Are You A Humdinger
Are you a hummer? Do you find yourself with a steady stream of sounds emanating from your body as you go about your day? I have a friend that once said her grandma used to hum constantly, and it made her a little crazy. My first thought was “oh no, that’s me” my next thought was, it’s pretty cool that on some level she unconsciously gave herself what her body and psyche needed and what a lovely thing to have a built in instrument that provides that for us. There’s a lot of research showing us the benefits of humming, sound and music to the body, mind, and spirit. Depending on the sounds we choose it can calm, or energize us, reduce anxiety and lift our mood. The steady rhythm of a drum or humming can be very soothing and healing and even boost the immune system, while helping with pain management, and enhanced sleep. In addition, the steady vibration of humming can lower the heart rate and blood pressure while increasing oxytocin, and dopamine.
Healing with sound dates back to ancient civilizations and likely since the beginning of time. Temples were built on magnetic vortices with a constructed design for capturing the power of light and sound waves and people would travel to these locations to capture the resonant recalibration of body, mind, and spirit. Throughout history sound and music have been used to celebrate life, boost morale, and comfort, as well as inspire and motivate us. We were designed with a built in sound system.
Just like an orchestra, our body strives for cellular harmony. Without the proper pitch the lack of harmony will spread to other parts of the orchestra bringing the whole out of tune. When sound waves are perceived through the ears they are converted into electrical signals that travel to the brain triggering responses within the body. These perceived responses can alter our emotions, and release hormones that direct the body’s cellular orchestra. We can relate to this when we hear a song that evokes a specific memory and emotion. Sound comes at different frequencies and healing with sound happens by resonating with frequencies that are healing and relaxing. Research shows us that in the presence of rhythmic music our heartbeats become synchronized with the music so slowing down the rhythm when life, and stress get the best of us can slow down the body’s stress responders. Everything is vibrating including the cells in your body. With sound by slowing down your brain waves talking to the body’s cells you’re tuning your body much like you would tune an instrument aligning it to whatever it needs,
There are many types of sound therapy ranging from more scientifically based while others are more relaxing and restorative. Sound therapy can treat a range of conditions such as PTSD, depression and anxiety, autism, behavioral disorders, cancer and other types of physical distresses. There is something for everyone in the realm of sound healing, whether we are working specifically with music therapy, a group sound bath, or a one on one sound healing session with a holistic practitioner there’s a healing and restorative process to them all. On a physical level sound and tuning forks can help reduce pain. You can calm the mind and destress yourself while mindfully following the sound of a singing bowl. Spiritually cultures all over the world transform consciousness as a form of meditation for connecting with the essence of who we are by focusing on the sound of a steady rhythmic beat.
A vital part of humming is self-expression but humming is fun. We are generally humming when we feel good, and we hum to feel good. Conscious humming can be a meditative process transporting us into an altered state. Humming can create new connections in the brain and is used as a healing modality for depression, and PTSD. Humming can be empowering, knowing we can self heal by lowering our blood pressure, managing stress, altering our moods. What an amazing gift we have built in for self soothing, and healing, and it’s free! Mom’s humm to their babies, it comforts the elderly, everyone can hum it’s a beautiful part of our biology.
Some tips for using your hum are:
1.Feeling stressed or down ; consciously hum choose a favorite song and watch how your mood transcends.
2. Simply Breath; Breathe in through the nostrils and extend the exhale through the month with a hum
3. Hum at various pitches; Hum to send love into each chakra...do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti
4. Meditation; Focus on an area of the body that feels tense, place your hands on that area and hum... feel the vibration being carried to that body part.
5. Humming for depression; Humming “OM” reduces activity in areas of the brain associated with depression by stimulating the vagus nerve.
So be a “Humdinger” meaning a striking or extraordinary person or thing and use your built in hummer to soothe, to heal, and to find your happy.
