WHAT IS SOUNDFUL BREATHING?

Soundful Breathing = A mindfulness tool that combines Sound Healing (being surrounded by sounds at certain frequencies) with conscious breathing and vocal release patterns.

The simple act of breathing consciously for a couple of minutes (btw way less time than one might spend buying a coffee or preparing a meal), already has a tremendously positive effect on our overall well-being.
Couple that with vocal release patterns, all while bathing in sounds at a certain frequency, is a way of moving your mind and body from the stressed-out "fight or flight" mode to the blissful "rest + digest" mode (where your body can rejuvenate and heal).

The sounds used (including your own voice), not only make it easier to focus your mind, but their specific frequency can positively affect the state of your brain waves. Coupled with Breathing Techniques, and Vocal Release patterns, allowing for a balanced nervous system, giving our mind and body (including organs and muscles) time for that vital recovery from any previous exertion.
The result is a reduction in mental and physical stress (i.e. decreased likelihood of illness), enabling more calm, bliss and clarity.

And the best part is, you don`t have to sit upright, know how to meditate, or even be awake for any of it. You can comfortably lay down and relax, and let the sounds wash over you.

SOUNDFUL BREATHING = {CALM+BLISS+CLARITY}

FACTS

Sound Healing + Sound Baths

1. It's super-relaxing:
Deep relaxation is one of the most significant and universal benefits of sound therapy. "The sounds permeate our system, returning it back to harmony," Sarhangi says. So if you take nothing else away from a sound healing session, relaxation on its own is worth it. With our busy schedules and so much going on in the world, we can all use some chill vibes.
2. It boosts your health:
That's right—it's not completely woo-woo. "Research has already demonstrated that sound healing can be incredibly beneficial when working with [a variety of] patients," Schieffelin says. Benefits can include improved sleep, reduction of chronic pain and blood pressure, lowered cholesterol, and a decreased risk of heart disease. (Although, for professional help with these ailments, please see a certified medical practitioner.)
3. It supports mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being:
It also heals on the mental and emotional levels. "Sound healing helps reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. It balances and clears the mind, and leads to a renewed sense of purpose, well-being, calm, and happiness."
4. It helps clear energetic blockages:
Some people experience deep healing during sound therapy as the sound vibrations open, clear, and balance their chakras and release stuck energy. Schieffelin describes it as an "energetic deep tissue massage" that leaves you feeling balanced and replenished.

Conscious Breathing

Controlled breathing, has been shown to reduce stress, increase alertness and boost your immune system. For centuries yogis have used breath control, or pranayama, to promote concentration and improve vitality… Science is just beginning to provide evidence that the benefits of this ancient practice are real. Studies have found, for example, that breathing practices can help reduce symptoms associated with anxiety, insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and attention deficit disorder.
Consciously changing the way you breathe appears to send a signal to the brain to adjust the parasympathetic branch of the nervous system, which can slow heart rate and digestion and promote feelings of calm, disengaging the sympathetic system, which controls the release of stress hormones like cortisol.
Dr. Chris Streeter, an associate professor of psychiatry and neurology at Boston University, recently completed a small study in which she measured the effect of daily yoga and breathing on people with diagnoses of major depressive disorder.
After 12 weeks of daily yoga and coherent breathing, the subjects’ depressive symptoms significantly decreased and their levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid, a brain chemical that has calming and anti-anxiety effects, had increased. (NYTimes.com)

Vocal Release

If nothing else, vocal release techniques are so incredibly freeing. Just like dancing. There are a number of such techniques, one of them being humming. “Humming is a very simple, yet one of the most profound sounds we can make. If you have a voice and can speak, you can hum. Research has shown humming to be much more than a self-soothing sound: it affects us on a physical level, reducing stress, inducing calmness, and enhancing sleep as well as lowering heart rate and blood pressure and producing a powerful neurochemical such as oxytocin, the “love” hormone.” - The Humming Effect

Why dive into Soundful Breathing Post-Work Out?

“Meditation {especially with Sound} has been shown to boost the growth hormone called somatotrophin, an important hormone that begins to diminish with aging,” says Manly. As lower levels of growth hormone can lead to bone and muscle weakness, fatigue, and other issues, a session of meditation after a workout can actually increase growth hormone levels over time, she notes.
Meditation is also known to decrease levels of the stress hormone called cortisol. As cortisol naturally increases during competitive or high-intensity workouts, meditation can help lower your cortisol levels to help reduce the risk of injury, pain, and body ache so that your body can focus on what’s really important after exercise: recovery. 

“It is during the vital recovery phase that the muscles and organs are able to heal from the physical exertion,” says Manly. “A mindfulness session can stimulate the body’s endogenous opioids, which reduces the individual’s perception of pain and promotes post-workout physical recovery.”

And you know that endorphin-induced bliss that we all get after a workout? Well, “a meditation session can perpetuate this state and support steady post-workout recovery,” Manly adds. - fitbit.com