Something I heard on the ABC Radio National made me sit up and start thinking about asthma from a whole new angle:
Asthma can affect the voice box too.
The more I have thought about it the more I am wondering if actually MOST of asthma is to do with the voice box.
Which then opens the door to whether voice exercises have a part to play in treating asthma.
I’ve been experimenting ever since I heard the Radio National report and as so often happens (one of those amazing “coincidences”) I almost immediately had the opportunity to receive voice training from a professional through the radio station we volunteer for as announcers.
Yes this does seem to make a difference to asthma.
Here are the top exercises I’ve identified so far (for asthma using a voice approach):
1. Swallow. If waking up in the night with a dry mouth/breathing through mouth etc swallow. Do it over and over. It will stimulate saliva to flow even without drinking water. Get the tongue and throat muscles working with the swallowing action.
2. Hold jaw firmly stable with hand (also stabilize the arm against the chest to hold the jaw firmly in place). Now open mouth wide (slowly) by raising the TOP jaw (ie all the rest of the head) upwards and backwards. Then close mouth by closing the top jaw and head back down onto the still bototm jaw. This will use muscles in the back of the neck possibly even inside of the neck. It should also relax the jaw muscles.
3. Blow out through relaxed lips with lips held gently together. The idea is to achieve a farty/bubbly vibration through the lips. It helps to hold the muscles in a circle outside the lips firm while the lips themselves are fully relaxed. Once this is achieved start vocalising during the process with a tone going from low to high (not stopping) while blowing through vibrating lips. Then do the same from high to low.
4. Lift top of head up and back to open mouth and yawn fully opening the back of throat deeply.
These are exercises to do each and every day.