Putting a stop to sore vocal cords

Warming up is the key – we do it for sports, so why not for our vocal cords? Below are a few exercises to help avoid hoarseness.

Each time you use your voice, you place strain on your vocal cord. This is something you should take into consideration before giving a lengthy speech or singing. It is highly recommended to warm up your voice before these types of vocal performance.

1. Entire body

  • Bend
  • Stretch
  • Make faces
  • Tap your chest

2. Loosening the muscles in your head and activating your lungs

  • Close your right nostril
  • Breathe in deeply through your left nostril
  • Close your left nostril 
  • Breathe out through your right nostril
  • Close your left nostril and do the same again the other way around

3. Long breaths

  • Breathe in through your nose and lift your arms out at your sides
  • While breathing out, make an “S” sound and bring your arms down again 

4. Diaphragm exercises 

  • Say a few individual letters with intensity: F – S – T – SH 
  • Tongue and diaphragm: say a few individual syllables with intensity: da – de – di – do – du 
  • Palate and diaphragm: raise your palate and the top of your head: ga – ge – gi – go – gu 
  • Jaw and diaphragm: let your jaw hang loosely: ja – je – ji – jo – ju

5. Letting your lips go loose

  • Say “brrrrrrr” several times and allow your lips to vibrate

The following measures may help before using your voice:

  • Drink tea
  • Gargle sage tea
  • Do not consume coffee, chocolate or any dairy products beforehand
  • Avoid heavily air-conditioned room to avoid drying the throat
  • Suck on a Ricola herbal lozenge to lubricate and moisturize your vocal cord.

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