Let's Talk About... Singing for Relaxation

Singing for Relaxation

Written by Sarah @ isolated_teacher

I have always sung; I can’t remember a time when I didn’t in one way or another.  As a small child I was never very tuneful, at 10 years old I was told by a teacher that singing was not my strength and that maybe I should consider a different hobby, I ignored her. 



My parents knew I loved to sing, they organised for me to perform at a pub when I was 15.  I use the word “perform” in the loosest sense, what I actually did was sang with my guitar for 15 or 20 minutes whilst a band, using the bar to rehears in, had a break, I loved it and it was an amazing source of a release for a highly anxious teen.  I joined my first band at 16 and studied music at university, but I never really had any control over my voice until I was in my early 20s.  Thinking about how singing helps to improve mental health and anxiety, forced me to consider why I sang.  Why, at 10 years old, didn’t I listen to my teacher and explore other hobbies?



My 6-year-old daughter came home from school after her second day as a key worker child and told me about her day.  She has loved going back to school, and has dealt with it brilliantly.  One thing that she mentioned was wiggle time and rainbow breathing.  I had never heard of these things before, rainbow breathing?  She explained to me what this was and promptly leapt up to demonstrate how she would take a big deep breath in, bring her hands above her head, and draw a rainbow whilst bringing her arms down and exhaling.  She thought this was great fun, and told me that it helped the class to calm down ready for work.  Genius! If I asked my daughter to spend a few minutes taking deep breaths to calm herself down I would have no hope, however ask her to something with the word rainbow in it, and it will happen with an enormous amount of enthusiasm.  Then it hit me, I am no different!  When I am stressed, or anxious people often say to me “just take a moment to breathe” or “take a deep breath and count to 10”, I promptly ignore them, I don’t have time.  However, at the end of that same stressful day I will get in the car, put on my favourite songs and sing at the top of my lungs and feel instantly better, why?



According to the American Institute of Stress (AIS) “Abdominal breathing for 20 to 30 minutes each day will reduce anxiety and reduce stress,” breathing deeply helps to increase oxygen to the brain and helps to promotes a state of calmness, but what does this have to do with singing?  Have you ever considered how you breathe?  Take a deep breath in and think about what your body is doing.  Your lungs fill with air, your chest expands and your stomach, more often than not, will seem to reduce in size (you know you have done this when wanting to look smaller in an outfit that you are trying on).  Our bodies do this all day, every day, without thinking.  Now, do the same thing again, but this time imagine the air that you are taking in is being pushed all the way down to your belly button…. hold it there for a few seconds and then slowly release it.  This is abdominal breathing, a relaxation technique, then it occurred to me, this how you breathe when you sing!  In order to sing in a controlled way, you need to use abdominal breathing, I was taught how to do this by my singing teacher at university to help with my belt.  You need to take in air, hold it and release it in a controlled way.  Singing is a fun and interesting way of “taking a moment to breathe,” I am never going to take 20 to 30 minutes to practice my abdominal breathing in order to help relieve my stress and anxiety, just like my 6 Year old wouldn’t stop what she is doing to take some deep breaths, would I spend 20 or 30 minutes singing along to my favourite songs, absolutely!  It is just as important, as adults, to put fun and interesting twists on things for ourselves, just as we do for our students.



So why at 10 years old did I not listen to my teacher?  Why didn’t I find another hobby?  Well, Marylin Manson said “music is the strongest form of magic”, singing is my magic.  Singing enabled an anxious kid to practice daily abdominal breathing without even realising, singing was and still is the magic that eases my mind, relieves my stress and calms my anxieties.  Try it!