Singing isn’t just a way to bring joy to yourself and others, it also brings many health and healing benefits.
As a unique form of exercise, singing improves breathing and circulation. Researchers at the University of Frankfurt have shown that singing also boosts the immune system.
Singing improves posture, lowers stress levels, and improves mental alertness. It can even help you sleep better.
(Not just) kids should sing
In her book ‘The Genius of Natural Childhood’, Sally Goddard Blythe of the Institute for Neuro-Physiological Psychology says singing in early life (both by and to children) can help avoid language problems later on.
Other documented benefits of singing include boosting confidence, helping people bond, and broadening communication skills. Singing is also a natural way to release endorphins, improving mood.
There is even some evidence that it helps people with asthma.
But wait, there’s more
Eve Jeffery of Byron Bay Singing has recently blogged about the spiritual side of singing, and the way singing can release bottlenecks of various kinds, particularly relating to the blue (throat) chakra.
In Eve’s words, ‘I’ve always said that singing is the most healing thing – opening your voice and expressing yourself purely and truly helps remove the blocks, the things that are standing in our way…
‘Quite often when we sing or speak or even moan and sigh, it is these vocalisations that help heal us, by chipping away at the hurt, the anger, the sorrow, the frustration, the grief, the resentment and many of the unsupportive emotions that bind us – these things need to be discarded.
‘The way we do this is by saying beautiful words and singing our hearts out – literally singing our hearts out…’
Sing it up
Singing probably evolved originally as a way of connecting people. This may be why dolphins and birds sing too.
The cool thing is that whether you sing in a choir or in the shower, in a rock band or in church, for money or for fun, you’re getting pretty much the same physical, mental and spiritual benefits. Research suggests some of these will rub off on the people who hear you too.
Remember none of this has anything to do with whether you’re technically ‘good’ or not. That is a whole different issue.
Everyone has a voice, so use it!
David Lowe
