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Did you know, that your voice is more than just a tool for communication? In fact, it’s a powerful instrument for healing and transformation. Whether you’re singing your favorite song, chanting a mantra, or simply humming, your voice can calm your mind, reset your nervous system, and connect you with your inner wisdom.
Let's explore how singing, humming, or chanting can help reset your nervous system and reduce stress:
Activating the Vagus Nerve: Singing and chanting engage the vagus nerve, which connects the brain to the gut and plays a significant role in calming the body's stress response. When stimulated, the vagus nerve helps shift the nervous system from "fight-or-flight" (sympathetic) mode to "rest-and-digest" (parasympathetic) mode. This can lower heart rate, blood pressure, and cortisol levels, promoting relaxation.
Breathing Regulation: Singing or chanting involves deep, rhythmic breathing, which naturally activates the parasympathetic nervous system and can reduce stress and anxiety. This type of breathing helps maintain a balanced oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange, which is key to staying calm and focused.
Releasing Feel-Good Hormones: Engaging in singing or chanting releases endorphins and oxytocin, hormones associated with pleasure, bonding, and reduced pain and anxiety. This hormonal release creates a natural "feel-good" effect, enhancing mood and reducing stress.
Mindfulness and Presence: Singing or chanting often requires focus, grounding us in the present moment and quieting the mind. This mindfulness aspect can help break cycles of rumination, worry, or overthinking, further reducing stress.
Sound Vibration and Resonance: The physical vibrations created by singing or chanting affect the body's energy and can create a calming resonance within the body, which many find balancing and grounding.
The good news is that you don’t need to sing or chant for long to feel the benefits. Often, just a few minutes can start the process of calming your nervous system. Here’s a general guide based on how deeply you want to relax:
Quick Calming (2–5 Minutes): A short session of singing or chanting, even just a few minutes, can stimulate the vagus nerve and create a noticeable shift toward calmness. This can be especially helpful if you’re feeling a bit stressed and just want a quick reset.
Deeper Relaxation (5–15 Minutes): For a more profound relaxation, aim for about 10 minutes. This amount of time can enhance the shift into the parasympathetic state, helping to release tension and bring you out of "survival" mode.
Extended Reset (15–30 Minutes): For maximum effect, a longer session of around 20–30 minutes can help deeply regulate the nervous system, as this length of time is often enough to establish rhythmic breathing, release endorphins, and fully engage the calming effects of the vagus nerve.
Remember, consistency matters, so even if you sing for just a few minutes each day, you can train your nervous system to find calm more easily over time.
The volume and emotion with which you sing can also influence the effect on your nervous system. Here's a breakdown of how these factors come into play:
1. Volume: Loud vs. Soft Singing
Soft Singing: Gentle singing or humming can be particularly soothing and grounding. It stimulates the vagus nerve with less effort, which may be ideal if you're feeling emotionally or physically drained. Soft singing creates a sense of safety and calm, which is key to moving into the parasympathetic state.
Loud Singing: Singing loudly engages the diaphragm more deeply and increases oxygen flow, which can energize you and help release pent-up emotions or stress. However, if done with strain, it might feel less relaxing and more activating, especially for the sympathetic nervous system.
2. Singing With Emotion
Singing with emotion helps deepen the connection to your body and mind. Emotional expression through singing can release stored tension and trapped feelings, which are often linked to a dysregulated nervous system. For example:
Joyful Singing: Uplifts your mood, releasing feel-good hormones like dopamine and oxytocin.
Melancholy Singing: Allows for emotional release, which can be deeply cathartic and healing.
3. Singing With Power
Singing with power engages the whole body and can be invigorating, helping to release built-up stress or frustration. It’s like a controlled version of a “scream therapy” session—it creates space for relief without overwhelming your nervous system.
The Sweet Spot
Singing at a comfortable volume that feels natural to your body is best.
Pay attention to what your body needs: if you're overstimulated, softer and slower singing might work better; if you're stuck in a low-energy, freeze-like state, louder and more dynamic singing can be revitalizing.
Experiment with different volumes and emotional tones to see what resonates most with your nervous system at that moment.
Ultimately, authentic expression—whether soft, loud, emotional, or powerful tends to have the most profound impact on resetting your nervous system.
To express ourselves authentically and freely our throat chakra needs to be balanced.
The throat chakra, or Vishuddha, is the energy center located at the base of the throat, associated with communication, self-expression, and authenticity. When this chakra is balanced, we feel confident in expressing our thoughts and emotions, speaking our truth, and listening with compassion. However, blocks in the throat chakra can manifest as physical symptoms like a sore throat, thyroid imbalances, or neck pain, as well as emotional challenges such as fear of speaking up, feelings of isolation, or difficulty in expressing ourselves authentically.
Healing the throat chakra involves practices that encourage vocal expression and open communication. Singing, chanting, or humming are powerful tools to activate this energy center, while journaling and practicing honest conversations can help clear emotional blockages. Incorporating blue-colored foods, wearing blue gemstones like lapis lazuli, and engaging in throat-opening yoga poses like the fish pose or camel pose can also support its healing.
By nurturing the throat chakra, we empower ourselves to align our words and actions with our truth, fostering a sense of harmony and well-being.
How to Use Singing for Healing
Start Small: Sing softly or hum for a few minutes to quickly calm your body.
Go Big: Sing with power and emotion to release pent-up energy and reconnect with yourself.
Stay Present: Focus on how singing feels in your body. Let it guide you toward healing.
The Connection to Your Inner Voice
Your literal voice is deeply connected to your intuition. When you sing, you create space to listen: not just to sound, but to the wisdom of your soul. Using mantras, affirmations, or even simple melodies can help you tune into your inner guidance.
Also, we can consider a different take on "your inner voice". I call it your inner guidance system, your intuition, or Soul's compass. Your inner wisdom speaks to you through different channels, like your emotions, body, life in general... So you see, it's all interconnected, all one, in fact.
A Quick Exercise to Try
Take a deep breath, and on your exhale, hum softly. Let the vibration soothe you. Then, sing a simple tone like “Ahhh.” Feel the tension melt away as you let your voice guide you to calmness.
Unleash Your Voice, Unleash Your Soul
Your voice can become your superpower. Use it to heal, to connect, and to align with your true self. Whether it’s a quiet hum or a powerful song, let your voice remind you of your strength and wisdom.
If you're ready to:
Reconnect with your true self
Unleash the healing power of your inner voice and
Tap into your intuition and soul guidance
you're welcome to join me private FaceBook group "Unleash Your Inner Voice" here.
If you're interested in my personal singing-journey, you're welcome to listen to the podcast episode, called "Unleashing the Power of Your Voice" here.
If you’d like support in unlocking your inner voice and aligning with your soul’s purpose, let’s connect! Together, we can unleash your full potential and help you thrive.
Love, Kinga.
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