Healthy Narration Habits
#BoothHealth
What is #BoothHealth? I use my 15 years of experience as a medical myofascial therapist to educate fellow narrators on posture, breathing, and easy habits to stay healthy in the booth.
A Booth Buddy for You!
This Back Buddy, or therapy cane, can help you get to those trigger points and sore spots when you’re all by yourself and can’t get to your Myofascial Therapist. I mean, we DO spend a lot of our time alone in the booth, so having a buddy is nice!
Malasana Pose
Time for another weekly tip on improving the lives of those of us who sit (or stand) for hours on end in a small space doing what we love to do, and any other occupation which holds the same hazard!
Squatting is a normal resting posture in traditional cultures where back pain is uncommon and mobility lasts into old age.
Try squatting when taking breaks from your booth today. When you need something down low to the floor, start a new habit of squatting to retrieve it. Soon you’ll feel more comfortable doing it and it will feel more natural. Your body will thank you.
Here is a great article, by Graham Ryan, that will tell you more.
CranioCradle
I have another gadget to share with you. The CranioCradle is a simple tool you can use to decompress and open your cervical spine. It has an effect on the nervous system allowing you to reach a nice relaxed state. There are different types but this one is more comfortable than some of the others, and can be used on the lower back as well.
DIY Massager
Here’s a DIY self massage gadget for those long hours in the booth (or the car). You just need a sock and a tennis ball. Place the ball inside the sock, fling that thing over your shoulder and control the placement with the open end of the sock. Now lean back against your chair or carseat. Enjoy!
Sit on Your Site
Find your Sitz Bones (sit bones.) When you sit on them, everything else lines up for a beautiful, open posture.
Try it!
Sit down, place your hands under your rear. Rock your pelvis back and forth until you feel your ischial tuberosity {that’s their real name} on both sides. When you feel centered on those bones, remove your hands so no one thinks you’re just sitting on your hands all day.
Enjoy your new sitting position.
Do you have a 42 Pound Head?
A human head weighs 10-12 lbs. Don’t let yours weigh 42 lbs. Here’s a stretch that can help to open up those tight muscles in the front of your upper body. There’s a lot going on in this head forward posture. Opening the front of the body is a good way to avoid pain patterns that develop from this posture, which is known as Upper Crossed Syndrome.
Do this stretch as you enter and exit your recording space.
Don’t be Like Bob
A note to my audiobook narrator friends as well as anyone else who works at a desk:
Don’t be like Bob! Besides the obvious misalignments of his skull, spine, hips and shoulders, his internal organs are squashed and cannot function to their full capacity.
Lift, breathe, and open up to get more oxygen to your hard working brain.
Eat Your Veggies
Narrator friends: we’ve all heard that eating apples while narrating keeps the mouth noises away. Well I learned this trick from Helen Lloyd as an even better mouth hydrator. Of course, I can’t stop wishing I had peanut butter in the booth to go with!
The Body in Action
Anyone who knows me, knows that I am passionate about anatomical studies. This video fascinates me as an audiobook narrator and a human being! I can’t stop watching that tongue in action!