Long Covid
Feature the amount of oxygen available is likely to do good and is most unlikely to do harm .
Long Covid , whatever it is actually doing to us biologically , is also an extended traumatic experience that is likely to provoke a fight , flight or freeze response to some degree in all of us . This may create a tendency to hyperventilate , to feel anxious and panicky , or simply to hunch over protectively in a posture that is not conducive to breathing of any kind . Learning to control our breathing can help alleviate these secondary problems .
Working on breathing , then , makes more and more sense . Opera is about singing , which is in turn fundamentally about the mastery of breathing . Opera singers are experts on breathing , so we should perhaps ask them to share their skills .
That is exactly what the ENO Breathe intervention from the English National Opera does . When my Long Covid consultant suggested it , I was happy to give it a try – and I ’ m very glad I did .
Delivered over Zoom to groups of 20 participants , the six-week programme of hourlong sessions deals with three interlinked themes : posture , breathing and voice .
Awareness of bodily tension , posture and alignment , especially of the upper body , neck and shoulders , is taught through a series of measured , demonstrated and well-explained exercises . Breathing – and equally importantly , awareness of breathing – is explored , sometimes with the aid of visual or tactile imagery , sometimes with measured counting and sometimes with embodied physical movements to accompany and help structure breathing .
The simple need to ensure we breathe out , often leaving breathing in to take care of itself , is emphasised . Voice is addressed through exercises to relax specific parts of the head and neck involved in voice production , such as the root of the tongue and the vocal chords .
The three elements interweave with one another . So , for example , a breathing exercise may be carried out while also thinking about the spine for posture and the space behind the nose for voice production . Naturally , these three elements fuse in the actual singing .
This may sound daunting , but be assured , the teaching is gentle and supportive , with as much repetition as required and no assumption of prior knowledge . All session content is also available on the online participant hub , which can be accessed by all group members , so there is no need to take notes or try and remember during sessions .
Some elements of these techniques may be familiar to occupational therapists who have clinical experience of anxiety management techniques , such as guided imagery and muscular relaxation , or of disciplines such as yoga and tai chi .
Here , however , the themes are explored much more deeply and more expertly than is possible in general clinical occupational therapy practice . If this sounds rather serious , some of the session content has the playful , engaging and sometimes collectively hilarious qualities of more process and emotionally focused music therapies .
Imagine 20 adults on Zoom humming through a straw , or participating in a ‘ spellcasting ’ exercise , in which you hiss noises over left and right shoulders before casting ingredients into an imaginary cauldron , while making fizzing noises , before gloating over the result , which is then consumed too hot and brought back up !
Participating has made me reflect more widely on how many of my pre- Covid hobbies , such as swimming , long distance walking and oboeplaying , are built on the foundation of well-regulated breathing . Not being able to do them has left a gap I didn ’ t even notice until now .”
Not only is this fantastic fun , and a great way for the group to bond , but each element in the sequence of apparently bizarre physical and vocal enactments is tailored to relax and tone specific parts of the body engaged in voice production .
If you are interested in such details , full explanation is given on the ENO participant hub . If not , you simply learn the sequence accurately and the exercises work like – well – magic .
This embedding of important treatment exercises within meaningful , concrete and fun activities is also a philosophy that many occupational therapists will recognise .
There is also , of course , the singing . Typically , one song a week , taught towards the end of the session . The songs are simple and culturally inclusive . They are short and taught gently , by
June 2022 OTnews 29