Dearest Rockin' Readers,
I find incredible joy in toning. My sharing my toning story may make way for your own sound story. Here is my story.
My personal healing teacher shared with me that 70% of autoimmune diseases are in women. Why is there such imbalance? Men are stereotypically strong and determined. Women are stereotypically nurturing and take care of others. Going just on stereotypes here, as there are so many variations and feminine/masculine balances within each human, women often have the role of caring for parents, children, a partner, friends, other family members. Women spend years devoted to the care of others and are praised for their selflessness ("loss of sense of self"). My teacher shared with me that women's bodies no longer recognize themselves in relation to others, don't know where the self begins and ends. Unclear boundaries lead to the body's attack on itself, hence the autoimmune disease.
There are ways to counter this. I'm certain all senses are vital, though we'll stick to smell and sound. Smell and sound. The body needs to smell, to explore many different smells. Stop to smell those roses. Exercising your olfactory helps you differentiate between yourself and others. Smelling new scents enliven your senses. Perhaps taste exploration is similar. This is just the beginning of our fun, healing homework assignment.
Sound. In my meditative healing classes, we are learning the power of toning. Toning cuts to the heart of your heart, your pure beautiful love. When I tone, I ask for my inhalation of breathe to fill my heart chakra (between breasts) with light. I swirl this light around and fill it with love and appreciation. In this moment between inhale and exhale, I focus on something very specific I appreciate. It is easy for me to pull in joy of holding my young son's hand or watching my daughter laugh. My heart is now filling with such energy just thinking about these appreciations. (You can breath as much as you want as you focus, though with practice, you'll get it in the moment between each breath.) On the exhale I intend for the heart energy to flow through my throat and out my mouth in the form of a song. Most of my sounds are vowel sounds. My breath comes to an end with "om", as if I am calling myself "home". Humming is tremendously powerful as well, and a little more subtle in public. This is such fun, experimenting with the flow of heart energy and the sensations of our bodies. I love the feeling of my warm expanding heart chakra as it fills with such love and sends that out in the form of some unpredictable, beautiful sound.
Sound steps:
With my own personal learning, I would include the care of self. Meet your body's basic needs of finding joy in a balanced diet (Find ways to make veggies fun!), sleep 7-9 hours, exercise at least 3 times a week for 20-minutes. Find joy in your life, appreciate the little things, be in the moment, share your love, and watch how it all comes back to you tenfold.
If you are looking for straight up facts, I am sure they are out there on the ether somewhere. For me, my heart tells me to follow what feels good. I love to sing and smell and taste and move and love. So that's what I choose. Imagine you've just stretched out and explored with your many senses. How does that feel? I trust my heart and I follow it, within reason. The more I come back into my own body, creating and living with joy, the more I understand John Lennon's call of "All You Need Is Love".
Blessings upon you and yours.
Love, love, love,
Jubilant Jennifer
I find incredible joy in toning. My sharing my toning story may make way for your own sound story. Here is my story.
My personal healing teacher shared with me that 70% of autoimmune diseases are in women. Why is there such imbalance? Men are stereotypically strong and determined. Women are stereotypically nurturing and take care of others. Going just on stereotypes here, as there are so many variations and feminine/masculine balances within each human, women often have the role of caring for parents, children, a partner, friends, other family members. Women spend years devoted to the care of others and are praised for their selflessness ("loss of sense of self"). My teacher shared with me that women's bodies no longer recognize themselves in relation to others, don't know where the self begins and ends. Unclear boundaries lead to the body's attack on itself, hence the autoimmune disease.
There are ways to counter this. I'm certain all senses are vital, though we'll stick to smell and sound. Smell and sound. The body needs to smell, to explore many different smells. Stop to smell those roses. Exercising your olfactory helps you differentiate between yourself and others. Smelling new scents enliven your senses. Perhaps taste exploration is similar. This is just the beginning of our fun, healing homework assignment.
Sound. In my meditative healing classes, we are learning the power of toning. Toning cuts to the heart of your heart, your pure beautiful love. When I tone, I ask for my inhalation of breathe to fill my heart chakra (between breasts) with light. I swirl this light around and fill it with love and appreciation. In this moment between inhale and exhale, I focus on something very specific I appreciate. It is easy for me to pull in joy of holding my young son's hand or watching my daughter laugh. My heart is now filling with such energy just thinking about these appreciations. (You can breath as much as you want as you focus, though with practice, you'll get it in the moment between each breath.) On the exhale I intend for the heart energy to flow through my throat and out my mouth in the form of a song. Most of my sounds are vowel sounds. My breath comes to an end with "om", as if I am calling myself "home". Humming is tremendously powerful as well, and a little more subtle in public. This is such fun, experimenting with the flow of heart energy and the sensations of our bodies. I love the feeling of my warm expanding heart chakra as it fills with such love and sends that out in the form of some unpredictable, beautiful sound.
Sound steps:
- Inhale. Breath light into your heart chakra.
- Hold breath. Appreciate something specific. Feel it grow in your heart chakra.
- Exhale. Ask the light to move from heart to mouth in a healing sound.
- Continue. Explore. Play. Create. Enjoy. Repeat often.
With my own personal learning, I would include the care of self. Meet your body's basic needs of finding joy in a balanced diet (Find ways to make veggies fun!), sleep 7-9 hours, exercise at least 3 times a week for 20-minutes. Find joy in your life, appreciate the little things, be in the moment, share your love, and watch how it all comes back to you tenfold.
If you are looking for straight up facts, I am sure they are out there on the ether somewhere. For me, my heart tells me to follow what feels good. I love to sing and smell and taste and move and love. So that's what I choose. Imagine you've just stretched out and explored with your many senses. How does that feel? I trust my heart and I follow it, within reason. The more I come back into my own body, creating and living with joy, the more I understand John Lennon's call of "All You Need Is Love".
Blessings upon you and yours.
Love, love, love,
Jubilant Jennifer
