Today, in this series on what I call Emotional Power and Freedom, I’m excited about sharing with you more about how freeing our voice affects our emotions.
Last time I talked about how our voice is a unique expression of who we are, and when we suppress our voice we suppress our emotions. I also introduced you to the idea that there is a way to safely and appropriately free up the emotions that we’ve suppressed.
I remember when I entered the professional world of acting, it wasn’t always so easy to find those emotions when I needed them. As an adult, I had started to shut down some of my feelings. This is what we do as adults. We learn how to manage our emotions.
I found I was working way too hard at my craft and I still wasn’t creating the impact I wanted to create. But, as I started to research and develop my voice, acting, and speech coaching, I discovered a better way to safely and powerfully access my feelings, and it changed my career, my coaching, and my personal life.
Today, I want to share with you the real science behind the connection between the brain, our behavior, and our voice and how they all affect all our emotions.
So Here’s the Science
Each emotion causes a different reaction in our body and these reactions activate nerve signals. All of these nerve signals are then transmitted back to the muscles, many of them which control and affect our voice.
So, our triggered emotions affect our breathing, our jaw, neck shoulders, tongue, and larynx, often causing excess tension which shuts down our true emotional and vocal response.
Over and over and over again we all have experienced that the emotions we hold back will affect us and will come out whether we like it or not. Just a couple of months ago I found myself “yelling” at the UPS driver who had blocked my street. I had somewhere to go and I didn’t give myself enough time to get there. I was feeling stressed and I let all of my frustration out on her. It wasn’t pretty.
When we don’t express our emotions we pay the price physically in our body and in our behaviors. And of course we need to use our body and voice to express our feelings.
And then something else happens. When we don’t express our emotions, our brain can go into a fight-or-flight state. It’s what happened to me with the UPS driver. This is a physical reaction to the stress of not voicing our feelings that sets off a chain of events throughout our bodies. It becomes a stress shutdown loop.
Now it turns out that we can regulate this fight or flight state by activating the vagus nerve.
The vagus is the main nerve of the parasympathetic nervous system, and it is the longest nerve in the body. It starts in your brain stem as the 10th cranial nerve and eventually breaks into a left and right section. And it is responsible for innervating or stimulating the muscles in your throat, the muscles in the larynx and your vocal cords, the neck, your chest, lungs and heart, and your abdomen and digestive system.
Activating this nerve supports our entire well-being. An article at Forbes.com stated that, “Healthy vagal tone means emotional regulation, greater connection, and better physical health as well. You are more resilient and able to pull yourself through trauma and troubles.”
Studies show that freeing up the voice and using your voice to express your emotions activates different parts of the brain and body that are involved in emotional processing, and especially activates the vagus nerve.
These are the some of the ways using our voice helps us with emotional expression:
Vocal sounds and chants have been used for centuries as a way to connect with and express emotions. When we make vocal sounds, such as singing, humming, or chanting, we engage multiple parts of our brain and body, including the vagus nerve.
Singing also activates the limbic system, which is the part of the brain associated with emotions, memories, and motivation. This helps to stimulate the release of blocked emotions and can improve overall emotional regulation.
Chanting can have a similar effect, as repeating a phrase or sound can create a meditative state that helps to calm the mind and reduce stress.
The act of making sound and speaking out loud can be a physical release, allowing emotions to escape from within. This is especially true for emotions that are difficult to express in words.
Using the voice in a creative and expressive way helps to tap into a different part of the self that is not always accessible through language or thought, bringing awareness to emotions and feelings that may be difficult to identify or express.
Exploring and developing your voice in a group creates a sense of community and connection, and frees up emotions by creating a space for people to connect on a deeper level.
Studies show that vocalizing emotions in a free and non-judgmental way can help to release pent-up tension and stress, leading to a feeling of physical and emotional release. I’ve witnessed that as I’ve used my Emotional Power and Freedom Process with my artist and performance clients, actors, voice over artists, singers, media personalities, and even leaders and entrepreneurs and they have had amazing results.
As a creative artist, I know what it’s like to want to get out of my head and into my body where I can feel my feelings and use them in my work. I know how important it is to not feel like I’m “faking it,” but that I’m being real and truthful in my acting, voice over work, singing, and in my speaking, and coaching.
There is a way to free up our emotions so we can be empowered by expressing them, both in our work and in our personal lives. If you’ve been feeling stuck or struggling to process your emotions, I invite you to explore the connection between finding and freeing your voice and freeing your emotions.
I’ll be sharing more about The Emotional Power and Freedom Process and giving you some of my insights into…
The Benefits of Emotional Expression & Embracing Vulnerability
The Importance of Freeing Our Emotions in the Creative Process
If you have any questions and want to explore this further with me, you can book a call in my calendar below.
Here is a link to my calendar: https://calendly.com/faith-coach/consult
Have an Amazing Day,
Faith Rumer
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Do you find yourself trapped in your own thoughts, unable to connect with your body and voice? Most creatives struggle with the same thing.
What if you could…
Finally get out of your head and into your body to express your authentic feelings
Tap into your true emotional expression in any scene, performance or audition
Learn proven techniques to unleash and empower your feelings and vulnerability
Have a process to create compelling impactful performances or reads every time
Join Faith Rumer for the Emotional Freedom for Actors, Voice Artists, and Creatives. It’s a 60-minute Free Masterclass coming up to teach you to revitalize your craft and career.
Register here: https://raisingyourimpact.com/emotional-freedom/
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About Raising Your Impact
Faith Rumer is the Founder & CEO of Raising Your Impact.
She has been coaching voice, performance and communication skills, singing, acting, and dialects for over 30 years, working with thousands of students all over the world. She has trained Academy-Award-winning actors, Grammy-winning singer-songwriters, film, TV, and recording stars, as well as TV hosts, world-class entrepreneurs, speakers, CEOs, and CFOs. Now she’s coaching Social Media Influencers, YouTube, and Podcast hosts to help them raise their impact and make the most of their voices and their communication.
Faith’s signature voice and presentational coaching method have helped her clients find their own powerful authentic voice, up-level their communication, fine-tune their skills and talents and create the confidence they need to create the impact they want to have in their dream careers.
Faith also holds a Masters in Speech Pathology, specializing in voice science. A professional singer-songwriter, actor, and motivational speaker, Faith has performed on stages in front of thousands and has acted in numerous Feature films, TV shows, and theater.
Learn more at: https://RaisingYourImpact.com