5 Stretches for Singers Whose Breath Is Stuck High (Part 2)
22/05/2026
This is Part 2 of my two-part series of stretches for singers. Part 1 covers the iliopsoas and the rectus femoris, two muscles that quietly undermine efficient breathing. If you haven’t read it yet, it’s worth starting there. It also explains why these stretches are relevant for every singer (not just hypermobile ones like me), and what active and dynamic stretching actually are.
Part 2 picks up with the deep hip rotators, the hamstrings, and the inner thighs.
Stretch 3: Windscreen Wipers (Deep Hip Rotators)
- Lying on the back, knees bent
- Feet slightly wider than hip-width.
- Let the knees fall gently side to side.
- Not using muscles, but gravity.
- Small range, it’s about control from the pelvis.
- Slow. No squeezing. No bracing. No end-range.
Why the deep hip rotators matter for singers:
The deep hip rotators stabilize the femoral head in the socket during rotation. When they become tonic, any rotational movement can create restriction or compression in the hip and cause groin pain.
This happens in athletes, people who sit with their legs crossed for long periods, and anyone who carries tension in the outer hips and buttocks.
The deep hip rotators sit right next to the pelvic floor. When they grip, the pelvic floor grips too. When the pelvic floor grips, the diaphragm cannot descend on the inhale. When the diaphragm cannot descend, the breath stays high… and the voice loses its foundation.
Why windscreen wipers?
For hypermobile singers, the risk of passive rotational stretches (pigeon pose, aggressive 90/90 holds, deep frog) is joint instability and labral stress.
For non-hypermobile singers, those same stretches are less dangerous in the structural sense. But they still do not address the neurological gripping pattern. They treat the tissue, not the cause.
Windscreen wipers are a dynamic, oscillating movement. Gravity does the work within a small, controlled range. The slow, wave-like motion softens the fascia around the hip joint, and the gentle repetition gradually teaches the deep rotators that rotation is safe – neurologically, not mechanically.
It is useful for any body where the hips have learned to grip. In my experience, that describes most singers.
Confession: my hips LOVE to open. I’ve been pushing my knee way past my opposite foot on the Pilates reformer 🙈 I’m unlearning that now.
Stretch 4: The Frankenstein Walk (Hamstrings)
- Arms stretched forward.
- Kick one straight leg up toward the opposite hand, foot flexed.
- The leg lifts as high as it wants, not higher
- Then the other leg, other hand.
- Torso stays tall. No bending forward.
- No hold. No end-range. Just movement.
I’m not pulling the hamstrings long. I’m waking them up.
Why this is important for singers:
When the hamstrings grip, they pull on the entire back-of-pelvis system. A pelvis that can’t move freely means a diaphragm that can’t descend fully. 🫁
The breath stays high. The voice loses its low anchor.
Why not just bending forward?
The instinct to release tight hamstrings, for almost everyone, is the forward fold: hang at the waist, reach for the floor (if you’re hypermobile or flexible: hands flat on the floor…), wait for the tightness to release.
Feels good for 10 minutes. Might come back worse. Why?
A hamstring that feels tight is not always a hamstring that is short. In many cases, the hamstring is gripping because it is underperforming. It’s compensating for instability, fatigue, or chronic postural load by holding tension instead of generating it properly through movement.
The passively stretched hamstring may release temporarily, but if the underlying pattern (instability, fatigue, or postural compensation) hasn’t changed, the tension tends to reassert itself.
The Frankenstein walk moves the hamstring through its full range while it is working. Active, not passive, and without loading the end position. The result, over time, is a hamstring that moves freely because it feels stable: one that can participate in breath management rather than undermining it.
The need for moving the hamstrings actively through the full range is particularly present in hypermobile bodies, where the joints genuinely are lax and the muscles genuinely are compensating.
But it is also recognisable in athletes who have strong quads and hip flexors but underfunctioning hamstrings, in singers who stand for long hours in performances or masterclasses, and… in people who have simply never moved their hamstrings actively through their full range.
Stretch 5: Ball Between the Knees Breathing (Adductors)
- Lying on the back, knees bent
- A soft ball or cushion between the knees.
- No squeezing, no bracing.
- Breathe. Inhale: belly rises by itself, pelvic floor softens.
- Exhale: belly falls, pelvic floor naturally rises.
- After a few breaths: add a gentle “Vvvv” on the exhale.
Not stretching anything. Not strengthening anything. Starting a conversation.
