Here is a short activity for ALL ages that stimulates the brain-body towards a shift of positive mood, energy, emotional release and an increase in learning.  It is simple, time effective, and can be done indoors or outdoors.   It is compatible for those of you who were vocally traumatized, and for those of you who like to sing.   This activity is an ancient exercise called Toning.  Elongate a vowel sound-ah, oh, hip hip hooray, la, ta-da,  hee haw, ya-hoo.  Let your voice vibrate.     I call this technique Voweling for Health^TM.   This technique does not depend on singing in tune or out of tune.  It can be done in your speaking or singing voice, and all sounds create positive changes.  

Adults and children alike will learn more effectively and feel differently.  Part of the reason is that when we are stressed, we often forget to breathe.  When toning, we are forced to take a breath and let it out, and this small action will allow fresh renewed air to come into and out of the body.   In fact, making these free sounds can massage the hypothalamus, and it is the ONLY way to massage this important area in the brain!     If you have heard of Brain Gym^R, I’ve added this extension to Brain GymR .   

 By adding open vowel sounds to your brain health, you will stimulate neuron flow.   In fact, voweling for health^TM increases intellectual and emotional IQ, AND can create an aerobic heartbeat without typical aerobic exercise!    

Even e-i-e-i-oh from Old McDonald releases the human voice.  In fact, any VOWEL sound and humming can vibrate the voice and is “sound healing.”  Open sounds massage from inside-out and shift energy to a more vibrant level!   The next time you choose to sing Old McDonald, pay even more attention to the E-I-E-I-O part, and when in the car, do some yahoo’s to shift the mood.  One of my songs on the CD, “Celebrate,” begins with a big ya-hoo, so check out track 1 on i-tunes or on my CD.

By the way, we recently had a global World Sound Healing Day at noon,  in which people all over the world sang the vowel sound of AH while visualizing peace within, in our families, neighborhoods and on our earth.    This AH sound is meant to vibrate the heart energy center within ourselves and within others.  It is the “love” vibration.  

 Try voweling for health^TM at home, in the classroom, in your office, in the car and anytime you need to re-group.   Another side-effect?  I challenge you to worry and fret while you are voweling for health!   Sound release keeps you in the moment, in the NOW, and helps all ages and stages in life.  As Winnie the Pooh says: “Hum a little hum.”

                      
                                                                                                                                                                              Cheryl Melody
chermelody@aol.com  www.cherylmelody.com

In the end, it will not be what we talked about, but what we did, how we acted, where we put our time and energy, because by everything we do, we model and mentor what we value.  Our lives speak loudly.                                                          

    –Written by Dr. Geraldine Schwartz, Living Legacy Project

Dr. Schwartz’s vision has the power to be transformational to children and adults alike.  We have the ability to be everyday heroes with our minute by minute conscious choices in words, actions, feelings and thoughts.  Heroism is the courage to not choose actions of peers who are demonstrating exclusion, abuse, teasing, bullying, ridiculing, stereotyping or prejudice.  Heroism is also a simple inclusive smile or an appreciative thank you. 

Share with children that even if they have taken the low road from time to time, they still have the ability to try again with better choices.   Many famous heroes have gone astray at times, and yet through increased self-awareness, they have created an inner and outer world of amazing inspiration to others.  As Maya Angelou says, “when you know better, you do better.”  

Please read Katy Abel’s article, “From Spiderman to Mom:  How Kids Choose Heroes”

The article offers in-depth information on helping children to discover the hero within.  

                                                                                                                                                                                                 Cheryl Melody www.cherylmelody.com  chermelody@aol.com