Trying to fight off stress? I have a secret ...
I’m so in love with my new hobby!
I joined a singing group. It was one of those things that I decided to do on a whim and it just keeps getting better and better!
Besides making some new lovely friends and creating a new community around this life affirming activity called music and discovering that I can actually harmonize (I can’t tell you how thrilled I am with this discovery), I’m also experimenting with a totally new way to feel calm & happy (or to set myself up for a beautiful day or to destress quickly).
At the heart of it all, it’s about regulating the nervous system. That simply means shifting from a sympathetic fight or flight mode to a parasympathetic calm and alive mode.
Not sure if you’ve heard of the Polyvagal theory of the nervous system but it is definitely a hot topic in the Somatic Therapy world right now.
The Vagus nerve is the longest cranial nerve in the body. It connects the brain to the gut, lungs, and heart. It plays a critical role in helping us “rest and digest.”
It turns out that you can tone the vagus nerve through different activities which can help create relaxation faster after experiencing a stressful moment.
And what is one particularly fun way of doing it?
You guessed it! Singing!
The vagus nerve is connected to our vocal cords so singing stimulates it and therefore helps tone it.
I really recommend you try it too! The cool thing is that you don’t actually need to join a choir in order to tone your vagus nerve. You don’t even need to know how to sing well.
How about just singing in the shower :)
BTW, check out this article for other simple ways to tone your vagus nerve: