Jotting down notes for a possible series of columns.
Head/chin/neck tuck or “Erect Posture”
I’d love to have everyone beginning an active movement regime plus losing low hanging weight but perhaps the easiest and quickest change will be a little posture adjustment that changes the timbre and quality of the voice. Hearing a change might start the slow process of changing the stance/carriage which changes how the body acts and moves.
“Stand erect and tall” is more expressive and accurate than “stand up straight”. There are four slight curves in the spine (neck, chest, stomach, and hips’ areas) which make the back slightly curved instead of ramrod straight. The inner muscles and ligaments very near the spine (when in efficient condition) keeps it erect.
Sitting at a desk, leaning forward to read or reach for stuff, riding in a car, relaxing in padded couches and chairs, slumping while watching TV, and shirking activity or exercise results in a rounded posture. [weak upper trapezius muscles] Gravity pulls the body down which (without thinking) rounds the shoulders, hunches the back, and readjusts posture. Adding visceral fat forces the erect stance into a pronounced curved back to balance the forward weight. All this contributes to a very different look when comparing bodies between our childlike youth and 40s onward.. The “maturing” look and condition seems natural and normal through slow habit changes. It’s less work to accept the disillusion of, “We’re not young anymore — just accept this aging look and condition”.
The rounded shoulders, curved back, and general slumped look continues even when we attempt the forced “Military Marine” stance. Our back and chest muscles are accustomed to being elongated and holding the body in this closed-in position; anything else seems unnatural and uncommon. This rounded look is what I refer to as “The Snail”.
Stretching with a backwards shoulder roll rotates the ends of arm [humerus bone and deltoid muscle] front, up, back, and down in a circle and when added to pinching the shoulder blades [scapula bone plus rhomboid & trapezius muscles] together straightens the shoulder girdle/blades plus thrusts out our chests. This simple move might show just how hunched and curved our shoulders and backs have become. An interesting series of exercises on posture is at Shoulder Exercise with Belle Bidell.
A further distortion occurs when looking forward and down by stretching and lowering the neck. Usually we add jutting out of the chin and results in what I refer to “The Turtle” — an extreme neck could be called “The Grazing Giraffe”. The simple activity of observing people while you are sitting down at a mall, airport waiting area, or popular eating establishment where many people walk by or sit down will provide many examples of the rounded back plus the downward jutting neck/head. Watching magic enthusiasts also provides variations of “Snail” and “Turtle”. Both these postures degrade our ability to speak loudly, firmly, and pleasantly — the tone and timbre of our voices suffer from the effects of gravity, slouching, and fatigue.
We can think of the vocal instrument model consisting of bellows (lungs) with pressurizing control (diaphragm and abs), pipes (trachea), voice box (larynx & vocal folds), more pipes, a shaping chamber (inside of mouth, nasal passages, tongue, and lips), and a resonating box (chest & head). The lungs are contained in the rib-cage which must expand in three dimensions for control of the airflow. Like any musical instrument, the pipes must be straight to avoid distorting the tones plus the tone making “reeds” have to be relaxed and not under stress.
“The Snail” and “The Turtle” each compresses the rib-cage and immobilizes the lungs which limits the control of pressurized air through the vocal folds. The rounded shoulders also tenses the delicate muscles controlling the vocal folds and neck. The jutting neck and thrust forward chin stresses the front of the larynx. The resonating chambers are compromised. All this creates unneeded distortion. Without thought we have wasted and thrown away vocal quality. However, there is a simple solution.
Head/chin/neck tuck — when you do the shoulder roll add movements which raise your head as far upward as you can (gently), this extends the neck giving you what is called “a tall neck”, then leaving the neck tall rotate the head and chin downward which will tuck the chin closer to the neck , add a little push upward to the sky with the top of the head and you have done the “head/chin/neck tuck” or “Erect” position. Say a two breath phrase in both the “Turtle” and the “Erect” positions and you should hear and feel a major difference in voice tone and the ability to control the volume.
An added dimension is that the “Erect” position also presents a more commanding and pleasing view, it forces you to raise your hands up toward the chest and face, expands the chest, and releases tension from the torso. On the negative side, you have to work on being able to sustain this position since it is not the memorized body position that your muscles and mind is accustomed to holding. On the positive side, it is a healthier position and a step toward efficient posture.