Fitness and Singing Revisited - Spring Exercise and Singing Goals, What can they do for you?

In the height of spring I am reminded of 2 things that are  re-invented for me this time of year:
1) New goals for singing and teaching
2) New goals for exercise

Why do they always happen at the same time?  They are inter-related.  What you do to improve your physical status influences not only your mental state, but how you use your body in singing.  In other words, exercise improves your singing, heals your soul, and motivates you to work harder. 

Think about it.  When you exercise, you get your endorphins moving and lift your spirits.  The stronger your body becomes, the more it physically can achieve or endure.  Singing is both a physical and emotional act. By taking care of the physical, we also take care of our emotional well-being.  Cardiovascular activity gives us a stress outlet and yoga calms that stress by making you truly pay attention to your body.

You increase your lung capacity and breath control with cardiovascular activity.  Running and walking are excellent forms of exercise you can take anywhere.  You create a stronger you who can do more.  Your body begins to work for itself.

Yoga helps to engage core (abdominal) muscles and to breathe deeply.  It also helps you to support with more strength.   Add to it that lung capacity and ability to sustain a phrase increases and posture improves.  Michelle Latour, faculty at University of Nevada-Las Vegas, states, "with yoga my posture improved and my desire to force my sound dissipated.  I am connected to my support all the time, my shoulder and neck tension no longer negatively affect my vocal production".  http://www.classicalsinger.com/magazine/article.php?id=2381

Interesting food for thought.   What do you think about the power of training your body to work for itself to therefore create a strong, healthy singing voice?  Tune in for Part 2- "The Exercise, Diet and Singing Connection".