tension in my tongue, jaw, face, and neck. During the night I consciously relax my jaw, letting my mouth hang slightly open, relaxing my tongue (which tends to tighten and stick to the top of my mouth) and facial muscles. If my tongue feels stiff, I stick it out as far as I can, stretching it.
I massage the digrastic muscles under my chin. I massage my cheeks. I do my 'scream' massage down from the top of my jaw to the bottom, stretching my jaw down in the process. I give myself a quick shiatsu massage along the base of my skull, and a quick cranial facial massage. I massage my, what most people mistakenly call ‘shoulder’s (They are actually neck muscles). I do this when I wake up in the morning if I feel any headaches or oncoming migraine attacks. I do it in bed before I even dare to get up. I stretch my body to its full length and bring on yawns. I stretch my arms out to the side, and my legs out to the foot of the bed. Then, still lying on my back, I pull my knees up so my feet are flat on the bed, and relax my back. I hold this posture a while, and try to relax completely.
When I finally go to get out of bed, I do it taking great care not to stress my neck muscles. I roll over onto my side with a hand cupped under my chin, supporting the weight of my head. This is similar to the 'coma' position used in first aid. I then use my free arm to help push my body up into a sitting position, as I support the weight of my head with my other arm.
In this way I avert most migraines before they can develop. I go from being a migraine martyr to being just a 'bad morning person'. And that is a huge relief. Now I only need my two big cups of coffee, and to be left alone while I drink them.
People who suffer from neck and back pain will benefit too.
Relax every muscle
Relaxation is probably the biggest issue when it comes to singing. This is the issue which first brought me to study vocal training. I was looking for a way to 'free' my voice. Listen to my 'you-tube' TROONATNOOR videos and you will see how bad I was. I felt I could sing, but I just couldn't relax enough to facilitate it. I was preventing myself from singing by being so tense.
The times I had been relaxed and confident, I heard myself singing, and I liked what I heard. But as soon as I plugged in the mike and started worrying what the neighbours might think I tensed up and literally ‘choked’. It sounded horrible.
I have also suffered decades of terrible migraines, cluster headaches, nausea, and stress headaches. These stopped me from even trying to train my voice. Just breathing hard could bring on a terrible nightmare of pain and nausea. Oh, and I've suffered from poor posture too. Terrible childhood. Terribly low self-esteem. Terribly self-conscious. I thought there was nothing I could do about any of these things. But as I began looking into vocal training I discovered there were solutions to my decades old problems.
Now I want to share all my discoveries with you. So let’s begin here. Every exercise I present here worked for me. I have to be conscious of many things still, and continue with my exercises, but I promise you the positive changes all these things have produced in me feel like a miracle. And I really want you to have the same positive experience. I wish everyone was taught the things in this book at school when they were young. I wish someone had taught me decades ago. It would have saved me so much pain.
I am glad I learned all this stuff while I still have a chance to take advantage of it. Please ensure your kids, family, and friends all get a chance to benefit from it too.
Release your voice from its tension prison
You can't sing well unless you first ‘release’ the tension in your neck, face, jaw, and tongue. Your voice is currently imprisoned by it. If your tongue is tense, your throat will be tense. If your jaw is tense, your neck will be tense. If your tongue is tense your 'digrastic' muscles, the ones used for swallowing, which you can feel under your chin, will also be tense. This will all put your larynx, your voice box, under tension. That's what 'kills' your voice.
All of this tension will stop your vocal 'cords' from vibrating freely. You must ensure that the whole area of your face, especially the jaw, 'digrastic' muscles, tongue, throat, and neck, are as relaxed as possible.
Pulling yourself up to your full biological height: 'The Alexander Method'
Become conscious of any tension and stress in your muscles. Consciously relax them one by one. Start at your toes, and work your way up to your scalp. It can help if you first tense the muscle group as tightly as you can, before releasing this tension.
Now stand comfortably with your feet slightly apart, and one slightly forward of the other. Feel the weight of your body evenly balanced over both feet. Feel the pressure equally on your heels and the balls of your feet.
Tie some little object to a piece of string and make a 'plumb'. Get a friend to hold it under your ear-lobes. Standing tall, look down to your feet, then lean over a little until you can see your ankles. This is how you can get a feeling for how your hip-knee-ankle line should ideally be all the time. Your weight evenly distributed across your heels, big toe, and little toe.
What you learn from the 'Alexander method' is to 'pull yourself up to your full biological height'. The visualisation you use is to imagine balloons on the ends of strings.
One balloon is tied to the top of your skull about where your spine might come out through your head if your spine was long enough. This balloon pulls your neck up, lengthening your spine. The top back of your head is raised, leaving your chin to fall down towards your chest as a result.
Good posture is not about sticking your chin out or up. It is about having your head resting on top of your spine so that it is supported by the bones, and not your neck muscles. You won't be looking down on anyone. You will be gazing directly into their eyes. Your eyes will be level, parallel to the ground. You won't be star-gazing. You will easily see the ground in front of you.
