of physiology, the
most effective method of inspiration. For it creates the largest
possible cavity in which the lungs can expand. The description of it
may sound complicated, but the act of inspiration itself is not. If
attention is concentrated upon expanding the entire framework of the
ribs the rest seems to follow in natural sequence. As the framework of
the chest expands, the movement of the ribs is outward and at the same
time sidewise and upwards. This expansion of the chest naturally
enlarges the cavity behind it, and the lungs themselves find more space
in which to expand. This triple movement of the ribs, especially in the
combined outward and upward direction, the latter at right angles to
the spine, causes a great enlargement of the chest-cavity and gives the
lungs a great amount of space in which to expand. Combined with the
sinking of the diaphragm, which still further adds to the space, and a
slight raising of the clavicle which assists the expansion of the upper
portion of the lungs, it constitutes the correct method of breathing.
It is mixed costal and diaphragmatic--effected by the ribs, with the
_assistance_ of the diaphragm and the abdominal muscles, but very
different from the method of breathing predicated upon so violent an
effort of diaphragm and abdomen that it is called "diaphragmatic"
or "abdominal" breathing, and very different also from pure "costal"
breathing.

Patrons of opera and concert will have noticed that many great singers,
when emitting the voice, incline the body slightly forward toward the
audience, as if feeling more assured that their voices would carry to
the listeners, or as if striving to get upon a more intimate footing
with them. This forward poise of the body, however, is a natural and
physiological aid to a correct method of singing. I have stated that
the upward and outward movement of the ribs greatly enlarges the
chest-cavity, and with this slight forward poise of the body it is not
necessary for the ribs to move all the way upward to the natural
horizontal position in order to stand at right angles to the spine. In
other words, the forward poise of the body eliminates a portion of the
movement involved in inspiration, the spine now taking part and doing
its share. This can readily be tested by holding the back straight or
rigidly upright and taking a full breath by lifting the chest. The
physical effort will be found much greater than when the body is
slightly poise