All great replies. In fact, here's something I didnt put in the book, because I am always learning new visuals haha-

Support is like a gas pedal to me. I push down to go. You keep your foot on the gas at all times. If you want to slow down, take the foot off the pedal a little, wanna go faster, push on it to accelerate. If you let off completely, you stop.

So to me I always have that downwards pressure to cruise. If I sing low, I use less, if I sing high or scream I use more, but in all honesty, it is COMPLETELY separate from the volume thing. I can push extremely hard and speak quiet. I use passion for volume and pretend my whole body is a tuning fork. I never ever thought of the power push as a brute force tons of air type thing. Maybe I should have explained better. More air on high notes= vocal suicide;)

Cruise most of the time and add or let of the gas when needed;)

When I add support, even when I push down more, I don't feel any "movement". There's nothing going on in the abs, or the ribs. I hope I'm still doing it right.

Oh, and about volume. Whenever I want more volume, I do push down harder. I guess this ain't correct, then? If not, how do you get more volume? I just don't want to be spitting out tons of air and blow my voice to hell.

Pushing down for louder notes will help to make you louder. It's part of the process bit it's not 'the' thing that makes it happen. What I was trying to help people understand is that louder or higher isn't about brute force or extra air. It's about the passion like when a baby screams. So yes pushing down can make you louder and is needed for being louder, but I can push down really hard and still speak softly. it's all about control. Also, you should feel your abs contract when you lock down;)

Thanks, J.
Just to make sure, I tried it out, and the only thing that contracts is the muscle under my belly, and my diaphragm. ...

...Oh wait, I think the abs do contract too :)...it's just a little hard to notice for me.

To me i go higher i think of high notes as a whisper higher less and then more downward support its all in reverse. I somtimes dont even push down when i use less air everything happens auto

I blast air out my mouth and about tenth out my nose, that way both my air and sound are on the mask.

Yep, smart comment John. Lots of people have shied away from that mixture because they are afraid they will become nasal. Not so. That's why i have them focus in the palate. If done correctly you'll have a nice mouth/sinus mix and you'll automatically feel that buzz in your face, cheeks, nose (mask):)

i have a slightly different problem--i can't push with my abs in a way that DOESN'T feel like i'm struggling with my...."business"..lol
can you tell me some things that i can do to feel this the "wrong" way, so i can confirm that i'm doing it "right"?
i mean, i can suck my stomach in and push it out, but i can't imagine anybody trying to sing like that..but then again, when i took vocal lessons for like 3 days before quitting cuz i didn't like her technique, my voice teacher told me that breath support should feel like "pushing out and trying to pull in at the same time"...lol
but that's kinda why i left...

You may have left prematurely. Remember in RYV how it talks about expanding the ribs and abs like barrel. Ever try pushing your stomach out and holding it like, you’re pretending to have a beer gut? Well that’s basically what you are trying to achieve. Hold your ribs and stomach out while pushing down and in with your diaphragm, that’s probably what she was trying to explain. If you are having difficulties, try doing it lying down; put your hand on your stomach, breathe in and push out.

Don’t worry if it’s hard to do, everyone has difficulty there first time trying.

Jaime, I'm a little confused about this. I always did think that if you wanted to sing higher, louder, or aggressive, you push down very hard and use your diaphragm to the max. Are you saying you could actually sing very loud and only use a little bit of downwards support?

You don't need to push extra hard. Pretend blowing candles on a birthday cake. The energy you need is the same as the one for the powerpush. You don't need more than that. Too much is like not enough. Instead. focus on maintaining the downward push as you advance in your melodic sentence. The effort will be felt more strongly as you become out of breath or go higher in you register. Then, release your muscles completely between breathes.

Val

Downwards pressure is about the energy. I do push down pretty hard for highs and grit. Everyone is different. All I can say is if you do it right, it won't matter how hard you push down;)

Well, it can be subjective! How hard is really hard? I have pretty good abs ;) It's never so hard that it is uncomfortable. It feels very natural and easy!

I can't believe nobody on here worries about crapping their pants. I came close once.

Do you feel your throat closing up / constricting at the same time? If so, you are doing it wrong. Try sustained "sss" exercise and blowing some imaginary candles to see what happens in your body.

So babycries is passion thats knew to me

Babies are very passionate when pooping;)