Our breath, voice, and ability to express our truth are all affected when we squeeze and compress our throats all the time. The following exercise is intended to improve your capacity to control and expand the scope of your throat, triggering the release of deeply held tension within your mouth and around your vocal cords.
Step 1: Allow yourself to be comfortable, either lying down or sitting up with your back, neck, and spine fully supported, so that you don’t hurt yourself. #
When you know that you won’t be interrupted for a while, start by gently closing your eyes.
Step 2: Now, begin to pay attention to your breath, how it feels and how it changes. #
Allow your awareness to softly focus on the breath that is arising right now… the in-breath and the out-breath… the rising and falling. If possible, try to follow one complete cycle of the breath from the start of the in-breath to the start of the out-breath. Allow yourself the time and space to interact with your breath physically for the duration of another cycle.
Step 3: Now, start paying attention to the space inside your mouth. #
Allow yourself to feel or even see the space that extends down your throat and then into your lungs.
Step 4: Begin by gently and slowly squeezing the muscles of your throat and mouth, gradually tightening them and creating more and more tension. #
Take note of how the tension in your neck, shoulders, and face expands and spreads.
Step 5: Keep your lips closed, but start to relax all of the muscles in and around your oral cavity. #
Make the space bigger and bigger, letting in more and more.
Step 6: Tighten and relax the muscles alternately, expanding and contracting the space inside. #
Step 7: Now, with your mouth closed, your lips tightly closed, and your throat tense, try to make sounds. #
Begin by introducing yourself or saying “Okay.” Pay attention to the quality of your sounds. Take note of the vibrational difference between your normal and constricted voice.
Step 8: Now, rest for a moment before returning your attention to the breath that is arising right now: the in-breath and the out-breath; the rising and falling. #
Allow yourself the time and space to be in direct contact with this single breath for the duration of its cycle.
Step 9: Begin to expand your throat again, making the same sounds or saying the same words. #
Take note of the difference in sound. Take note of how your chest, shoulders, and neck, as well as your jaw and face, have changed.