Soothing the Busy Mind- Deanell's practice

So much thinking

This practice is for the busy mind. And we all have one. The mind likes to think, plan and figure things out. After all, that is the job of the mind. But it wasn't designed to be on full alert 24 hours a day. It's also not intended for all tasks. (Definitely not our friend when it comes to processing feelings).

Quieting the mind is no easy task and one many fail to accomplish even when paying attention. Deanell told me that she recently went to a sound bath, and it helped her feel calm, settled her mind and slowed her thinking.

Her practice leans into that experience and combines practices #45, Grumbling Annoyance, and #61, The Sound Bath from my new book, Shake Yourself Free.

Practice #45 suggests we let annoyance vibrate and release by grumbling, and in practice #61, we let our nervous systems be soothed by sound.

Singing, chanting and humming have all been found to stimulate the vagus nerve and help support the nervous system. The stimulation activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which can calm you down and reverse the fight-or-flight reaction. The body can shift into rest-and-digest mode, supporting relaxation (so critically important right now when so much feels impossible to digest). When the nervous system settles down, we feel more grounded and in touch with all our senses and the mind can become less frantic.

The music choice is yours, but choose something that you think could support settling the mind. As the music plays, let it wash over you, getting into all the crevices of the body from head to toe. And then allow yourself to add a gentle rumble or growl to match and align with the music. If you begin to gently sway or rock, go with that. Or if you find yourself stomping or throwing your arms around, trust that too. When you quiet the mind, the body starts to find its own language.