alignment – Page 2 – Sarah Whitten Voice & Movement

Boulders of Resistance

February 3, 2015May 9, 2020 Sarah Whitten Leave a comment

It is always interesting and humbling to make a realization about one’s self. My most recent one is my ability to resist anything and everything. Though a kindly acupuncturist had said to me at one point, stop resisting your life, it wasn’t until I read an article recently that I had this epiphany over my resistance and just how deep it can go.

I know I’m not alone in this, we all resist and more often than not, we resist things that actually make us feel good emotionally, physically and spiritually. These are the things that help us actualize our life’s purpose and elevate our being. Eat better….exercise…practice yoga….practice your craft…go after what you really want…accept what you need to do on a daily basis to make your life work. Do you come up with reasons not to do these things or resent having to do them sometimes (ALL THE TIME?)?

As I sat with the article I realized my resistance is like a wall of giant boulders, stacked as high as the Hoover Dam. Each boulder is some other element of life that I can choose to resist. The upshot is I spend an excessive amount of time suffering because I’m so busy keeping these boulders stacked up, thinking life should be some other way or trying to avoid the things that would help me. On the far side of the boulders is my actual life, a giant pool of water that so desperately wants to move and flow.

Our bodies and minds find ways to notify us of our resistance. Mine recently came up with a low back that went kablooey (is that a word? Whatever, it is now.) the week after Christmas. All fall I’d been holding the boulders up against a busy work schedule, children’s illnesses and injuries, familial demands, holiday prep and a household that feels like it is a war-zone of toys and clutter. My self care practices of yoga, exercise and singing weren’t happening because I was so busy wanting my life to be different and holding my boulders.

A trip to the chiropractor and a few x-rays later I discovered that the neck injury I knew I’d had for years and once upon a time had managed well through yoga has lead to decreased disc space and no natural curve in my neck. In addition my 5th lumbar is compressed, sacrum rotated forward, right hip raised, left hip lowered and the muscles in that area all in spasm. In the words of the chiropractor, you have a lot going on.

That is true on so many levels. Once I got over being freaked out and angry and, well, resistant to my current state, I remembered the words my husband once said to me (see, I’m surrounded by these sage people once I actually pay attention): Don’t get mad, get curious. His context for saying it was to get me to try and respond differently to my then 2 year old daughter who had me at the end of my rope, but I still think about that phrase (especially when dealing with my children, but other times too).

When I decided to stop suffering about it, I was able to see that I possess the tools to take a look at my back and in conjunction with the work I’m doing with the chiropractor, make it better. Out came my book of yoga therapy (thank you Doug Keller for the work you do) and I delved in. Not surprisingly, my psoas muscle is a key player in the ills of my back. Though I am quite familiar with this muscle, I saw things in a new way as I researched it in terms of my own body. The muscle shares connective tissue with the diaphragm and is connected therefore, to our breath and fear. DING, DING, DING, we have a winner. I have no doubt that over the years, my resistance (fear) over accepting the things I must do and not doing the things I should do to help me be my best self, finally caught up with me.

So, here’s my commitment to myself. I shall do the psoas lengthening, hip releasing exercises that take me to point of being nearly pain free immediately, every day even though I know they call up emotional stuff that I will work to just observe and not indulge in. And, I shall begin to pull the boulders down from my wall, lessen my resistance to what is and commit to things that help me self actualize. The boulders won’t go away, but I can learn to observe them, acknowledge their existence and then let the river of my life flow around them, making different choices and accepting what is.

Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to go spend a little time warming my voice up and not resisting the fourth snow day in a week that I’m having with my kids.

Forward Head Posture and Your Voice, Pt. 2

January 20, 2015March 27, 2023 Sarah Whitten Leave a comment

In the first post about Forward Head Posture, we looked at a few ways to move the neck into a more neutral place to help eliminate “Piano Head”, where your head is thrust forward of your shoulders.

In this post, I’ll share a few simple (though they may be very sensational!) movements to help explore your shoulder’s ability to internally and externally rotate. There is value in static poses as well as flowing poses and after you’ve worked on mobilizing the shoulders you’ll want to go on to do some strength work.

Hold each of these for around 3-5 breaths, or longer if it feels comfortable. Also, I’m not a doctor, so consult with your physician if you have health concerns before beginning any exercise program.

The first thing you can do is roll up a small hand-towel and lie with it behind your neck. Make it big enough so you feel the support, but not so big that it hurts. This encourages your neck to be in its natural curved state.

Next, sitting appropriately (with your pelvis in neutral), clasp your hands behind your back. Open the palms away from each other and bend your elbows slightly. Then, gently squeeze your shoulder blades together thinking about spreading across your collarbones. Keep your head in neutral.

While sitting move one arm behind the back and try to bring the back of the hand between the shoulder blades. Extend the other arm up and reach back to clasp the fingers of the hand between your shoulder blades. If your fingers don’t easily meet, use a strap to act as an extension of your arms.

