Props for Singers: Why I Love My Balance Board

Let me tell you about this one because I think it’s a little less well-known! Drumroll… the balance board!

What is a balance board? It’s a wobbly platform meant to practice balance or intensify a workout. I found mine for $6 on an impulsive trip to Daiso (I can’t find the exact one on their website, but bet you can find a nicer one elsewhere!). And for several weeks I was obsessed with singing on it. Here’s why I think it’s a useful tool for singers!

1. It helps you really feel connected to the ground!
   I find myself often yelling at my students–be a tree!
   For those of us who (ahem, this is me) tend to wobble, sway, and shift their weight back and forth when singing, this tool is invaluable. The balance board helps you to feel even more strongly the pull of gravity and find a connection to the ground from your feet all the way up through your spine to the top of your head (like a tree!). If you lose this connection, you will feel it. Standing on the balance board will help free your mind so you can practice things like breathing and connecting to the music you’re making without worrying about whether your weight is evenly distributed.
2. It can help you find good singing alignment.
   For this, I recommend using a mirror to check that your hips are in balance, not thrown too far forward or back. Otherwise, the balance board will naturally help you find a good sense of alignment. You can then discover what singing with this new way of being feels like!
3. It will automatically bring more engagement to your core.
   Attention singers with flabby abdominal muscles! (Yes, this is me talking about myself again!) This tool will automatically bring some more tonus and engagement to the muscles singers like to use to support their breathing for singing.
   I do want to note that if you have an overly tight core (you are probably a dancer or have done a lot of some activity that requires “holding” your core muscles), you will want to make sure you are releasing these muscles when you inhale! But that’s for another post, probably!
4. It’s a very easy way to make singing less serious business.
   Ok, yes. It’s fun. And kind of funny. Kids will think it’s really cool (I brought it to a lesson to test on a real child and it really livened up our warm-up). If you just need a fun challenge or way to get out of your head, this is it. You can even see if you can spin while standing on it.