Support - going to the bathroom

rayven1lk

So I've been really trying to understand the sensation of support and I keep hearing/reading "push down", but I notice there's 2 kinds of feelings I could get from "pushing down"...one is that you simply feel your lower abdomen pushes down and the other is that you feel something lower push down almost like going to the bathroom...is it the latter that I'm supposed to be aiming for?

highmtn

May I ask where you are in the program?  How long you've been working with KTVA?  It may make a difference as to exactly what stage you are on.

First things first.  Before you hand over the keys to the Mazeratti....   ;^)

 

 

rayven1lk

I'm currently doing stage 2 and have been doing the program for 3+ months...

Take her for a spin ;-)

highmtn

rayven,

The reason I ask is because you can hurt yourself if you put the cart before the horse, vocally.  The stages are designed to build you up, muscularly, so that you will be in shape by the time you get to stage three.

I would say that the latter is closest to what you are starting to develop... and almost is an important word.

What we are trying to train our muscles to do is to take a little of the diaprhagmatic push out of the diapragmatic push that happens when exhale.  This helps to add resistance to the exhalation that is happening as we sing.  By clutching in a little reverse force on our diaphragmatic upstroke, we reduce, and therefore regulate, by a small degree, the air pressure as we exhale. 

It's good to begin considering how all of this works, but you do need to spend a good amount of time on your stage two exercises and growth before diving head-first into some of the breath control that is emphasized in stage three.

rayven1lk

highmtn,

what you said is really true, for some reason my mind thinks that these concepts are something I could absorb perfectly just from hearing it being described, but at the end of the day, i gotta put in the effort and time to build it...i suppose i might be asking for something which should be taught to me later, but I jus wanna make sure what I'm developing is wrong...

I have noticed when I have expanded my ribcage is when I feel the latter sensation, so i guess my body's beginning to understand what to do... 

sspatrick

Hey there,

i'm working on stage 3 right now, and in the beginning i was a little confused about "pushing down" on the diaphragm as well.  A little anatomy lesson helped me out.  When we inhale, the diaphragm(located beneath the rib cage)drops down, drawing air into the lungs, and then pushes back upwards expelling the air.  Normally when we breath this happens rather quickly.  However, when singing we want to fight the diaphragms natural tendency to expell the air quickly, and keep it in the "down" position as long as possible.  Holding the diaphragm "down" can feel like going to the bathroom in a sense.  But don't give yourself a hernia!lol.  From a practical standpoint, take your breath in, feel the expansion, in the lower rib cage(bulge in the abdominal area), and let out as little air as possible.  it can also be very similar to the feeling right before you cough or sneeze(in the abdominal area).  Hope this helps.