Module 2 Lesson 8: Whole Body Warm-Up For Singers

Module Two

Jun 12

The last two lessons contained a lot of heady stuff. Let's take a break from our brains and get back into our bodies with this Whole Body Warm-up for Singers.

My good friend, body movement instructor, and voice teacher, Beth Noelle, created this warm-up for singers.

I love it because:

It can be done anywhere in any clothing
Any body type can do it
It only takes about 5 to 7 minutes
It's sequential and easy to memorize
You can do the whole thing standing (in your dressing room, on the side of the stage, in a bathroom stall… wherever!)
It warms up the muscles with a focus on neck, shoulders, torso
It brings focus to the mind
It's calming and centering
It builds and releases energy
It brings you into whole-body awareness through movement and breath

When you step into the space you use for practicing, the Whole Body Warm-Up is a way of leaving the world behind and getting in touch with your body in this moment. When you use the warm-up intentionally in your practice sessions, it will become automatic — a kind of cell memory that you can call on when you're in a more pressurized situation like performance.

When you're about to perform, it's easy to find yourself in a state of fight, flight, or freeze. When you practice being present, aware, and rooted, it calms the nervous system and prepares you to be present with your audience. Warming up your whole body will help you create a vessel that is open and ready to be filled with whatever magic you're about to make on stage.

Sound good? Let's do it!

Once You’ve Followed The Video Use This Guide

Movement #1 Take Three Breaths In

We'll begin by taking three breaths in: Inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth. Eyes closed. Feet shoulder-width apart. Whole-body scan for grounding, getting present, saying hello to the space between our ribs/intercostals.

Movement #2 Thirteen Joint Stimulation

Start by making small circles with your left ankle. Move up the leg to the left knee, left hip, left wrist and fingers, left elbow, and left shoulder. Roll the head and neck. Then make your way down the other side of the body, starting with the right shoulder and moving to the right elbow, right wrist and fingers, right hip, right knee, and finally the right ankle.

Movement #3 Spinal Rolls

Feet a little more than shoulder-width apart. Do the first three leading with the face looking up and jaw relaxed, glutes leading you down like you're sitting in a chair behind you. (wake up the face and the eyes.) Drip over and hang as you roll up one vertebra at a time. The next three rolls go in the opposite direction - lead with the head looking down (your chin is attracted to your chest), come down to a squat, look up and lead yourself back up with the face - eyes activated and leading the way.

Movement #4 Shift Weight

Feet shoulder-width apart. Feel as if your legs are spring-loaded. Move body weight from side to side.

Movement #5 Hip Circles

Three slow hip circles in both directions for pelvic activation. Knees bent, feet spaced wide apart.

Movement #6 Systemic Movement

Move the whole body. Scan for areas that need attention and release.

Movement #7 Body Shake (vibration)

Head, hands, chest, pelvis vibrate for increased blood flow and mental activation.

Movement #8 Three Breaths In w/Arms Overhead

Slow deep breaths to integrate Body, Breath, Awareness. Bring the arms overhead from the sides on the inhalation, and down through the midline of the body on the exhalation. Eyes follow hands.