Hi, I’m Elena Martin.
For 15 years, my voice didn’t make sense.
I’m a 4’9” professional vocalist, keyboardist, bandleader, IT professional, wife, and mom who spent nearly 15 years struggling with a voice that no longer felt like my own.
I was told it was stress.
Reflux.
Sinuses.
Muscle tension.
Maybe even neurological.
What no one examined was the mechanics of my breath — and the internal pressure system that supports both speaking and singing: the diaphragm, abdominal wall, and pelvic floor.
Over time, I learned that my body physically could not support my voice.
Diastasis recti.
Pelvic floor dysfunction.
Severe pressure imbalance.
Compensation patterns that crept upward into my throat.
For years, I sang and spoke through a system that was failing from the inside out.
Since 2018, I’ve worked with an extraordinary voice teacher, Pete Strobl, who believed me when I said my abdomen felt “locked,” even before I fully understood why. He adapted my vocal work around what my body could and could not access at the time — and that partnership kept me singing professionally while I searched for answers.
Eventually, osteopathic work and pelvic floor physical therapy revealed what had been missed: this wasn’t just a voice problem. It was a pressure system problem.
This Substack and companion video podcast, WTF Happened to My Voice?, document what I’m learning as I rebuild — from the pelvic floor up — retraining breath mechanics, restoring core function, and rediscovering what my real voice sounds like in real time.
Not polished.
Not idealized.
Not “after.”
In progress.
While pregnancy was the catalyst for me, pressure-system dysfunction can affect anyone — singers, speakers, performers, teachers, athletes, and people of any gender — often without them realizing the true source of their breathing, core, or voice struggles.
I’m not a medical expert.
I’m someone who lived this, performed through it, and is now learning how the body truly supports the voice after 15 years of no one looking at the full picture.
Here you’ll find:
the connection between diaphragm, abdominal wall, pelvic floor, and voice
conversations with clinicians and voice professionals
the emotional reality of losing — and actively reclaiming — your voice
and the clues I wish someone had noticed years ago
I’m often known as “the little girl with the big voice.”
This is the story of how I’m finding that voice again — and why I hope it helps others find theirs too.
I’ll also be sharing parts of this work in Spanish, connecting with both English- and Spanish-speaking communities.
— Elena
