Do you have a job where you use your voice a lot?   There are many simple healthy changes you can make to your routine to help you speak better, sing better and save your voice.  I’d like to share a few ideas with you to help you speak with confidence and give you a strong powerful voice throughout the day.

Posture.  It is important when sitting or standing to have a good balanced posture.  When standing keep your feet parallel to your shoulders.  Place your hands on your seat and relax your hips downward causing your knees to bend slightly and your back to straighten.  Do this by relaxing your hips not by bending your knees.  When you relax your hips your knees will automatically bend.  Feel your body weight shifting creating a solidness in the bottom of your feet.  Walk around like a gorilla for a few minutes and feel the floor beneath your feet.  When sitting sit forward on your chair and sit so that you feel pressure on your legs when you sing or speak.  When I sing at the piano I put one foot under the piano bench and one foot forward to give my voice more support.

In addition to getting the body balanced and weight transferred to your feet, it is important to have the head in proper alignment in order to open the throat and alleviate stress.  Often when relaxing the hips as mentioned above the head posture is corrected.  Many of us who use computers or play the piano extend our necks too far forward like a chicken.  However,  if you are sitting and your voice feels fatigued try pulling your head straight back and holding it for several minutes and then releasing it.  If your neck is tight you can pull your head back and then while in this position turn your head slowly to the right and then to the left and back to center then release.  Do this several times.  When you release your head it will return to a more natural position.