Singing and Lung Health
Today’s blog is on singing for lung health: If you’d prefer to watch a video, as opposed to reading the information below, click the link below to watch a film looking at how The Singing Hospital project was developed, rehearsed, and performed.
You can also find more information here.
Credit: The Musical Breath:http://www.themusicalbreath.com/singing-for-lung-health/
Music making and other creative activities can help you feel more positive about your health. There’s increasing evidence that singing regularly as part of a group is good for your wellbeing. It seems to be especially beneficial to the quality of life if you’re living with a lung condition.
Singing for Lung health was founded as a direct response to the fact that over 1.2 million people in the UK have been diagnosed with the obstructive lung condition COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). This blog post is dedicated to the amazing work of The Musical Breath, including the work of Singing for Lung Health.
What is Singing for Lung Health?
Singing for Lung Health is a group based arts and health intervention, with the goal of improving the quality of life of people with chronic lung conditions, as well as providing the tools for the self-management of breathlessness.
Singing for Lung Health (Originally called Singing for Breathing) started in 2007 at the Royal Brompton Hospital. Created by Phoene Cave, Singing for Lung Health provides workshops using the combined skills of a multi-disciplinary team of respiratory, music and voice specialists.
For a quick insight into this work, you can watch this 8 minute video. This is the work of The Warblers, a Singing for Lung Health group.
There are many benefits of Singing for Lung Health, some of which include:
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Improves breathing control and distracts from breathlessness
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Improves social participation reducing feelings of isolation
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Provides tools for self-management of posture, breath, and anxiety
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Has high uptake and retention
Whilst singing is a key facilitator in the group’s workshops, the essence of the workshops are on learning how to breathe. You can watch the Cambridge Singing for Breathing video here:
Or you can watch a Singing for Breathing tuition video here:
Credit: The Musical Breath:http://www.themusicalbreath.com/singing-for-lung-health/
The Musical Breath website has a huge number of resources to explore; if you’d like to find out more please click the link below.
You’ll also find a page specifically dedicated to a number of resources that you can use at home to improve your own breathing and wellbeing.