Body Alignment -- the missing link for a professional singing voice!

I find that singers often come into the studio with no clear idea of what good posture for professional singing is.

Body alignment is the key -- for many singers, the missing link -- to a professional sound, and a long lasting and healthy singing career in every genre.  The ability to sing for long periods of time while maintaing proper body alignment allows the voice to produce extended phrases, powerful high notes, and expressive, beautiful tone.  Kirsten Flaggstad, one of the most famous opera singers of the last century referred to her singing technique as "the school of the tall spine".  Early in her training, she studied at the Dalcroze School of Dance.  David Jones, a highly respected opera voice teacher in New York states that " [a]fter attending the Dalcroze School of Dance in Stockholm, [Flaggstad] often spoke about her body connection and the feeling of singing from the back muscles to the ring with the feeling of no throat'."

There are many body alignment disciplines that can aid the professional singer tremendously in developing good body alignment awareness:  Iyengar Yoga, Alexander Technique, Feldenkrais, and Pilates. 

Due to our rather sedentary lifestyle, where we spend so much time slumped over computers and smart phones, watching T.V. screens and driving cars, we tend not to sit, walk or move with an elongated spine and an elevated rib cage, both of which are essential to professional singing technique.  Thus, addressing body alignment at the beginning of the first lesson is necessary before even elementary breath support technique can be explored. 

However, attempting to merely "stand up straight" is not the same as developing proper body alignment for singing.  A well meaning student who "stands up straight" may throw the chest forward and arch the back, thereby driving the back ribs into the lung space, making it difficult to take the air into the bottom of the lungs.   This creates an unwanted domino effect, where the breath is now taken too high up in the chest, pushing the larynx up, etc.

When a new singer begins to work with me, the first thing we work on together is the yoga pose known as "Mountain Pose". 

I studied Iyengar yoga for many years and was fortunate to study first at the Iyengar Institute of Los Angegles, and then under Ana Delury, the "teacher of the teachers".  She brought a deep and comprehensive knowledge to every pose she taught, and modified the pose according to the needs of each student. 

"Mountain Pose" seems simple, but when done mindfully, activates every muscle group necessary for the body alignment required of professional singing.   These include the side and back intercostals, the lats, and the bottom floating ribs, as well as the lower abdominals and the transverse abdominals.  When done mindfully and often, Mountain Pose teaches the body to elongate the spine and elevate the rib cage without using the shoulder, neck and jaw muscles, and encourages the correct set of muscles to maintain good body alignemnt for singing. 

When first attempted, Mountain Pose may feel rigorous and fatiguing, but when done regularly, it stretches out and realigns the back and spinal muscles, creates more room for the pharanx to open, allows the throat muscles and tongue to more easily relax and release, and builds strength and stamina in the body, enlivening the health and sound of the singer.

After experiencing the benefits of Moutain Pose, singers often ask me about more yoga postures.  I teach several yoga poses in the studio and always encourage singers to seek out good quality Iyengar or other body alignment classes as part of their training.