Melodious Speech: A Health Goal
In addition to being about stretching, yoga is also about more complex functions, such as speech. Specifically, according to ancient texts, “melodious” speech. The first time I read this, I was perplexed. I thought to myself: Melodious? To speak like a melody in a song?
But when I learned the science of it, I realized how it made sense. Yoga helps us have an upright spine, so the neck give spacious support to the throat. The muscles of the mouth and face relax. The breath flows evenly. The result: a pleasant-sounding voice.
Give it a try: If you grimace or scowl, what tone does your mouth make when you speak? But if you smile in a relaxed way, what tone comes out?
Speech therapists have a name for this: vocal cord misuse. According to John Hopkins University, “Your voice is the sound that air makes when it is forced out of your lungs and passes over your vocal cords. … The vocal cords can be stressed by using too much tension when speaking. … Vocal abuse is anything that strains or harms the vocal cords, such as too much talking, shouting, or coughing.”
Now, all my decades of practicing yoga still leaves lots of room for improvement, and during the pandemic, I have been challenged in new ways—not feeling very peaceful or centered, and finding myself struggling to speak in soothing ways.
Here are at least three challenges that I have experienced during the pandemic, and maybe these are familiar to you, too. One challenge is the masks. The mask squeezes my face, and when I smile, it doesn’t fit as well.
A second challenge is the safety equipment in the hospital where I work. My vocal cords had to work extra hard to create volume, and my mouth had to enunciate exaggeratedly, in order to project through the N-95 mask, the additional layer of procedure mask, and beyond that, the face shield. No wonder patients and fellow staff had trouble hearing each other. And no wonder that we sometimes reverted to barking.
A third challenge is the topics and environment. Whether in the grocery store, or the tender and stressful situations in the hospital, I, and others, often felt on guard during the more deadly times of the pandemic. And, with many differing beliefs and behaviors, some topics of conversation were tense.
These three challenges illuminate some basic truths. Basic human needs include the need to be heard, the need to feel safe, and the need to relate to others. Over the past two years of the pandemic, these three needs have often conflicted in difficult ways. Wearing masks has made it harder to feel heard, easier to feel safe, but harder to relate to others. As is so often true, our physical and psychological health overlap.
Around the world, medical scholars have also been exploring these challenges during the pandemic. An article in the European Archive of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology pointed out that changes in voice: “may result from the attempt of the speaker wearing a mask to adjust the phonation characteristics to make his voice sound clearer; and this can represent a higher risk for the speaker to adopt vocal misuse behaviors and to develop voice disorders.”
(Gama, et al, Sept 2021, published online Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngal)
The Journal of Voice, which publishes peer-reviewed international research, pointed out: “the prolonged use of the mask could represent a risk for developing voice disorders due to vocal misbehavior, such as speaking very loudly or with poor intelligibility, having to constantly repeat messages, and consuming fewer glasses of water as a result of having the mouth region under restraint.” (—Carillo-Gonzalez “Vocal Health and Stress” in Revista, 2020.)
The good news is that healthy voice habits can help with this. Western medicine, along with other sources of wisdom such as yoga, encourage:
Hydration - although this is difficult while wearing a mask, sipping water or herbal tea as often as possible will help you feel better
Using a reasonable voice - even though the mask and distance are a challenge, try to find adjustements to avoid yelling
Vocal rest - taking a break from speaking may mean trade-offs, such as doing less of something, so that you can preserve your voice in the long run
Exercises - try a “yawn-sigh”, in which you spread your mouth wide and let out a long exhale
Medical leaders have noticed particular challenges for people whose jobs require them to use their voice. In an article on “Vocal Health and Stress,” Dr Carillo-Gonzalez suggests a solution: “occupational voice users must receive training support, instructions that help them speak slower during communicative interaction, muscle relaxation and mindfulness techniques, and educational technology.” Many organizations are now developing ways to support employees adapt.
The intersection of physical, emotional, and mental health is getting more and more clear to me: ease in one area leads to ease in the other areas. And ease in the mind, emotions, and body leads to a voice that feels better. So, my lesson going forward (and perhaps you can relate) is to double down on practicing my gentle speech. For my health, and for the health of those around me.
(A version of this article first appeared in the Daily Progress, a newspaper in Charlottesville, VA, as part of the Vital Signs column in June, 2022).