Stand with your feet hip width distance apart, feet pointing straight forward and extend your arm to the wall. Touch just the finger tips and tip of the thumb against the wall at shoulder height. The thumb should be pointing up. This one may tingle all the way down into your fingers. If that happens it means you are compressing a nerve. If you’re tingling, lower your arm a bit and try it again.

(I don’t know why I fail to smile in selfies, I think I’m concentrating too hard on whether the damn picture is going to work!)

Lastly, you can lie over a bolster placed behind your heart center. Have your shoulder blades draping down the far side, arms open at shoulder height – you can play with moving the arms around the vary the sensation. To come out of the pose, bring your feet to the floor and pick your hips up. Shift the bolster to be under your sacrum, rest back down on it and hug the knees into your chest.

5 Things You Can Do Today To Improve Your Alignment

January 20, 2015March 27, 2023 Sarah Whitten Leave a comment

1. Take your shoes off.

Seriously, it is that simple. No matter how low the heel, shoes will throw your alignment off. Heeled shoes pitch you forward and make your body contort itself to try and stay as a vertical column and it gets worse the higher the heel. So, whether you are wearing cushy, comfy running shoes or 3 inch heels your body is creating patterns that will hinder your joints and muscles which, in turn, alters your breathing which, in turn, alters your voice. If you’re really serious about it you can switch to wearing ‘barefoot’ shoes, but the transition time into those should be long to allow your body to accommodate them. And, I admit the barefoot shoes aren’t exactly cute. I’m still working on getting over that part. You could start by having a ‘shoes off policy’ in your house and studio. Singers will still have to address shoe requirements for roles and that will mean practicing in your performance shoes to adjust to the changes they create in the body and voice.

2. Sit appropriately

If you are sitting at rehearsal or sitting at a piano or sitting to watch TV, you need to be mindful. For the vast majority of us we tend to roll back and sit on the tailbone/sacral area. This puts your pelvis into a tucked position. Couple that with the shortening of the hamstrings that happens from lots of sitting and you have a recipe for alignment disaster! To sit properly in a chair, sit far forward so you can feel the Sitz Bones (the bottom of your pelvis on either side). You can drop one knee to help make your pelvis move towards neutral. Think about this the next time you are in a rehearsal and sitting for 2 hours straight! Also, when you are home, try sitting on the floor instead of your couch to watch TV!

3. Stand Well

When you stand today, look down at your feet. Have them pointing straight forward – often we stand with our toes turned out, a la a ballet dancer (fewer folks stand with their toes turned it, but those need to be straightened too). Have your weight more in your heels than your toes. Un-tuck your pelvis, keep your ribs over your pelvis (often they are thrust forward) and reach the crown of the head up which drops your chin slightly. Make your standing situations dynamic by rolling your feet on a tennis ball, or having a rolled up towel available to calf stretch.

4. Move it

Don’t spend your entire day sitting. Take frequent breaks to walk around. Just going to the gym at the end of the day is not enough to undo the act of sitting for 8 hours. Try to get up every hour and walk for 5 minutes. Walk mindfully by standing well and carrying that into your walking. Aim for 10,000 steps a day.

5. Create Variety

Our bodies thrive on variety. When our joints are moved in a rainbow of configurations they are happy. Find ways of moving your body that are unique. Most of us benefit greatly from simple movements that address the spine, shoulders, hips, feet, legs and arms.

If you would like to begin to integrate simple, yet powerful movements into your day, please check out the Take Ten Program.

Un-Tuck Your Pelvis, Please!

January 16, 2015January 8, 2019 Sarah Whitten Leave a comment

Today’s scintillating topic is the back of your thighs and what they do to your pelvis. Those three muscles, collectively called your hamstrings, are what we spend a lot of time sitting on. Very often when we exercise we shorten them as well. When they get shorter they pull on your pelvis, and in consort with some other muscles and ANY SHOE WITH ANY KIND OF HEEL, move your pelvis into a ‘tuck’ position.

Please see my lovely pictorial below that shows a more sway-backed position a tucked position and a more neutral position. (All of these are my body’s version of each given my own alignment limitations and by no means the definitive way to be duck, tuck or neutral.)

As you can see with my exaggerated tuck position, my upper spine also rounds. For many people a tucked pelvis also comes with a forward thrusting lower ribcage (sorry I wasn’t able to contort myself into that position).

If you have a tucked pelvis, a thrust forward ribcage and then a rounded upper spine, is there any chance your larynx is going to be optimally aligned in your throat? Nope, nope and nope. While the feet are the foundation in many ways, what is happening in the pelvis when it is viewed as a foundation, is equally important. So, start by taking your shoes off when you sing, are in your house and any other time that you can!

Now, Rome wasn’t built in a day and it will take time for you to even begin to assess whether you have a tucked pelvis that needs addressing and then you’ll need to spend time adjusting your alignment to find the mobility to un-tuck it.

