This past week has been a breath focused week in my studio. I have several new students, so we are talking about the science of how breathing works, how a good breath feels, and things that we can imagine that help us get a better breath. Returning students are getting informal quizzes and reminders about these basics, and then we're taking it a step further adding information and exercises based on their current level of technique.
One student needed and was ready for a new approach that would help her internalize the concepts that I know she understands intellectually, but doesn't always apply. So we talked about Chines concept of dan tiens. The lower dan tien is located just below the navel and 2-3 finger widths in, which just happens to be a great place to feel the sensation of a low, relaxed breath. Energy can move up the body to the middle dan tien (about heart level) and the upper dan tien (forehead, between the eyebrows). (Energy can actually move anywhere in the body along the meridians, but that is a longer more complicated discussion.)
We talked about imagining the breath as energy and drawing it to the lower dan tien. Then, since imagining the sound coming from her forehead (sometimes I say "sing out your unicorn horn") I had her try singing again, thinking of the energy flowing up from the lower dan tien to the upper dan tien to create the sound. It made a huge difference for her.
Yes, I do realize that technically speaking, there are some issues with this (both from voice science and Chinese medicine perspectives), but the basic concept works and made a huge difference for her. Plus, I am always careful to fully explain that we are just using imagery, and I also explain the science of what that image tricks us into. The same image might not work for someone else, and that's OK.
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