‘It sounds dramatic – but singing class saved by life’

The woman says that singing lessons helped her improve her breathing and overall well-being.

Sarah McCubbin, 53, from Amesbury in Wiltshire, has asthma and suffered type 2 respiratory failure, which causes dangerously low levels of oxygen in the blood, three years ago.

She is one of hundreds of people who have found that taking part in singing classes improved her lung health and overall well-being, the report said.

Ms McCubbin said that after a few months she noticed she could say whole sentences without taking a “big breath” and her anxiety subsided, adding: “I know it sounds dramatic, but it saved her life.”

She visits Project “Sing and Breathe”organized by Sounds Better CIC. This group offers weekly classes throughout Wiltshire.

The organization has published a report which showed enormous benefits to the people present.

Bosses said “people stopped being able to walk very far or climb stairs and became more active with their grandchildren.”

Ms McCubbin said that when she left the hospital she was using a zimmer frame and after a while she decided: “Not anymore.”

“It's been three years since I started singing and I haven't looked back since,” she said.

“It opened my eyes. I learned how to breathe correctly. I started breathing through my nose and using my stomach more.”

Liv McLennan, Director, Sounds Better CIC, said that it is common for many people, whether they have breathing problems or not, to “forget how to breathe most effectively.”

“[So] we gently reconnect people with their bodies and make them feel like they can use it more effectively,” she said.

“We've seen a huge change: people have stopped walking very far or climbing stairs and become more active with their grandchildren or children and walking many miles. Some people were even able to reduce their inhaler use.”

Ms McLennan said she hoped to expand the project to more areas in the future.