How to Engage Your Pelvic Floor for Singing

Your pelvic floor is a key muscle in breath management for singing. In this video you will learn:
1. How to contract and release your pelvic floor
2. How to lengthen your pelvic floor
3. How and when to use these actions in your singing
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⏱TIMESTAMPS
00:00 How to Engage Your Pelvic Floor for Singing
00:50 What is your pelvic floor, who has one, and where is it?
02:40 How to contract your pelvic floor
03:40 Using contraction to then release your pelvic floor
05:05 The role of the pelvic floor in breathing
05:55 What is balanced breathing?
07:50 How to lengthen the pelvic floor for singing
09:55 Vocal exercises with pelvic floor lengthening
11:46 Body positions for better access to the pelvic floor
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Learning to sing online can be a great way to improve your singing, but without direct feedback from an instructor, many people just end up confused and overwhelmed. Hi! I'm Laura with LJDstudios, and I offer up singing tips that are easy to understand and implement. If you've been trying to learn to sing online and find yourself frustrated by the majority of online singing tutorials, I've got you covered. I teach people how to sing using “normal human speak” and vocal exercises that improve your singing quickly. If you want to learn how to sing on your own, I've got you covered. You CAN get better at singing and find confidence in your voice. And it doesn't have to be as hard as you think.
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[@GevT03]

First of all, great video! Lots of good explanations here. But what I'm not understanding is that when I contract my pelvic floor, my abs also contract. And if the abs contract, that raises the diaphragm faster. However, we want the diaphragm to move slowly. So is it physically possible to control your pelvic floor without your abs tensing up? To me, it feels impossible because I can feel that my abs and pelvic floor are connected to one another and do the same thing together.

[@ljdstudios]

Great question! You’re right, generally when we contract the pelvic floor (and keep in mind to contract the pelvic floor means you’re lifting it), the abs like to go with it (as does the diaphragm). But if you’re trying to slow down the ascent of the diaphragm, you’ll actually want to lengthen the pelvic floor (this will feel like pressing down on it gently, like you would in order to start the flow of urine). In this case, you might actually feel the abs tense in an outward direction. Does that answer you’re question?

[@cynthiang4330]

Congratulations, wishing you all the best❤️

[@ljdstudios]

Thank you so much!

[@TruePhil]

1. relax pelvic floor when sing 2. legs open, pelvis in ant tilt, let flow of pee

[@garymanz3403]

One the benefits I’m experiencing to this fantastically explained pelvic floor aspect, is better pitch control. The remaining question for me is why is that the case? Thank you!

[@ljdstudios]

Yes!! Better breath control can be a game changer in all areas! So glad you found that helpful!

[@JoshElliottMusic]

Since the pelvic floor is contracting while exhaling is it advisable to consciously contract the pelvic floor while phonating? If so how many reps of this exercise daily would you recommend to cement this into muscle memory?

[@lauradavis3457]

Great question! A couple of minutes a day should be plenty to get the hang of the action. For most people, I actually recommend the opposite…instead of contracting the pelvic floor on exhale (which is the natural breathing pattern), work to descend and lengthen the pelvic floor while singing. (I teach contraction first just to help build awareness of the muscle). Go to the time stamp at 7:50 of the video for more on this, but so much of breathing for singing requires us to do the opposite of what we would do in normal breathing patterns, and lengthening or pressing down on the pelvic floor can help us resist the body’s inclination to just let all of the air out at once. That said, some people do benefit from more of a contraction of the pelvic floor while singing so I would try it both ways and see how it feels. Or there might be some parts of your voice where one action is more beneficial and other parts of your voice where the other action is beneficial. It’s all about creating the right dynamic between the muscles of inhalation and the muscles of exhalation for the ideal breath pressure and speed for the given pitch and tone. Hope that helps! If you haven’t already, check out the second half of the video for exercises to help lengthen and descend the pelvic floor.

[@JoshElliottMusic]

@@lauradavis3457 Thanks for the reply. It's sort of a confusing sensation. I'll re-watch the video. I appreciate all your videos. Keep em coming!

[@lauradavis3457]

Oh totally! I was super confused as to whether or not I was engaging my pelvic floor correctly at first also. You can try pressing down or lengthening the pelvic floor just with the inhale. It might be easier to feel it on inhale. Once you get that, try to do the same action on the exhale.

[@chloerebeccablank]

It almost feels like my pelvic floor is gonna prolapse when im singing high. Is that wrong? Like i know i have a weak pelvic floor, 2 c sections in 2 years. Will i prolapse? Is that even possible?😅

[@ljdstudios]

That's a great question. As far as whether or not you are engaging your pelvic floor correctly for singing, it sounds like the answer is yes. That said, feeling like you might prolapse is definitely not ideal. I saw a pelvic floor specialist while I was pregnant and part of the work was to practice deeply relaxing/lengthening the pelvic floor while exhaling strongly in order to prepare for childbirth. This is the same thing we do in singing--particularly when we go for a high note. But my understanding is, if the pelvic floor is weakened, then we do this action, we might experience various issues. Long story short, I do think you are performing the action correctly for singing, but might be experiencing some side effects from previous pregnancies. I'm not a doctor, so this is not medical advice, but it could be worth seeing a specialist. It helped me a lot!

[@chloerebeccablank]

@ljdstudios THANK YOU!! I appreciate you replying! And I will definitely look into it! Idk if you have had your baby yet or not but praying everything has/will go smoothly!

[@ljdstudios]

Thank you! Our little boy was born at the end of February, so now it’s just a matter of navigating being a working mom! 🙂

[@chloerebeccablank]

@@ljdstudios oh I'm happy to hear! It's hard to find that balance at first! You got this!