QUESTION:
Hi! I am looking for information on exercises for the aspiring concert flautist! Do you have any programming / exercise suggestions to help develop her lung capacity and breathe control?

To a breathe of fresh air,
When it comes to lung capacity and control, there are a couple of people that you want to see. First, you want to work with a CHEK Practitioner/NLC or Physical Therapist to work on your structural alignment/nutrition, as well as a singing coach or Tai Chi/Qi Gong instructor to teach you how to breathe properly and work on your control. I have found that posture has a lot to do with increasing lung capacity, as well as does proper nutrition and meditation. This might sound crazy, but I will explain this to you so you can have an edge on your fellow flutists.

First off, let’s define posture: the position from which movement begins and ends. So, no matter if you golf, play an instrument or you are just your average Joe, if you begin with poor posture, the end result will be poor. How does that correlate to playing the flute?

You need to first find out if you are breathing correctly (diaphragmatically) or inverted (using your accessory muscles: chest and neck muscles). Sit up straight in a chair and put one hand on your belly and the other on your upper chest. Take a deep breath in and then exhale. What did your hands do? The one on your belly should have moved out (belly protrusion) on the inhalation and came back in on the exhalation. If your belly or hand did not move at all and the one on your chest went in/out, then you are breathing inverted. This is done by using the second string or accessory muscles as the starting pitchers. This can lead to a number of dysfunction not only with the respiratory system, but can lead to chronic neck pain, headaches, decreased lung capacity, shallower breaths, more per minute, decreased peristalsis (constipation), poor lymphatic movement, and varicose veins and on and on and on!

To start off, you need to work on breathing correctly or what is called diaphragmatically. Sit up straight once again and put your hand on your belly and one on your chest. The chest will and should move, but only at the last 1/3 of the breath. Take a deep breath in the nose and concentrate on allowing your belly to fill with air like a balloon and protrude out. On the exhalation through the mouth with pursed lips, focus on allowing your belly to empty the air out so your hand goes back in. That is the proper way to breath and most of society does breathe wrong. The respiratory system is one of the most important systems. If you can’t breath right, everything else in your body will not work correctly. Check out Paul Chek’s articles and read up on his hierarchy (totem pole) of the bodies systems, muscles, and joints. If for some reason this is hard for you sitting up, lie down and do it. Place your hands on your belly the same way or you can use something cold (light weight, glass, etc.) to give you some sensory stimulation.

Once you have your breathing down correctly, try to get yourself assessed by a CHEK Practitioner (www.chekinsitute.com) or Physical Therapist in your area. If your body is out of alignment in any direction, you are only as strong as your weakest link. Most of the people I work with have what is called a kyphotic posture (increased curve in the thoracic spine= hunched over). I am assuming since you read music a lot and play the flute, that you most likely have adapted this type of posture. Well, if your upper body is flexed forward like the right/left picture below, this will alter your breathing pattern, decreasing lung capacity and making you breath shallower and more often.

You can do a quick experiment that will help you understand this better. Sit up straight and take a deep breath in and out, making sure you breathe correctly. As well as keeping that upright posture. How did that feel? Now do the same thing hunched over. Try to take a deep breathe in and out. Pay attention to what you use to accomplish this task as well as how labored your breathing is. As well, think of it in relation to water in a hose: if you bend a hose (altered posture), the water will not flow as fast, pressure will build up and everything will have to work harder to get the water to flow. Well, the same goes with a body that is poorly aligned. If you look at the middle picture, the body’s air, food, lymphatic fluid, blood, cerebrospinal fluid and waste (poop) will be able to flow with ease secondary to the body being upright and in alignment.

Nutrition as well can assist you in this process. I would make sure you stay clear of the American C.R.A.P diet:

1. Coffee/caffeine
2. Refined/processed foods
3. Alcohol/aspartame
4. Pasteurized milk

All of these foods are considered nonfoods, which take more energy to digest and assimilate than they actually provide you with. So if you goal is to be the healthiest/best flute player in the bunch, then these foods will not help you get there. As well, most of these foods contain sugar, chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, additives and preservatives which can have a profound effect on your immune (histamine reactions), digestive and respiratory systems. They will eventually cause a sympathetic overload to the system which will put you in a state of internal and external stress all the time. I am assuming playing the flute while being constipated, dehydrated, and having mental fatigue/fogginess is hard to do. To make things simple, follow the principles in Paul Chek’s book How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy and you should be fine.

Working with a Tai Chi or Qi Gong specialist can coach you on how to move and breathe more synergistically. Providing your body with this type of exercise in my opinion is one very easy way to develop all aspects of our life, with minimal energy involved. It actually provides us with tons of energy and can revitalize us. Providing yourself with a daily meditation will do lots for developing your breathing skills (by providing your body with life force, energy or Chi) which will aid the entire body towards health and vitality. Here are two links I found on the internet that will give you some insight into Qi Gong and breathing.

1. http://www.theflow.org/qigong/CD-Breathing.htm

2. http://www.vitalitymagazine.com/node/view/344

My recommendation at this point would be to:

1. Practice daily meditation (tai chi, qi gong, yoga, etc.)
2. Practice your diaphragmatic breathing in the morning and/or night
3. Eliminate the C.R.A.P diet foods from your life
4. Find a CHEK Practitioner or Physical Therapist for an assessment and a singing coach to help you even more with your breathing
5. Buy Paul’s book to assist you in your process

Hopefully I have helped you become the best you can be. Feel free to email me if you have any further questions or need some direction.

Namaste!
Joshua Rubin, OTR/L

CHEK Practitioner/NLC