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the entire set of various contractions in an unfathomably deep silent roar Yawn like a lion
without worrying who sees it
Compression for the Throat and Larynx
The vocal folds are shielded by cartilage so unfortunately we cannot press our fingers against
the neck to massage or compress them However you can give them some relief by
compressing the tissues around them
Vocal Exercise Compression of the Front of the Neck
Use your thumbs and fingertips to press firmly but gently into your throat Press all over and
from all angles Apply pressure from the jawline all the way to the collar bones and sternum
Another way to find relief is to lean onto the side of a bed while pressing your upper chest
Chapter Release Vocal Tension
and throat into a basketball Use the basketball to compress the sternum and clavicle
This also results in reducing clavicular and thoracic breathing The sensation may make
you cough or gag but it is highly beneficial because it moves and stimulates muscles and
tissues that are usually completely still Be very gentle with this exercise taking it easy
and focusing on dissipating the tension in your throat over a span of several weeks
hes
Y
Hf
Nee NX
Illustration A Larynx B Compression of tissues surrounding the larynx C Compression of the throat and
chest with the use of a basketball
Rushed Speech Enunciation and Clarity
There are many verbal indicators of dominance that are recognized in psychology More
dominant people have more vocal control are louder speak at a lower average pitch talk
more and are more comfortable speaking at a variety of speeds They exhibit more prosodic
variety with increased use of rhythm intonation and melody They also speak with fewer
disfluencies false starts stammering repeated words mispronunciations fillers repaired
utterances etc They are less hesitant to interrupt others are less tolerant of being
interrupted and overlap their speech with that of others more often
People who have been heavily subordinated on the other hand hardly move or open their
mouths when they speak They usually sound uncertain and defensive They also ramble
murmur and stammer to create space for a more charismatic person to interrupt them speak
from experience here In my twenties acted like was about to be interrupted every time
spoke tried so hard to downplay my strengths in front of my friends that enunciated and
articulated poorly choosing not to use descriptive terminology when speaking Over several
years this rendered my speech indistinct and reduced my oncehefty working vocabulary into a
limited one
Instead when you are speaking act as if you have the floor That will build credibility
suspense and engagement with your listeners Perhaps most importantly take your time
Hurried speech and quick responses to other peoples questions are submissive and will quickly
cause you to become tonguetied Do not rush to respond
Employ dramatic pauses For instance pause for two seconds before you speak Pause for a
second or so between some sentences Doing so conveys that you are so assured of your own
power that you trust others wont interrupt The more slowly you speak when talking about
something important the more thoughtful and deliberate you will appear
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
Act like whatever you said is helpful interesting and stands alone without feeling forced to
elaborate on it People will commonly underreact to your points and good ideas This will
influence you to flounder in an attempt to better explain yourself breathlessly and
unnecessarily Instead say what you want to say in definitive terms and conclude with
confidence and finality Dont feel like you have to repeat reiterate or reexplain yourself
Chances are your listeners got it the first time even if they act like they didnt
Dont let silence during a conversation worry you In professional negotiations often the
person who is less comfortable with silence loses This is partly because silence makes most
people breathe shallowly Breathe comfortably with all nonverbal aspects of your
conversations and you will become the proverbial pound gorilla in the room
Monitor your breathing carefully during conversations dont let it become shallow Take
deep breaths when the other person talks Pause and breathe in slowly and completely after
every few sentences Dont feel apologetic for making people wait for you to finish your
inhalation Do not jump back into the conversation quickly using a gasp Finish the breath you
were on Your breath comes first
Speaking clearly articulately and with charisma is not showing off Start now Enunciate as
properly as you can and within a few months your utterances will be crystal clear and will
sound more intelligent and persuasive Dont forget to practice these new habits as you speak
to yourself
Relieve Subvocal Tension in the Vocal Cords by Muting the Internal Monologue
An especially useful form of meditation focuses on subduing the restless subvocalizations
within both your head and your larynx The part of your brain responsible for generating
speech called Brocas area is always active producing speech patterns Because of its
incessant activity language often proceeds through our minds whether it is involved
in planning the day singing the words to a song or defending ourselves in a
hypothetical argument
Sometimes of course the activity in Brocas area and other language regions is not
broadcast to the brains conscious areas and so we are not aware of it When this happens we
gain a brief respite from our internal monologues Usually however not only is it broadcasting
its speech to much of the cortex but it is broadcasting instructions for speech to the cortical
motor areas responsible for moving the vocal cords That input causes us to constantly tense
our throats silently going through the motions of speech even as our mouths stay shut
Sometimes the lips and tongue move along with these silent words sometimes they do not
but the voice box almost always follows along Giving ourselves a reprieve from this
interminable activity gives those muscles a rare chance to relax removing some of the strain
they usually feel Try to become aware of your own pressured subvocal speech Using ujjayi
breath can help because vocal bracing is vastly reduced if you breathe as if fogging up a glass
Also notice how your vocal posture becomes more relaxed in the following situations
when you are around other people with low relaxed voices when you wake up in the morning
when you drink a hot beverage after drinking alcohol after taking a cough suppressant and
when reclining in complete safety You might also experiment with the corpse activity from
earlier chapters taking on the limp vocal configuration of a deceased person Spend some time
Chapter Release Vocal Tension
trying to find your most relaxed vocal posture with the intention of being able to reproduce
it on command
Conclusion
Predatory mammals are less likely to attack those who have a deeper voice After reading that
last sentence notice how your vocal posture altered You probably felt tissue in the back of
your throat drop to a more secure configuration However keeping this posture for more than
a few seconds is uncomfortable because it feels so unguarded But this is what you want to
pursue Doing it habitually will make your voice unshakable
Speak to your pets in a deep voice rather than a high squeaky one Do the same with your
children Addressing them in a full voice is not only beneficial for you but will also encourage