7 Ways to Stay Warm

feel like the Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz.  The difference is the mantra.  His was affirming his belief in spooks, mine is fighting my dread of winter: “I do believe winter can be fun. I do believe winter can be fun.  I do, I do, I do!”  Because truth be told, I don’t think it’s a whole lot of fun.  This is because I’d prefer being in a tank dress over a down coat any day of the week.  But, my current reality is that I live where it’s cold half of the year.  And I am a fun girl.  So I’ve got to find a way to make it work.

5 Ways to Stay Balanced in Winter
I was told by a friend it’s all about the clothes.  To enjoy being outside, you need to be wearing the right gear in order to be warm and still able to move (were you ever or do you have the overstuffed snowsuit kid?)  There’s a method to layering clothes for warmth.  Following these tips from Back to Basics: A Complete Guide to Traditional Skills by Abigail R. Gehring (Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., 2008) should keep you and your kids both warm and comfortable.

1. Before thinking about the clothes, realize that food supplies heat to the body; the clothes provide protection so that it isn’t wasted.  Make sure you eat a good meal before spending an extended amount of time outdoors in winter.

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2. Several light, comfortably fitted layers are preferable to a single heavy layer.  Generally an outer, mid, and under layer suffice.

3. Underlayer. Two-ply long johns and undershirts, (cotton on the inside for comfort, wool on the outside for warmth, are warmer than thermal-knit underwear.  Two pairs of socks–a thin pair of cotton socks beneath a heavier wool pair–are warmer and more comfortable than a single thick pair.

4. Mid-layer. For warmth and ventilation, wear a tightly woven wool shirt that opens down the front and a quilted jacket over it that also opens in the front.  Pants should be of tightly woven wool, cuffless, with plenty of room in the seat and legs, and flaps over the pockets to help keep snow out.  For added ventilation use suspenders rather than a belt.  A woolen stocking hat or mask-like hat will greatly reduce loss of heat from the head.

5. Outer layer. The main job of the outermost layer is to protect against wind, rain and snow.  A parka that covers the hips and has a hood with a full-length zipper is best.  If you’re planning on going above the timberline or along windswept ridges, you’ll need a windproof face mask.  Down pants, mittens and booties are fine around camp, but are too warm for the trail.  Two-piece mittens–a wool liner and a nylon outer shell with a leather palm–are better than gloves.

6. A good pair of boots are essential.  Double boots–a felt inner liner and high-top outer boot–are warm and comfortable, but very expensive.  A rugged mountaineering boot has many of the benefits of the double boot at a lower cost.  Foam-insulated rubber boots will keep your feet warm, but will also make them perspire.
7. While down provides maximum warmth at minimum weight, wool has the important advantage of retaining its warmth even when wet.

 

How to Warm up Your Voice

Warming up plays the most important role for any professional voice user and also for any human being interested in keeping his voice healthy for all the good reasons he can think of. You can think of warming up as a magical tuning of your voice box to encompass any kind of vocal production and vocal abuse. One of best programs available is the "Pro Singers Warm Up" program

Steps:

1. Know that there are two registers in your voice. Lower register equivalent to the chest voice and the upper register equivalent to the falsetto and what people usually term as false voice.
2. Warm up to give more blood circulation around your voice box,give more flexibility and stamina to stay healthy for major part of the day.
3. Most effective way to warm up is to first strengthen your chest register which heals the vocal folds if used properly.
4. Strengthen your chest voice by doing the "kharaj riyaaz"(as called in India which means low note practice).
5. For 3-5 times, for a male take up mid c# as your scale. Take a deep breath and sing a long hmmmm in mid c#.
6. Move a half note lower. i.e. c. Now sing a long hmmmm in C. Do it 3-5 times and so on..slowly and steadily until you reach your lower possible note. which is for most low c#.
7. Go upwards from mid c# to mid A in a similar fashion.
8. Remember that volume of your voice should not be too loud or too low. It should be as comfortable as speaking volume.
9. Start to feel an ease in your voice.
10. Stop completely for 20-25 minutes; don't sing or speak.
11. After half an hour your voice will be fully open and you can sing anything in your vocal range.

Tips:

• Drink lots of water to hydrate your voice.
• Take proper sleep.
• Don't eat too many oily foods.
• Exercise daily.
• Having a healthy voice means being able to produce any kind of voice or sing any kind of song with effortless ease.
• A warmed up voice recovers much faster from a vocal abuse than a non-warmed up voice.

Warnings:

• Nothing to fear about, you are protected all the time. Go for it.