How Do You Breathe?

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXXII, Issue XIII, 26 March 1904, Page 64

How Do You Breathe?

\ goodly pvt ventage of individual* \<»nl«l Im* undoubtedly extremely siir>ri*ed. if not slightly offended, were <•11 to politely inform them that they lid not correctly perform that function teqiiired before any other at all upon heir initial entry into th<* world name y. the art of breathing. But yet if applied to a very large ma |Oi ity <»f peopl< mivli a statement would 'ontain <*on*i<i«*i ildy mon* truth than ticti< n, since a large proportion of civilised being- do not exercise their lung power* in the *ame manner as Nature evidently intended them to. the result being consumption. bad cold-, as well as all man nets of chest disorders. One would naturally ask-—Why should this stale of things Im**' ami the nearest reply to the question would be contained in tin* .statement that the artificial methods to which people j..ix ailays resort in this matter, as well as in many others, has a great deal to do with it. Take a savage, for instance, who has barely any recourse to anything that is in the least artificial or opposed to Na lure, he is seldom, if ever, attacked with ehest diseases; but yet he wears hardly any clothing, and his chest, being uncovered. cannot be impeded by garments which are too tight, ami which would hinder the natural expansion which is necessary to its healthy development. But we are not savages, and consequently we must wear clothes; but if we take a proper amount of chest and lung exercise by means of a correct method of breathing, and avoid wearing garments which are too tight across the ehest. not only will speech be rendered more clear, the singing voice more melodious and full-toned, but many a cold and chest complaint will necessarily be avoided. So many people, when they want to lake an extra deep breath for the purpose of raising their voices, draw in the extra amount of wind required through their open mouths, thereby deliberately' reversing the natural method of breathing. In calm and regular breathing the fresh air is taken in through the nostrils. and the foul carbonic acid gas from the lungs is ejected through the mouth. Consequently. if fresh air is taken in through the mouth it prevents the complete exhalation of vitiated breath, and only a very small quantity of pure air can find its way into the lungs at all. It is a good plan upon rising in the morning to go the window and taken in ten or twelve slow, deep breaths through the nostrils, and slowly 7 emit them through the mouth. By using these exorcises, fresh air is taken down into the lowest extremities of the lungs, and the foul air. or rather gas. is expelled; but with people who never make a habit of breathing in this manner fresh air never reaches the lower portions of the lungs at all. ami the fetid breath remains there and poisons the whole system. Professional singers are, as a rule, fairly free from lung complaints, and this happy state of health is invariably attributed by them to the fact that their profession has necessitated them acquiring the correct method of breathing. A welltrained vocalist invariably takes in a long- breath through his nose during a

pause in his song, and before taking it he will first exhaust all the breath in his lungs through the mouth, so that he may have room for a greater volume, *ince the warm breath in his lungs will be expanded with the heat of his body, and so in a double sense would leave less room for the cold air just inhaled. It may not Im* generally 7 known that in singing the production of different notes is by the placing of the breath again*! various positions on the palates. Ihe nearer to the teeth the breath is plac.-d tin* lower should Im* the note, and when the breath is directed towards the back of the nose, which is called the soft palate, then the note should be high. \ *i tiger who has had a considerable amount of practice is able to pitch any note required from his knowledge of how ami where —on the roof of the mouth—to place the breath carrying the sound. No amount of practice, though, would enable any individual to use the breath in thi* delicate manner unless proper control wa* gained in the first instance, and so may be seen at a glance the immense desirability, from many more points than those apparent to a singer, of cultivating a correct and natural method of breathA not her good breathing exercise recommended by a well-known teacher of singing is that of lying flat on the back, placing the hands firmly' upon the abdomen. and by firm pressure expelling the aii from the body’ through the mouth, and then taking in a slow but deep breath through the nostrils, an exercise which may be repeated many times with good effect.