By Beth Dayo

Whether you’ve considered it directly or not, we all know our voice is the bridge between our inner and outer worlds. How we share and invite others into our experience. Because of this we mainly use our voice for others. Your voice is a lot more than that, and here is why you need to use it for your health!

From a physical perspective, we’ve all experienced events that created tension in the body — from childhood traumas to desk sitting, to stuffing down emotions to be an “acceptable” adult. These tensions stay with us, restricting the open spaces where sound once resonated. If you “can’t” sing or are terrified to sing, that isn’t your natural state — it’s a pattern you developed, shaped by tension that makes it feel true.

From a scientific perspective, we are 70% water. Water moves in waves — vibrations. Our heart-beats, blood pumps in waves. Our organs pulse in waves. Our breath is a wave. We’re also electromagnetic, and those currents move in waves as well. 

Doing the math, we see our experiences have contracted the body and its resonant spaces while our biology depends on wave flow and vibration to function. The result? A body — and being — in a state of dis-ease. This dis-ease manifests as pain in the body, digestive issues, brain fog, low energy, and a thousand diagnoses that we keep treating but never solve. We need sound!

Not just any sound, but sound that opens ups closes spaces. Sound where we feel and focus on the vibrations, not the good or bad of our voice. Comparing our voice to superstars is not to our benefit for more reasons than this.

Try this: breathe in and when you breathe out, let yourself make the sound Hum. Huuuuummmmm! Try it several times and find where you’re feeling the vibrations. After several rounds of this breath, your body and mind will feel at once, more energy and more relaxed. Isn’t that what we all want and need much of the time.

As you can see, sound is foundational. If you need more evidence think of every era prior to now and how rich with sound and song they were. 

Sound makes room for the body’s natural tendency toward harmony and homeostasis, without which, we spin on the hamster wheel of dis-ease indefinitely. Sound shakes things up, reminds the body of what coherence feels like, and like when we visit a vibrant healthy environment, like nature or a favorite vacation spot, it has an inexplicable impact on us. The same is true with sound, and you can do it anytime, anyplace with no negative side effects. 

To learn more, read more about sound https://www.bendnmove.com/blog/our-silence-has-become-deafening\

Beth Dayo, the creator of Life in the Body, a pathway to whole body living, has spent 14 years serving clients in West Seattle. She teaches the transformative power of balanced energy and mindful movement, at Life in the Body (formerly Bend N Move) in north Delridge.