Why is a relaxation routine so important? Well, just like I've talked about before, our body language can reinforce a feeling that we have. Having butterflies in your stomach will reinforce your nervousness to yourself. The feeling of butterflies and nervousness can be caused by a number of factors. Tension is one of the top factors. When we get nervous, our “fight or flight” mechanism is triggered. Our system then begins to tense up certain muscles. Our shoulders raise up, our chest protrudes out, and our abdomen tenses up. All of this enhances the feeling of nervousness. Sometimes the actual physical sensation of butterflies comes from fatigue in the deep, smaller muscles from tensing up. Another reason for the enhanced sensation of nervousness comes from lack of oxygen. When we get nervous, since so many of our muscles tense up, we take short, quick, restricted breaths of air. This is when people with intense stage fright begin to pass out or throw up. You actually begin to starve your body for oxygen and you feel light headed.
Relaxation is also a very important part to vocal usage and vocal health. No one wants to have a monotone voice, or be too quiet, or mumble, or be too loud. Now that you understand that relaxation will help your breathing patters when you’re speaking, you should easily be able to see the connection between relaxation and the voice. After all, what is the fuel needed to create the voice...breath. So if breathing is restricted, the the voice is restricted. If you do not implement a relaxation routine, you could easily feel exhausted and hoarse after speaking for only 15 minutes! Now do you see how important relaxation is? The first lesson in almost all classical acting programs is on relaxation. It is the quickest way to learn how to have control over your own body. And since about 93% of the information we communicate comes from our physical appearance and mannerisms, it’s a good skill to have.
