Reconnect with your Pelvic Floor to Restore Vocal Freedom
02/08/2025
When the World Feels Heavy, Your Voice Might Too.
As a voice teacher, I’m an eternal student of the messy, miraculous relationship between mind, body, and voice. Lately, I’ve noticed something important making a return that reminds me of 2020 – ’21: many singers show up with tightness they can’t explain and their voice just doesn’t show up like it used to. Their breath is blocked, and high notes that used to feel easy now seem out of reach. When I observe and listen to them sing, I notice a kind of alertness, but not the helpful kind. They’re hypervigilant. Not just mentally, but physically.
Sound familiar?
Let’s be real. The world has felt like it’s on fire lately. If you’ve been feeling more on edge, exhausted, or generally like you’re living in survival mode, you’re not alone.
Global instability, political unrest, climate anxiety, AI overload, or personal grief and uncertainty,… All of this can lead your nervous system to spend more time in survival states, like sympathetic fight / flight or parasympathetic freeze / dorsal vagal state; and less time in the ventral vagal state of rest, connection, and healing.
Your voice is telling you something: Your nervous system is doing its very best to keep you safe in a world that feels unpredictable and unsafe.
Let’s talk about it. Let’s name it. And then let’s explore what we can do about it.
To address these issues, I weave somatic voice work into my teaching – yes, also in online voice lessons!
Somatic means tuning into physical sensations, movements, and internal states. This practice helps you soften chronic guarding, especially in the pelvis; expand the diaphragm; and bring ease back into your voice.
Book your free discovery call if you want to explore further after reading this blog post!
The Deep Front Line (DFL): A Myofascial Body-Voice Connection
Here’s the body nerd wisdom: your pelvic floor, diaphragm, and larynx are connected via the deep front line. This chain of connective tissue supports:
- Intra-abdominal pressure regulation
- Postural stability
- Autonomic nervous system responses
- Breath and voice coordination
When one part of this system is under chronic tension, it affects the whole chain. So yes, that unexplained tightness in your voice might actually start much lower in your body. Fascinating, right?
If you’re an anatomy nerd like I am, you’ll appreciate the video Deep Front Line of Fascia – Cadaver Dissection by Tom Myers 🤗 (Do not watch if you’re triggered by… ehm… raw human meat.)
When we have experienced trauma – whether with a big T or a small t – chronic guarding patterns develop to help us survive.
This often shows up as:
- Pelvic floor bracing, even during non-threatening moments
- Unwanted tension in the diaphragm and the muscles of the rib cage, resulting in breath‑holding
- Jaw-clenching and a throat that feels blocked, tight, or over-efforting
Hypermobility and neurodivergence can also complicate this. Interoception (your sense of what’s going on inside your body) might feel muted, delayed, confusing, or intense.
Who Can Help (Besides Me)
This work takes place at the intersection of voice, neurology, trauma, and somatic health. While I’m trained in vocal pedagogy and somatic awareness, and informed in trauma and neurodivergence, I’m not a health professional.
If you need deeper support, consider:
- A pelvic health physiotherapist or osteopath familiar with trauma and connective tissue.
- A psychotherapist trained in somatic trauma treatments, like Somatic Experiencing (SE) developed by Peter Levine. It helps your nervous system gently relearn safety and self-regulation
Step‑by‑Step Somatic Voice Exercises
I will share the first two exercises of a sequence I often offer the singers I work with. The sequence starts with you lying down on your back and progresses into seated and standing exercises.
Here are some important core principles. Keep these in mind as you explore:
- What we are going to do is called Somatic Tracking: observe, don’t fix. Notice how your system responds to sensations with curiosity, not judgement.
- These are invitations, not medical interventions.
- Stop or modify if you feel overwhelmed. Safety is essential.
- Permission, not performance.
- Keep volume low and effort minimal.
These practices help to reset the relationship between your breath, voice, and pelvic floor. Remember: They’re not about “fixing” you or your voice, but about helping your body feel safe enough to let go.
Awareness = the beginning of healing. I’m going to ask you to feel things happening in your body, to connect with them. If you notice that there’s a certain movement or muscular activity that you can’t feel happening, that’s OK. Being aware of that fact is already a good start. No judgement.
1. Breathing with Awareness (Lying Down)
- Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat on the floor and hip-width.
- Place your hands on your lower belly, under your belly button.
- Breathe gently through your nose (if possible and comfortable).
During inhalation, feel how not only your chest expands, but also your belly – automatically, without you having to assist or force it. Connect with the fact that your body wants to do this naturally and that your only job is to allow this; there is no pushing involved.
This expansion of your belly happens because your diaphragm descends – also automatically – and shifts your lower organs. Try to visualise this and connect with it.
- Feel how your pelvic floor responds. During inhalation, there’s a gentle shift, a downward movement like a flower blooming into the pelvis. The delicate petals gently open in all directions during inhalation. It’s a surrender to the movement. I sometimes like to call this part of the exercise “un-Kegels”. If this image of a blooming flower does not work for you, let it go.
