I have recently begun looking into certian breathing techniques. In
my training i have always been taught to "tuck" in the stomach (as
joan sutherland describes it) and compress the breath in my lungs,
thus causing an inner expansion.
While no two vocal tecniques are ever exactly the same, i have been
told Bjoerling did something like it. If you run a search for Mayer
Vocal Arts, you will find a man named Michael Mayer who has done
research into Bjoerling's technique. He apparently was from a vocal
lineage that yeilded Kirsten Flagstadt, Birgit Nilsson, and
eventually Shirley Verrett, all i think to be fine singers.
There's a story where Bjoerling went to a voice teacher who put a
belt around his waist and told him to expand against it. He
replied "JACKASS! that is the perfect way to ruin the voice!"

anyone else have any information?
Zach