This is where yoga can help. For many people with tight hamstrings and a tucked pelvis an aching low back is also often in play. So, we need a pose everyone can do, but especially those with achy backs.

Reclining Big Toe Pose is the answer! Really, yoga is always the answer, right? This pose is in my top 10 of favorite yoga poses.

In this version look at the leg that is on the floor. There is no space between the hamstring and the mat; the back of my leg is touching the floor.

Here are some key elements of the pose:

Begin lying on your back, knees bent, feet flat on the floor.

Hug your knees into your chest and wrap a strap around the balls of the toes of one leg.

Extend the opposite leg out on the floor. Be sure the pelvis is untucked.

As you extend the strapped leg into the air pay attention to the small of your back. Is it flat to the floor (meaning your pelvis is tucked) or is there a little space behind it (meaning your pelvis is untucked). Move the leg in the air to where it is straight AND you have the pelvis untucked. It may be that the back of your other leg is touching the floor – but if you have super skinny legs it might not. Walk your arms up the strap until they are straight. Don’t yank on the strap, just let the action of the arms falling back into the shoulder be what gives you the stretch.

When your ego says, ‘no way, I can totally get my toes close to my nose!’ This is what you get:

My leg is wayyyy closer to my nose, but my pelvis is totally tucked and my leg on the ground popped up. So much so that I drove a little lego car underneath it to show you the space. (What you can’t see is the pile of legos and matchbox cars and allll the other toys just behind my head because I shoved them all out of the way to be able to take these pictures).

This pose is a great place to start to begin to find some release and relief for your legs and pelvis. Try to hold the pose for 3-5 cycles of slow inhales and exhales. Then get up and walk around and notice how you feel!

Forward Head Posture and your Voice

October 24, 2014March 27, 2023 Sarah Whitten Leave a comment

Physically, we’d like the larynx to be aligned just right for your breath to flow optimally and your voice to sound at its potential. In reality we know our bodies are phenomenal at compensating and adapting.

Most of us live lives that look like this: Type on the computer, drive, play piano or other instruments, hold children, carry heavy bags, slump in a chair…any of those sound familiar? Each of those activities pulls your head in front of your shoulder line, adding weight to your neck and pulls your arms out in front of you, putting your arms and shoulders into internal rotation, pulling your shoulder blades away from your spine.

The result? Tight upper chest muscles, weak rhomboids (the muscles that run between the shoulder blades and the spine), a neck that is strained, a voice that isn’t set up to let little muscles do little work and big muscles to do big work, breath that can’t flow freely and posture that looks like this:

OW! I’m giving a bit of an extreme example, but you get the point. Though you are primarily concerned about your voice, the long term effects of this position are linked to impingement of nerves in the neck, migraines, eye tension, breathing problems, as well as rotator cuff injuries. Please note, there is also some evidence showing that we are able to adapt to this posture and not experience issues. As with many things, when we are seeking to do them at a high level (like sing professionally) the alignment of our body tends to matter more because we are seeking optimal performance.

Your situation might not be at a point where you feel pain in your neck and shoulders, but perhaps you are experiencing some voice challenges that you suspect might be connected.

If you aren’t sure if your upper chest is tight, try palpating just below your collarbone from your sternum out toward your shoulder and see if you feel some pain. That’s one of your pec muscles – in an extreme situation, you might feel the pain radiate through to the muscles around your shoulders in the back. Then, extend your arms out wide and notice what you feel down your inner arm. If you are really tight, you may feel some tingling in your hand/fingers in that position – that is a sign some nerves are being impinged.

Honestly, I was shocked when I did both of these things at just how much sensation (sounds nicer than pain, right?) I felt across the top of my chest and all the way down my inner arm and into my fingers. I often have neck pain. The combination of a water skiing accident as a child and being rearended in my twenties with my head turned over my left shoulder left me with several cervical vertebrae out of alignment. My neck muscles spasmed after giving birth to my second and in the years following the pain would sometimes get pretty intense, feeling like my head was in a vice and all I wanted to do was close my eyes and lie down. My vocal symptoms included not being able to sing the really, really high notes that I had been easy before.

Fortunately, I started exploring things through my movement practice and have managed to keep the pain and tension at a minimum, re-finding some high notes and making my life much, much better.

Here are a few things you can do and your voice, neck and shoulders will thank you for it.

First, find your hyoid bone in your neck and imagine it moving back and slightly up, pulling your neck and head back with it. You may feel like you have a million double chins when you do this.

Then, cup the back of your head with your hand and gently press the head back into your hand. You don’t want to do it so hard that you feel compression in your laryngeal area.

This will get you on the road to moving your head and neck back into alignment. It will probably feel pretty foreign at first and you’ll have to develop a sense of how it feels when it is in the right place so you can be aware of when it isn’t.

Taking it to the next level to really create a long term remedy involves restoring mobility and improving strength in the upper body. Together, these go a long way to undoing tension and pain in the neck to help your voice function at its best!

If you want a few more things to explore, check out Forward Head Posture and the Voice Part 2.