Breathe!

“REMEMBER TO BREATHE!” – I tell them…

They always laugh! But I’m dead serious when I tell them that!

No, really – when I’m coaching storytelling students or when workshop participants are taking turns standing in front of the group to tell a story, they really do need the reminder-! Okay, maybe not to actually allow the lungs to take in a little oxygen – that’s usually automatic…

But to really B-R-E-A-T-H-E!

To let your sides expand, your diaphragm descend – and yes it’s true: your tummy go out! – to really let your lungs fill with good, good air. THIS is the beginning, the core, the foundation, the life, the nourishment of everything you can and will do as a storyteller!

To power your body with oxygen, to release your voice with its passage, to give shape and pace and accent and capability and strength and control and…well, everything!…THIS is what your breath does. Gives life to you and to your storytelling. (And so the photo I chose for this post is one I took last week of a bit of Colorado’s high country – a wonderful place for taking deep, nourishing breaths!  Scroll back up, take a look at it, imagine yourself there, breathe…!  )

That magnificent Hebrew word: RUACH

This word, ruach, can be translated as breath, as wind, and/or as spirit. It is the word used in Genesis 1:1 – So, did the breath, or the wind, or the spirit move over the waters?-! Ahhh, translation is such a creative act itself!

This reminds us that our breath is literally inspiration (think about that a moment!) – and it is beyond beneficial to be aware of its importance to storytelling. Once you are conscious of using and developing your breathing, you are better able to use your “instrument” (your body – which of course includes your voice) to connect audience and story.

Do you know how to “use” your breath?!

• To create every word you speak and sound you make, of course.
• To power your whole body – not the least, your brain! – to be at its best for the physicality of storytelling.
• If you feel nervous, take a few deep breaths – it helps.
• If you forget what comes next in your story – stop and breathe. That’s right, just breathe…look around at the good people who are happy to wait and let you breathe – they know you hold the story and will continue to give it to them when you’re ready.
• And before you say the first word of your story…stand or sit where you choose, breathe, look around at the good people who are ready for you to give them your story, breathe, breathe again, take another good breath, and begin!

This post is not about breath exercises…

…or about workshops that include working with breath (future posts could be; we’ll see…). It is simply a short reflection on that most basic foundation of all that a storyteller – indeed all of humanity! 😉 – does: Breathing!

“Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

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Related to breathing and storytelling, of course, is care for your voice. You might be interested in storyteller Doug Lipman’s Storyteller’s Voice-Care Toolkit. Read about it here.

Thanks for reading – Pam