13 Apr The Simple Practice That Can Quiet Your Mind Faster Than Meditation
As they say, and now for something completely different.
Well, not completely different in one way; because the article I’m sharing today is about quieting your mind. Something that’s pretty important for calm and balance and mental health and happiness.
But rather than the usual recommendations of mindfulness, meditation and/or relaxation techniques, all of which are super good, this article by Marygrace Taylor via LiveStrong focuses on humming! What? Well, if I’ve piqued your interest then keep reading …
A regular meditation practice can go a long way toward managing your brain’s internal chatter and helping you feel a little more calm. But when you want to stop racing thoughts right in their tracks, you might just want to stop and hum.
Yes, you read that right. With a little effort, humming can actually be strategically employed to kick feelings of anxiety to the curb anytime, anywhere. The process is a little different than what you might do while you’re, say, cleaning the shower or walking home from work on a sunny day. But not too different!
The practice, called bhramari, is a yogic breathing practice whose name refers to the Indian black bee, since humming makes a buzz-like sound. Like other forms of deep breathing, bhramari sends a physiologic signal to the body that you’re not in danger, and that it’s OK to relax.
“When we are stressed, we activate the sympathetic, or fight-or-flight, nervous system and our breath automatically becomes short and shallow,” explains Pauline Peck, PhD, a Santa Barbara, California-based psychologist and certified trauma-informed yoga teacher. “Taking deep breaths, like in bhramari breathing, allows us to activate the parasympathetic, or rest-and-digest, system, which eases and calms our nervous system.”
Making a humming sound also has the added benefit of massaging the vocal chords, which stimulate the vagus nerve, Peck says. This nerve, which runs from your brain to your colon, is involved in controlling involuntary functions like heart rate and mood. When it’s activated, your heart rate starts to slow and you begin to feel more regulated, according to the Cleveland Clinic…
… keep reading the full & original article HERE