II Errors to Be Avoided and Facts to Be Remembered in the Theory and Practice of Respiratory Re-Education
“Each faculty acquires fitness for its function by performing its function; and if its function is performed for it by a substituted agency, none of the required adjustment of nature takes place; but the nature becomes deformed to fit the artificial arrangements instead of the natural arrangements.”
—Herbert Spencer.
Anything that makes for good may be rendered harmful in its effect by injudicious application or improper use, and many authorities have referred to this fact in connexion with breathing exercises. For the guidance of my readers I will detail some of the harmful results which accrue from the attempt to take what are known as “deep breaths” during the practice of breathing and physical exercises, in accordance with the instructions set down and the principle advocated in recognised breathing systems.
At the outset, let me point out that respiratory education or respiratory re-education will not prove successful unless the mind of the pupil is thoroughly imbued with the true principles which apply to atmospheric pressure, the equilibrium of the body, the centre of gravity, and to positions of mechanical advantage where the alternate expansions and contractions of the thorax are concerned. In other words, it is essential to have a proper mental attitude towards respiratory education or re-education, and the specific acts which constitute the exercises embodied in it, together with a proper knowledge and practical employment of the true primary movement in each and every act.
I may remark that I recognised this factor and put it to practical use over twenty years ago, but it has been quite overlooked or neglected in the other systems formulated before and since that time. In fact, when I introduced my method to leading London medical men they quickly admitted the value of this important factor, and expressed their surprise that on account of its importance it had not been previously advocated, seeing that from a practical point of view it is so essential, not only in the eradication of respiratory faults or defects (re-education), but also in preventing them (education).
A proper mental attitude, let me repeat then, is all-important. From its neglect arise many of the serious defects ordinarily met with in the respiratory mechanism of civilised people, all of which are exaggerated in the practice of customary “breathing exercises.”
1. “Sniffing” or “Gasping.” If the “deep breath” be taken through the nasal passages there will be a loud “sniffing” sound and collapse of the alæ nasi, and if through the mouth, a “gasping” sound. The pupil has not been told that if the thorax is expanded correctly the lungs will at once be filled with air by atmospheric pressure, exactly as a pair of bellows is filled when the handles are pulled apart.
It is a well-known fact, but one greatly to be regretted, that many teachers of breathing and physical exercises actually tell the pupils that, in order to get the increased air-supply they must “sniff.”
Worse than this, many medical men are guilty of similar instruction to their patients, and when giving a personal demonstration of how a “deep breath” should be taken, they “sniff” loudly and bring about a collapse of the alæ nasi, throw back the head, and interfere with the centre of gravity. Of course, it is only necessary to remind them of the law of atmospheric pressure as it applies to breathing, and they at once recognise their error.
Such a state of affairs serves to show that lamentable ignorance prevails even in the twentieth century in connexion with so essential a function as breathing, and on reflection we must realise the seriousness of a situation which, from some points of view, is really pathetic.
Most people, if asked to take a “deep breath,” will proceed to—I use the words spoken by thousands of people I have experimented upon—“suck air into the lungs to expand the chest,” whereas, of course, the proper expansion of the chest, as a primary movement, causes the alæ nasi to be dilated and the lungs to be instantly filled with air by atmospheric pressure, without any harmful lowering of the pressure.
2. During this harmful “sniffing” act it will be seen that—
(a) The larynx is unduly depressed; likewise the diaphragm.
The undue strain, caused by this unnatural crowding down of the larynx and its accessories, is undoubtedly the greatest factor in the causation of throat troubles, especially where professional voice-users are concerned. This has been abundantly proved by the practical tests which I have made during the past twelve years. My success in London with eminent members of the dramatic and vocal profession, sent to me by their medical advisers, might be mentioned in this connexion.
(b) The upper chest is unduly raised, and in most cases the shoulders also.
(c) The back is unduly hollowed in the lumbar region.
(d) The abdomen is generally protruded, and there is an abnormally deranged intra-abdominal pressure.
(e) The head is thrown too far back, and the neck unduly tensed and shortened at a time when it should be perfectly free from strain.
(f) Parts of the chest are unduly expanded, while others that should share in the expansion are contracted, particularly the back in the lumbar region.
(g) During the expiration there is an undue falling of the upper chest, which harmfully increases the intra-thoracic pressure and so dams back the blood in the thin-walled veins and auricles and hampers the heart’s action.
