2 Breathing Techniques for Better Performances
Better breathing calms the body and mind
Actors and Musicians alike can use breathing techniques to stay calm and focused.
Illustration: Melissa Mcgill
You don’t have to be cast in Fiddler on the Roof to experiment with acting exercises. String players and actors encounter performance anxiety in just the same ways, and both groups must maintain a balance of focus and relaxation to be at their best. So, it makes sense for string players to see what acting exercises might offer.
At the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, music department violist Kathryn Dey and drama department chair Daniel Murray discovered that string players and actors share at least seven common goals: relaxation, development of concentration and focus, kinesthetic and sensory awareness, imagination and improvisation, nonverbal communication, ensemble skills, and physical memory. “A big one personally and for my students is staying relaxed while also concentrating,” Dey says. “The technique is so precise . . . it’s an issue with our bodies, but it’s also important for our minds to stay sharp.”
A relaxed physical state can improve your technique, coordination, and reduce fatigue and risk of playing-related injuries. A relaxed mental state can allow players to explore and create interpretations both in practice and performance.
Key to relaxation is breathing. Awareness and control of your breathing can help you refocus and energize before practice sessions as well as calm down and stay in control during rehearsals and performances. Let’s look at two group breathing exercises Dey and Murray recommend for relaxation.
1. Diaphragmatic Breathing
Also known as “belly breathing,” diaphragmatic breathing flexes the abdomen rather than the rib cage during inhalation, and it most often occurs in the subconscious and sleep states. For example, if you look at a sleeping baby, you’ll notice that the baby’s belly—not its chest—will expand during inhalation. This type of breathing draws more oxygen into the lungs and blood, and it reduces anxiety and stress.
Try this exercise:
- Sit up straight with a couple of partners.
- Take a deep breath and exhale.
- Observe how everyone’s body moves. You will notice that the motions will most likely be located in the upper body—the chest and shoulders, and perhaps the arms.
Now try diaphragmatic breathing:
- Place your hands on your bellies.
- Take a deep breath slowly through your nostrils and try to push your stomachs out. You should be able to feel this with your hands.
- Slowly exhale through your mouth and let your stomach resume its natural position. You should also be able to feel this with you hands.
Though it may seem strange at first, you’ll notice that, just after two or three of those deep breaths, your body has relaxed and your worried thoughts have slowed.
2. Focused Breathing
Part of the ancient yoga tradition, focused breathing (or Kumbhaka) brings awareness to specific breathing. It was first practiced in India thousands of years ago as part of the bigger yogic art of breath control (or pranayama).
Its “alternate nostril” technique will seem foreign, but a few cycles will demonstrate the benefit of increased physical and mental energy.
Here’s how to do it:
- Sit up straight with a couple of partners.
- Close off your right nostril with your right thumb.
- Strongly inhale for six counts.
- Exhale through this same nostril for six counts, and make sure the lungs are completely emptied.
- Wait for ten to 12 counts.
- Switch nostrils and hands, and repeat the above steps.
Practicing this on both sides is one cycle. Repeat between three to 20 cycles.
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