Another balloon is attached to the top front of your chest, pulling your chest up. Just let your chest rise up. If you relax your shoulders, they will naturally fall back and down as a result. Think of your solar plexus, as the pivot of this movement, so that your chest and shoulders rotate horizontally along a point in your back between your shoulder blades.
Now this is a big point. Do not 'pull' your shoulders back and throw your chest 'out', like in the army. Your shoulders should be relaxed. Move them easily up (forwards) and down (backwards). Do this deliberately many times throughout the day, to ensure that your posture is correct and relaxed. Use this as 'biofeedback', to remind yourself about the need to keep your muscles relaxed, and your posture 'tall'. We often fail to recognise tension until it is too late, and we have headaches, neck pain, back pain, and other symptoms of tension and stress.
If you do it the wrong way, like in the Army, 'Shoulders back, chest out', your shoulders will be tense. So think pivot chest up, shoulders down and back. You will feel your breathing easier. You will feel your center of balance shifting back over your spine, hips, knees, and ankles, where it belongs. If it feels unnatural at first, then that is only because you have formed the bad habits of poor posture, like everyone else, over the decades of your life.
Now when your head is pulled upwards by that other imaginary balloon, it will pull your chin back and down towards your chest. This is key to a healthy spine, and to having a relaxed neck, throat, tongue, and jaw. Don't cheat by simply lifting your chin and 'bending' your head back. You have to 'push' it back along its horizontal axis. As if it is on tracks or rollers, sliding from front to back along your neck. Feel the back of your head rise up to the sky, as your spine lengthens. Visualise this happening, and it will.
Push your head up with the back of your neck, as high as you can. Feel your spine lengthening. It will feel strange at first. But you will feel the release of neck tension very soon.
Two heads are better than one?
It is a misnomer to say that we, like Atlas, carry the world on our shoulders. For we in fact carry the world upon our necks. Our neck can well handle one head, heavy as that may be. But poor posture means we are effectively carrying two heads, and are placing a load on our necks that it can only bear by tensing up.
One of the biggest tips for singers is also one of the most important 'chiropractic' tips. We tend to let our heads fall forward, putting our necks out of alignment. The average adult head weighs around 5kg. Leaning your neck forward just 2.5cm is the equivalent of adding another 5kg head to your neck.
Hold a 2L bottle of water close to your body. It feels light enough. You could hold it there a long time without much problem. Now hold it at arm’s length. How long can you hold it out before it feels too heavy to hold up any more? This is the 'leverage' effect.
Remember that when you 'turn' your head, if it is not sitting relaxed upon your neck, it will be like swinging 5kg around on the end of your neck. Each time you turn your head you will be accelerating a mass. If it is on the end of a lever, then the force (tension) you place upon your neck muscles will be multiplied by the length of that lever. The momentum adds even greater force than the extra 5kg due to leaning forward.
No wonder I had neck problems and migraines. Over 10 years ago a doctor told me that I was wearing away so much cartilage in my neck that I would lose the use of my arms in a few years. I had gone to him because of the 'grating' noise I often heard and/or felt when I simply turned my head. Of course he never bothered to check the other symptoms I had. All of them pointed to TMJ. And he never bothered to refer me to a chiropractor. You don’t get that sort of service from the typical ‘bulk-billing’ medical center practitioner.
The neck muscles go from the back of the head and jaw, all the way down to the front of your chest and down your back. When people ask for a 'shoulder' rub or massage, technically speaking they are talking about their neck muscles. All that 'vertical' area under the chin and head is, correctly speaking, 'neck'. We have shoulder bones, not shoulder muscles.
5kg is a lot of weight. It is best supported by the bones, rather than the muscles. If you stand correctly you allow the bones to support your neck, and take all the strain off your neck. It is just like holding the 2L bottle of water close to your body, rather than at arm’s length.
This will of course yield many benefits. Fewer 'tension' headaches and migraines. Less back and neck pain. A more attractive physical appearance. You will look and feel and sing better than you ever have. You will look authoritative, confident, in control.
So it is worth taking the time to become aware of your posture, and taking steps to improve it. Your head, looks, and singing voice will thank you!
So first. Always keep thinking 'balloons', and letting your chest rise up from the top, from where the string to its balloon is attached. Your shoulders pivoting back and down as your chest rises. Lengthening your spine as your head is pulled up and back by the balloon attached to the top of it.
Keep thinking 'balloons' as you walk, sit, talk, go shopping, go for a drive, and soon this improved 'tall' posture will become second nature. You will develop 'muscle memory' and soon be 'walking tall' and 'standing tall’ all the time. Remember to keep your shoulders relaxed. Lift your chest up, allow your shoulders to naturally fall back and down. Shake them up and down to make sure they are loose and relaxed as they should be. Let your head 'rise' up vertically from your spine, and tuck your neck and chin in, so that your ears, shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles are all aligned.