(h) Undue larynx depression prevents the proper placing and natural movements of the tongue, the adequate and correct opening of the mouth for the formation of the resonance cavity necessary to the vocalisation of a true “Ah.”
It is well known that the tongue is attached to the larynx, and therefore any undue depression of the latter must of necessity interfere with the free and correct movements of the former.
(i) The head is thrown back to open the mouth.
This is a common fault, even with professional singers, but a moment’s consideration of the movements of the jaw—from an anatomical point of view—will show that it should move downwards without effort, and that it is not necessary to move the head backwards in order to effect the opening of the mouth by the lowering of the jaw, since, as a matter of fact, the latter movement will be more readily and perfectly performed if the head remains erect without any deviatory posture.
Every voice-user should learn to open the mouth without throwing back the head. Very distinct benefits will accrue to those who succeed in establishing this habit.
It is well known that the practice of “physical culture” exercises has caused emphysema, and it has been suggested that unnatural breathing exercises have also been responsible for the condition. I refer to this because I wish to show that it would not be possible to cause emphysema by the method of respiratory education and re-education I have formulated.
Emphysema may be caused by:—
1. The reduction of the elasticity of the lung cells and tissue resulting from undue expansion of the lungs and from their being held too long in this expanded position.
2. The undue intra-thoracic pressure, during an attempt at expiration or some physical act, upon the air cells, which remain filled with air in consequence of the means of egress from the lungs being temporarily closed by the approximation of vocal reeds and ventricular bands.
If the fundamental principles of my method are observed, these conditions cannot be present during the practice of the exercises, and emphysema therefore not only cannot be produced but is likely to be even remedied where previously existing.
In the first place, the tendency unduly to expand any part or parts of the thorax in particular, to the exclusion of other parts, is prevented by the detailed personal instruction given in connexion with each exercise in its application to individual defects or peculiarities of the pupil. Moreover, the mechanical advantages in the body-pose and chest poise assumed in these exercises cause them to be performed with the minimum of effort, and lead to an even and controlled expansion of the whole thorax. There is not, as is too often the case, an undue expansion of one part of the chest, while other parts, which should share in such expansion, are being contracted—a condition that obtains, for instance, when the diaphragm is unduly depressed in inspiration. In this latter case there is a sinking above and below the clavicles, a hollowing in the lumbar region of the back, undue protrusion of the abdomen, displacement of the abdominal viscera, reduction in height, undue depression of the larynx, and the centre of gravity is thrown too far back.
The striking feature in those who have practised customary breathing exercises is an undue lateral expansion of the lower ribs, when several or all of the above defects are present. This excessive expansion gives an undue width to the lower part of the chest, and there are thousands of young girls who present quite a matronly appearance in consequence. The breathing exercises imparted by teachers of singing are particularly effective in bringing about this undesirable and harmful condition.
The guiding principle that should be invariably kept in mind by both teacher and pupil is to secure, with the minimum of effort, perfect use of the component parts of the mechanisms concerned in respiration and vocalisation. Then, sooner or later, adequate mobility, power, speed, absolute control, and artistic manipulation must follow.
Most people—teachers as well as pupils—when thinking of or practising breathing exercises, have one fixed idea, viz., that of causing a great expansion of the chest, whereas its proper and adequate contraction is equally important. There are, indeed, many cases in which the expiratory movement calls for more attention than the inspiratory.
Careful observation will show that those who take breath by the “sniffing” or “gasping” mode of breathing always experience great difficulty with breath-control in speech and song, or during the performance of breathing exercises. This remains true whether the air is expelled through the mouth or nasal passages, and it is due to the imperfect use of the thoracic mechanism, and the consequent loss of mechanical advantage already referred to at the end of the inspiration.
The natural and powerful air-controlling power is therefore absent, and its absence causes undue approximation of the vocal reeds, and probably of the ventricular bands in the endeavour to prevent the escape of air, which air, when once released under these conditions, is thereafter inadequately and imperfectly controlled.
In vocal use there is considerable increase in this lack of breath-control, the upper chest being more rapidly and forcibly depressed during the vocalisation.
This is not a matter for surprise, for if a mechanical advantage is essential to the proper expansion of the thorax for the intake of air, it is equally essential to the controlling power during the expiration, and if during the expiration the upper chest is falling, it clearly proves that the advantage indicated is not present.