Why this one is not a stretch — for anyone
The adductors are the inner thigh muscles. When their range decreases, the natural instinct might be the butterfly stretch: soles of the feet together, press the knees toward the floor. Or the wide leg stretch like the image on top of this page.
But these stretches work on the assumption that the tightness is a length problem. Often it is not.
Adductors can start to grip and brace gradually during hiking, long drives, standing rehearsals, sitting with tension through the legs,… Passively stretching them removes the stability they were offering.
It’s very likely that you recognise the experience of gaining temporary relief through a butterfly stretch, only to find the tightness reassert itself the next day.
The ball-between-the-knees exercise works through a different mechanism entirely. Sometimes bodies don’t know where all the parts are. The soft ball provides proprioceptive feedback, a signal to the knees and inner thighs about where they are in space. And muscles that KNOW where everything is, stop gripping in search of that information.
Proprioception: why this matters for all singers
Proprioception is the internal sense of where the body is in space. It is the nervous system’s map of its own geography. When this map is unclear or imprecise in a particular area, muscles in that area tend to guard: they tighten to compensate for the uncertainty.
Hypermobile people often have measurably impaired proprioception, but singers of all kinds can develop reduced proprioceptive awareness in areas of chronic tension, particularly areas they have learned to ignore or brace against. The hips and inner thighs are among the most common.
Why the “Vvvv”
After a few rounds of quiet breath, I add a gentle voiced “Vvvv” on the exhale. The vocal vibration, combined with a longer exhale, gently activates the parasympathetic nervous system. If your nervous system is often in a chronic low-grade state of hypervigilance, this is particularly helpful.
The “Vvvv” helps the nervous system understand that it is safe to release. A regulated nervous system is one where the breath can drop, the pelvic floor can soften, and the voice can do what it actually wants to do.
A Note on Language (for Teachers and Coaches)
I changed my language during the making of this reel series. It matters more than most of us realise.
For example: In my first reel, I used the cue “squeeze your glute.” I changed it to “gentle glute activation” two days later. It’s better to avoid words like squeeze, push or pull with hypermobile clients and other people with a hypervigilant nervous system, because those words create tension and bracing in bodies that are already carrying more than enough of it.
Cues that invite awareness, invite release. If we want singers to find low breath management, we need to give them language that does not ask them to work harder, but to sense more clearly.
Small language shifts. Real differences in how a nervous system responds.
I also changed visual cues! Watch the reel for the full story.
Want more?
This is exactly the kind of work I do with singers in my studio. I don’t “fix your voice”. We look at the whole system it lives in: your breath, your body and your nervous system.
Book your Free Discovery Call to explore how online voice lessons with me can help you build not just vocal technique, but a body that actually supports it.
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Frequently Asked Questions About These Stretches for Singers
I have hEDS or HSD. Can I do these stretches?
Please consult your physiotherapist or hypermobility-aware movement specialist before starting any new exercise programme. The stretches in this series are informed by the work of specialists including Jeannie Di Bon, Dr. Melissa Koehl (DPT), The Fibro Guy, and Dr. Orit Hickman (Pain Science PT). They are designed to be gentle and non-provocative, but every hypermobile body is different, and what is appropriate for one person may not be appropriate for another.
Do these stretches replace vocal technique work?
No. But they can make vocal technique work more accessible. If the body is bracing, gripping, and preventing the diaphragm from descending, the most precise technical instruction will struggle to land. Addressing the body first — or alongside vocal work — opens up possibilities that can feel impossible when the system is stuck. The voice is the last thing to arrive. Sometimes you have to start further down.
How long does it take to notice a difference in my singing?
It varies, but the body-voice connection through the hips can be surprisingly immediate. Many singers notice a shift in breath depth within a single session — not because the muscle has changed, but because the nervous system has received new information and responded. More lasting change in postural and movement patterns takes longer, typically several weeks of consistent practice. The goal is not a quick fix but a new conversation between the body and the breath.
RESOURCES:
- Jeannie Di Bon, Hypermobility rehabilitation specialist, creator of the Integral Movement Method. Windscreen wipers and the ball-between-the-knees breathing exercise from part 2 of this blog series are both drawn from her work.
- Dr. Melissa Koehl, DPT, Physical therapist with hEDS. The Frankenstein walk from part 2 of this series was inspired by her recent Instagram content.
- The Fibro Guy, Active rehabilitation approach for hypermobility and fibromyalgia.
- Dr. Orit Hickman, Pain Science PT
- Disability in adolescents and adults diagnosed with hypermobility-related disorders: a meta-analysis. Scheper MC et al. (2017)
- 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 
Warm regards,
Sarah