- Upon exhalation, the belly returns to starting position, the diaphragm relaxes and rises again, and the pelvic floor follows the same direction. The flower petals close gently.
- After a few relaxed breaths, try exhaling on an Fff or Sss. As your exhalation lasts longer, feel a soft activation of your abdominal muscles gently pulling your belly in, from your pubic bone to your navel. Keep it subtle. No gritting your teeth or “crunching” your abs. Feel how your pelvic floor responds and connects with the muscular activity going upward. Stay with the image of the flower petals opening and closing (if it works for you).
2. Connecting Breath with Movement and the Voice
Using your voice activates the vagal nerve, which helps regulate the nervous system. So now, exhale on a voiced fricative like Vvv or Zzz. Keep the volume low and your effort minimal. If helpful, maintain the connection to the blooming flower in your pelvis during inhalation.
- Rock your knees gently side‑to‑side. Small movements, barely noticeable.
- Next, do subtle pelvic tilts forwards & backwards, also called Sacral Rocks. Use a soft folded blanket under your sacrum for feedback and support. Again, keep the movement barely noticeable, connect to the deep centre of your pelvic region.
- Now, explore the Pelvic Clock: gentle tilts from 12 o’clock (pubic bone), to 3 o’clock (hip bone), to 6 o’clock (tailbone), and to 9 o’clock (hip bone). Tiny shifts, soothing rhythm, not stretching
If you want, incorporate other sounds like humming and vowels. Allow your voice to gently glide up and down if you feel the freedom.
The next steps of this sequence progress into seated and standing exercises. So if the exercises I just shared with you went well and you want to explore further, you’re very welcome to book a voice lesson!
Final Thoughts: Your Voice Is Telling You Something
Your body and voice are sensitive, intelligent systems responding to complexity and stress. These holding patterns aren’t something to fix. They need curiosity, gentleness, and a safe space to unwind.
That’s what I aim to offer in my voice lessons: A space where your nervous system can relax, your breath can soften, your voice can release and your body can start trusting again.
So if you’re feeling stuck vocally, please know this: it might not be about your technique. It might be about your body’s need for safety. And we can work with that. If you’ve struggled with the exercises in this blog post: you’re not alone and I can help. Book your free discovery call here!
Jess Blatchley, Singing Teacher and Jazz Singer
Manon Campens - Singer
Kelly Van Hove - Entertrainer focused on Soft HR & communication workshops / Vocational Musical Theatre Singer
Janet Wilson - Vocational singer
Maud Retter - Speech therapist
Diane Speirs - Singer & Voice Teacher
She couples this with her techniques that allow one to manage things like performance anxiety with much greater ease. It’s a win- win as I have in the past 6 months started to perform at jam sessions and more. I love it!
Kim, Avocational Singer
Esther De Bièvre - Recovery therapist
Pieter Van Hecke, Vocational singer
Haike D'haese - Singer & Actress
What I also appreciate very much is her respect for every one of her clients / students.
Singer
Kenneth Ottoy, Singer of Plagiaat & Piron
I leave our lessons feeling inspired and with new tools to use with my voice students. I particularly love that I now have language to identify and describe with more specificity the different kinds of sounds that live in pop/rock styles. Working with Sarah has made me a better teacher for my students!
M.J. Johnson, Singing Teacher and Vocal Coach
Dr. Tracy Smith Bessette - Singer, Voice Instructor, Early Music Coach & Course Lecturer
Singer & Voice Teacher
Jess Blatchley, Singing Teacher and Jazz Singer
Susanne Vahle - Vocational singer
Breg Horemans - Vocational singer
Ariane De Dom, Avocational singer
Amy Bebbington - Director of Training bij Association of British Choral Directors
Kim, Avocational Singer
Bec Tilley, Voice Coach & Singer
You learn to look for a solution and deal with your struggles yourself. It's not pre-made shit, it's to the point.
Esther De Bièvre - Recovery therapist
I highly recommend Sarah if you are looking for a voice specialist!
Gwendy - Vocational singer
Nele Willekens - Library youth worker
Nele - Singer & Youth Library Worker
Stella Handley, Avocational singer
Susanne Vahle - Vocational singer
Stella Handley, Avocational singer
Bec Tilley, Voice Coach & Singer
RESOURCES
- A Review of the Theoretical Fascial Models: Biotensegrity, Fascintegrity, and Myofascial Chains – research article by Bruno Bordoni and Thomas Myers
- In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness – book by Peter Levine
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma – book by Bessel van der Kolk
The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-Regulation – book by Stephen Porges
Anatomy Trains: Myofascial Meridians for Manual and Movement Therapists (4th ed.) – book by Thomas Myers
As always, feel free to send me your thoughts, questions, and feedback in the comments below this blog, via the contact form or in the singsing! online community 
Cordially,
Sarah