I AM SOOO GRATEFUL FOR MY MUSICAL BACKGROUND, BECUZ I DID IT THROUGH MUSIC THERAPY:
1. I SLOWED DOWN MY BREATHING 2 SLOW, RELAXING MUSIC (I TRIED TO ONLY INHALE FOR 2 COUNTS, THEN EXHALE FOR TWO COUNTS), THEN
2. I STARTED TRYING TO TAKE VOLUNTARY BREATHS IN RHYTHM W/THE MUSIC (I WOULD INHALE ON CERTAIN BEATS IN A MEASURE)
3. THEN I TRIED 2 INCREASE MY BREATHE SUPPORT, HOLDING MY AIR & CONTROLLING THE RELEASE OF AIR (I STILL INHALED FOR 2 COUNTS, BUT I TRIED TO EXHALE FOR 3, THEN 4 COUNTS, ON A REALLY SLOW SONG)—I NEEDED MORE AIR TO SUPPORT A WORD!
4. I STARTED SINGING “AH” ON A SCALE, MATCHING PITCHES ON THE PIANO KEYBOARD
5. I HOLD OUT THE “AAH’S,” & THEN CHANGE THE “AAH’S” TO WORDS
6. AS MY BREATH SUPPORT INCREASES, I CAN START PUTTING WORDS TOGETHER, UNTIL THE WORDS BECOME SENTENCES
I THINK I STARTED MUSIC THERAPY IN 2005 OR 2006, & SINCE ABOUT 2011, I’M FINALLY SEEING PROGRESS/RESULTS.