What do they mean when they say, "Sing from your stomach"?

If you have ever taken a singing lesson or have seen the old Indian movie Padosan starring one of my inspirations Kishore Kumar, you have come across statements like, "Beta, pet se gao", "Sing from your diaphragm", "neeche se gaaoo" and more. Well, for some of us kids, this was confusing.

BTW The old classic Padosan starring Kishore Kumar, Sunil Dutt and Saira Banu I am talking about is just hilarious and I totally recommend it.

Watch the scene here: It's one of my favourite bits on the planet

Now, the question we should have asked was

"What do you mean when you ask me to sing from my stomach?"

Whenever you hear this sentence, what the well-intentioned speaker wants you to do is breathe into your abdomen and support your voice from your diaphragm and not force it out of your throat which can cause the above seen Sunil Dutt scenario.

Now, again your stomach is not storing the air and neither is your abdomen, your lungs do. Don't worry your elementary school didn't teach you the wrong stuff that will only happen later in life in college. JK.

As you breathe in, the air makes your lungs expand in all directions and especially downwards where your diaphragm expands to accommodate it pushing all the organs in your abdomen outwards in all directions. This entire motion allows you to breathe deeply instead of shallowly breaths allowing for better breath control while you are singing and providing power and resonance to your voice.

Often when we sing demanding songs and we start pushing up with our voice in hopes of getting the voice out, we should focus on pushing down gently to allow for the fuel, which is the air, to support our voice properly as we let loose on stage.

Learning how to breathe into your abdomen, again is a skill you can develop through practice, awareness and exercises. There are already some exercises I have shared in my previous blogs and will share more in upcoming ones, so make sure you are reading them. For super eager learners, and curious cats, you can reach out to me for lessons too.

Now, let's understand this breathing from the diaphragm business properly:

Step 1: Get comfy! You can't breathe properly if you're not comfortable. So, sit or stand up straight, loosen your clothes, and wiggle your toes. Now, you know why KAPOW!'s stage attire involves Pyjamas, it's to let the air flow and breath to fuel our performance.

Step 2: As you inhale, imagine that you're sucking in a massive, juicy smoothie or whatever you like through a straw. But instead of the straw going in your mouth, it's going into your nose. Yeah, it's a bit weird, but just go with it.

Step 3: Here comes the diaphragm! This bad boy is a muscle located at the base of your lungs, and when it contracts, it flattens out, creating a vacuum for air to rush in. So, let that diaphragm do its thang and feel that sweet, sweet oxygen flooding your lungs and let your belly expand in all directions like a balloon or think about that cute baby bump. Don't be shy!

Step 4: The oxygen fills your lungs, it gets transported by your blood to all the cells in your body, giving them the energy they need to kick butt and take names.

Step 5: Exhale & imagine that you're blowing out candles on a cake, but instead of using your mouth, you're using your belly. Contract that muscle like you're squeezing out the last drop of toothpaste from the tube. Make it count!

Step 6: Shallow breathing is for the weak, my friend. When you breathe shallowly, you're not getting enough oxygen into your system, which can lead to fatigue, anxiety, and a general feeling of meh-ness. You gotta go deep. Shallow breathing is for the birds, and we're not birds, are we? Well, unless you are a bird, in which case, hello there, feathered friend!

Step 7: Practice makes perfect or at least good. The more you practice diaphragmatic breathing, the easier it will become, and the more benefits you'll reap. So, take a few minutes each day to focus on your breathing and channel that inner air bender.

So, next time someone says, sing from your stomach, get that belly engaged. If you are the one telling this to someone make sure to explain this to them or share this little article to lessen their confusion or doubt your knowledge of biology!

See you next week my breathing monsters.