64. The fastest way to get inspired
What's the fastest way to inspired? *Spoiler Alert* it's to actually INSPIRE - to breathe in. This episode covers why breathing is so powerful and talks you through a practical breathing exercise.
Transcript
Hello, Welcome to That Voice Podcast.
I’m Sally Prosser
Former TV reporter, former PR pro and currently on a mission to help you find your voice and speak with confidence.
No matter who you are or what you do your voice matters!
So unless you’ve sworn a lifetime vow of silence.
This is the podcast for you.
Question of the episode - what’s the fastest way to get inspired?
Is it to light a candle?
Do some meditation?
Scroll social media?
Nope, it’s to actually INSPIRE.
Inspiration is another word for breathing in.
And there aren’t many things a good deep breath won’t help with.
And in this episode I am going to talk you through a great breathing exercise.
I talk about breathing in so many episodes of That Voice Podcast, because breathing is the foundation of voice.
Without breath there is no voice.
So of course we spend a whole week on BREATHING in My Six Week Voice Makeover.
It’s week three – after mindset and body.
If you can control your breathing you can control your voice.
You can calm your nerves,
You can produce nice tone,
You can project
You can command the room.
Breathing, what can’t it do.
So if you want to be able to take control of your breathing, then join me on My Six Week Voice Makeover. You need to be on the invite list, which you can find in the show notes or follow the link to My Six Week Voice Makeover on my website sally-prosser.com.au
The only people who DON’T need to be on the invite list, are those of you who are already in my Members Only.
And you would know that THE POWER OF BREATH was our January masterclass. So I am in the breathing mood and ready to help you get inspired.
I want to talk you through a breathing exercise you can do as you listen, but before we do that I’ll explain WHY breathing is so powerful.
It’s the fuel for our voice.
So as we speak the air is travelling up from the lungs, passing through the vocal cords, making them vibrate and that’s what makes sound.
Speaking of vibrating, oh my gosh, over Christmas I watched National Lampoon’s Vacation have you seen that and they check into a hotel where you can pay to make the bed vibrate – and I was even more shocked to learn this was actually quite an in vogue thing back in the 80’s.
So yes vibrating vocal cords made me think of that vibrating bed.
Enough shenanigans.
So breathing powers our voice, but more importantly it can bring us out of fight or flight mode and back into rest and digest.
So when we’re freaking out, our heart rate is high, stress hormones like cortisol are released and our body is preparing to deal with a threat. Our number one focus is survival.
We don’t really want to be speaking while in fight or flight, because we’re not focused on what to say let alone how to say it when we’re in this state, not to mention you feel like running to the toilet and being sick – from both ends at times.
That’s the PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM
We want to get into the sympathetic nervous system otherwise known as rest and digest.
This is where the body actually functions. Our heart rate slows. We’re in a state of calm and healing. THIS is where we want to be speaking from, because we’re in control. We’re INSPIRED.
So to flip us over we want to get a nice inhale – INSPIRATION and a longer exhale – EXPIRATION – though please nobody actually expire while you’re doing this.
Put your hands on your tummy – quite high – just below your sternum – and you want to breathe in low and deep. Your hands should go OUT and your shoulders shouldn’t rise. Imagine your buttocks are your lungs, you’re breathing away from your shoulders. You can also try putting your hands on you waist and breathing against your hands. This is where you feel the diaphragm in play. Now I explain more about this in My Six Week Voice Makeover.
So that’s the inhale, in through your nose is preferable as you don’t pick up the dust in the air onto your throat, but honestly I’m not too fussed.
So let’s breathe in for a nice count of three.
Ready, 1, 2 , 3.
Did you feel your butt inflate? Haha or your tummy inflate?
One more time ready, 1, 2, 3.
Ok now for the exhale, it’s going to be twice as long as the inhale.
WHY?
Well when we exhale the vagus nerve (the longest nerve in the body) releases a substance which tells the heart to slow down.
And you can feel when the air is inside, everything is under pressure and it releases on the exhale.
So we’re going to exhale for SIX. Keep it steady as you do it. So let’s do three rounds.
Ok, ready – IN, 2, 3
OUT, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
IN, 2, 3
OUT, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
IN, 2, 3
OUT, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
How do you feel?
More inspired?
You were probably relaxed (hopefully) when you started listening to this podcast, so the real test will be to do it when you’re panicking, when you’re nervous, when you’re flustered.
And see how it works then.
You can also do this when you’re meditating, when you’re out of ideas – remember you don’t have to go far to find inspiration.
The fastest way to get inspired is to BREATHE.
And incorporate it into your daily routine, commit to it – and this is what My Six Week Voice Makeover is great for – because it gives you accountability to focus on your breathing for a whole week, with lots of resources and then you can embed those good habits.
Well I’m feeling so inspired, I might go make a TikTok.
But that’s not a good ending for this ep.
Let me finish with what someone told me is the wisest one word sentence.
BREATHE.
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