Look around you. Most people stand and walk with an 'S' shape. All their muscles are being over-exerted from carrying weight that is more easily carried by the bones. This all adds to the tension we suffer from. And all the migraines, headaches, back-pain, neck-pain, and many other health problems. It puts strain on your neck and vocal 'cords'. It 'cramps' your diaphragm. It looks bad. And it ruins your singing voice!
You will need to become, and remain, continually conscious of your posture and muscle tension. Most people usually are not conscious of the tension in their muscles until they get a migraine, neck pain, back pain, or leg cramp. We usually aren't aware of the tension until it is relieved.
While singing into a microphone, don't lean forward into it. 'Slide' your head back in towards your body, horizontally, keeping your chin in, and head level. Feel the tension in those neck muscles right at the base of the back of your skull. See those 'double chins'. With your spine 'long', standing 'tall', your chest floating up, your shoulders falling, loosely, relaxed, back and down.
You see when you let your head go forward, your neck goes forward, you put pressure on your neck muscles, which 'compress' and place 'strain' on your vocal 'cords'. And we don't want that.
Always keep reminding yourself that singing is mostly about relaxing muscles. Only when you have achieved that, can you apply the precisely targeted force required to produce a smooth, flexible, powerful singing and speaking voice.
Neck alignment exercise
Each day do the following exercise. Stand 'tall'. (Remember your 'balloons'). Now, keeping your chin tucked in, and level, move your head backwards, without changing this angle. This is called the 'double chin' exercise. You want to 'slide' your head back as if it was on horizontal rails. You will be pushing your chin in, making all those extra 'chins'. You will feel the tension where the neck muscles join with the base of the back of the skull. I often feel a slight burning sensation just below my ears if I have any sort of infection, or tension headache. Push into that tension as far as you can. Then gently, slowly allow your head to move forward again. Repeat this 10 times each session. Chiropractors recommend doing this 4 times a day.
Massage
First thing in the morning as you wake up, massage your jaws. Massage your cheeks. Use the ‘heel’ of your hands on either side, cupping your hands to either side of your face, finding a natural fitting hollow between your cheek-bones and your jaw.
Massage all the muscles around your face. Massage your scalp. 80% of the body's nerves run through your scalp, so it is very relaxing. This is a form of facial cranial massage. Put your hands behind your head. Feel along the back base of your skull. It will probably be a bit sore. Massage this with your thumbs as firmly and deeply as you can, along the ridge and underneath it. This is a form of Shiatsu massage. Now massage your neck muscles as firmly as you can, grabbing them away from the neck. Run your fingers along either side of your spine. Massage the ‘swallowing’ muscles under your chin with your thumbs. Massage your temples. Pull your hair firmly in big handfuls, so you can feel it pulling the scalp up.
All of these massages give the added benefit of toning your facial muscles and tightening your skin. They will also reduce ‘worry’ lines and wrinkles. So you have plenty of motivation to complete this little massage routine each morning.
Chewing your tongue
Tension in your tongue produces tension in your jaw and throat. It is not possible to relax your jaw if your tongue is not relaxed. There are several exercises which target the tongue and throat. We will come to one of the most useful, 'Lip Rolls' later. Right now we will focus directly on the tongue.
In this exercise you want to relax your tongue. You will begin by gently 'chewing' on the tip and sides of your tongue, giving it a gentle massage. Move the top part of your jaw gradually further back as you gently ‘nibble’ at your tongue, from tip, down as far back as you can, with your full set of upper teeth.
Don’t stretch the tongue for this exercise. Move the top part of your jaw back laterally, sliding it horizontally with the ground.
You may hear your jaw ‘pop’as you do this. This is evidence that the exercise is working.
At first I could not relax my tongue. But now it lays limp while enjoying a good tooth massage.
De-couple your ‘swallowing’ muscles
Place your fingers under your chin, and swallow. You will feel muscles pushing against your fingers. These are your digrastic (swallowing) muscles. They really get in the way of your vocal chords. They will prevent them vibrating freely. They will prevent you from singing freely. So you need to teach them to relax, and stay out of the way when you are singing.
Gently massage these muscles all along the underside of your jaw. Now relax your jaw, and slowly, carefully, and without 'flexing' those digrastic muscles, slip your tongue out of your mouth until the tip of it rests on your bottom lip. It will take a lot of concentration and some practice to get this right. Now let your tongue relax back into your mouth. Repeat this several times. It will teach your digrastic muscles to relax. They need to be relaxed for singing. You want to teach them this 'muscle memory' so that later on when you sing they will stay relaxed.
Relax your jaw so it moves freely as you massage your swallowing (digrastic) muscles, clapping open and closed like a movie clap-board. After a few weeks of practicing all the exercises I describe, this will come easily. You will soon have de-coupled your swallowing muscles from your tongue, and hence from your larynx and vocal chords.
Movement in these digrastic muscles is a good indication that the back of your tongue is pressing down at the back, down onto your throat. But don't worry, we have exercises to take care of that too.
Later in the section on vocal training exercises we will learn some ‘digrastic muscle conditioning exercises’, the aim of which are to condition the swallowing muscles to remain passive while the larynx is being activated during singing.