Optimizing Performance Through the Breath — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

Instructions

Student presentations must have a faculty sponsor.

Abstracts must include a title and a description of the research, scholarship, or creative work. The description should be 150-225 words in length and constructed in a format or style appropriate for the presenter’s discipline.

The following points should be addressed within the selected format or style for the abstract:

A clear statement of the problem or question you pursued, or the scholarly goal or creative theme achieved in your work.
A brief comment about the significance or uniqueness of the work.
A clear description of the methods used to achieve the purpose or goals for the work.
A statement of the conclusions, results, outcomes, or recommendations, or if the work is still in progress, the results you expect to report at the event.

Presenter photographs should be head and shoulder shots comparable to passport photos.

Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

Optimizing Performance Through the Breath

Name: Emily Harmon
Major: Musical Theatre Vocal Pedagogy
Hometown: Hilliard, OH
Faculty Sponsor: Corinne Ness
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Master's thesis

Abstract

We breathe approximately 25,000 times a day, and although we are able to do so unconsciously, research shows the incredible benefits of bringing awareness and intention to our breathing. We can lower levels of panic and anxiety, optimize our exercise, and increase our lung volume - all through implementing nasal breathing and improving our tolerance to carbon dioxide in our blood. For singers, this increased tolerance to carbon dioxide allows for longer sung phrases with increased lung volume, while combating collapsed airways through nasal breathing. Specific breathwork techniques like Tummo and Wim Hof can also be used to help manage performance anxiety by practicing heavy breathing and purposefully stimulating an autonomic nervous system stress response. In this way, we can teach performers how to handle a sympathetic response while in a safe space, which will translate to better management of this response in the moments before a performance.