If warming up feels stressful...

Last week I had an introductory voice lesson with a singer who’s in her 50s and hasn’t had a lesson in years.

 

She is in preparation for a concert of new music with a band. In fact she had a rehearsal scheduled for that night, and was feeling very nervous about it.

 

On top of that, she admitted to me that she had *complicated* feelings about vocal training.

 

It was a big step for her to schedule the lessons.

 

There was baggage around seeing “a teacher”, but especially around one thing:

 

👉🏻 Warming up.

 

She said, “I always thought warmups were supposed to make me feel better… but honestly, they just made me feel worse.”

 

Have you felt this way?

 

Maybe you’ve had experiences where warmups feel like:

 

• something you “should” do 

 

• a test

 

• a performance

 

• a moment where you had to prove something

 

And…..let’s just go there:

 

 ➡️ a place where all your insecurities were amplified.

 

Perhaps your warmups felt like work that left you tighter, smaller, and more self-conscious than when you started.

 

I’ve met so many singers who learned to brace themselves during warmups because they didn’t feel in charge of the experience.

 

They tried to “get it right” instead of just feeling into what their voice actually needed.

 

And over time?

 

Warmups became something to avoid….or something to rush through. OR something that brings up old shame about not being “good enough.”

 

The singer I was working with last week shared something else that broke my heart a little.

 

She said:

 

“I feel as though vocal training took away what I was already doing naturally as a child. Took away my spontaneity, my freedom, my confidence.”

 

Just sit with that. 💔

 

The whole point of voice training is to help free what’s inside of us. To build and strengthen. 

 

And so many of us internalized that notion that warming up is supposed to be a big, effortful, “out of control” thing.

 

But here’s the truth…

 

Warmups should be your opportunity to develop ownership over your voice.

 

They are supposed to ground you, not stress you.

 

Connect you to your voice, not disconnect you from it.

 

So yeah, this singer shared with me that she remembered being a kid and singing with this wild, free, effortless joy. She longed for that.

She longed to belt songs out in front of an audience without overthinking, without self-judgment, no holding back.

 

Somewhere along the way, she lost that.

 

Well, not lost.

 

It just got covered up.

 

During our lesson, I introduced her to something called SOVTs (semi-occluded vocal tract exercises).

 

If you’ve downloaded my Joyful Singing Starter Kit, you already know these.

They’re simple, gentle warmups like lip trills, straw phonation, humming- to create balance in your voice without pushing.

 

SOVTs are one of the safest, simplest, most effective ways to rebuild that foundation without working hard.

 

👉🏻The straw (if you are using one and also in water) creates resistance, which can gently warm up the vocal cords and surrounding muscles without putting too much strain on them. (They relax.)

 

👉🏻It promotes a more efficient use of breath.

 

👉🏻It helps your high notes stop feeling scary.

 

👉🏻It helps you reawaken muscles that have been resting.

 

👉🏻Singing through a straw can help focus the sound and reduce excessive airiness, leading to a clearer and more focused tone.

 

👉🏻It helps to bring the experience of the sound to a higher place; to a higher resonance.

 

👉🏻The straw exercises may help reduce vocal fatigue during extended periods of singing.

 

Basically, it’s gentle, it’s easy AND it’s relaxing! And it encourages your vocal folds to work together in the most optimal way.

 

All at your pace.

All without “thinking”.

All without effort. 

 

Best part? It puts YOU in the driver seat.

 

I love them not only for the physical benefits but also for the quiet, focused time. You're connecting inward. You are getting intimate with your voice.

 

I've been asking the singers I work with to close their eyes and go to a still place while doing the straw warmups.

 

I like to think of this intimate time as an act of self care.

 

Not only is this time an opportunity to deepen your understanding and relationship with your voice, but an opportunity to create awareness around your body.

 

Can you go a whole day without thinking about the quality of the kind of breath you are taking? 

 

Are you sitting at a computer for hours on end and then realize your shoulders are practically up to your ears? Do you clinch your jaw without realizing it?

 

Warming up is an opportunity to check in with your body.

 

It's an opportunity to connect and go inward and maybe release tension you might be holding.

 

It's an opportunity to notice.

 

You become the expert of your own experience.

 

Listen, I know that not knowing how to rebuild vocal strength can be bewildering.

 

Whether you haven’t been singing consistently, or when your voice has changed with age, illness, hormones, stress, or simply life…you can feel like your foundation is gone.

 

Your voice might feel weaker, breathier, smaller, less reliable, unpredictable, hard to control…

 

And a lot of singers assume they need to “push harder” or do complicated exercises.

 

Nope.
Nope.
Nope.

 

Rebuilding strength doesn’t come from effort- it comes from balance.

 

If you downloaded my Joyful Singing Starter Kit, you already have a simple, step-by-step SOVT warmup from me.

 

If you’ve been meaning to open it…
If it’s sitting in your inbox…
If you tried it once but forgot…
If you weren’t sure where to start…

 

This is your nudge.
Your reminder.
Your invitation to try again- lovingly, gently, with no pressure.

 

It may be the simplest thing you do for your voice this week.

 

>> And it may change everything. <<

 

You deserve a warmup that feels good. 😊

 

One that makes your voice feel stronger, freer, and more you.

 

And if you are already doing these types of SOVT exercises, I challenge you to increase the portion of your warmup to 15 minutes if you aren’t already.

 

You deserve to feel in charge of your vocal experience.

You deserve to sing without tension or dread.

And you deserve a warmup that feels like an act of self-love.

 

And the night that singer went to her rehearsal with her band? The same day we spent 15 minutes of devoted time to these SOVTs? 

 

At our next lesson she shared:

 

“That was the best rehearsal I’ve ever had.”

 

😆 😆 😆

 

All because she finally found a warmup that didn’t work against her… but with her.

 

I’m cheering you on, as always!! 💛✨