Rising Through The Waves - Woodchant
- estellemeymusic
- Dec 25, 2025
- 19 min read
Updated: Jan 5
This edition explores how sound, voice and vibration can guide us through the tides of our emotions, helping us find calm, presence and connection within ourselves.
This is an immersive gift from Woodchant, to experience practices, prompts and insights that nurture your body, mind and voice. You can find more (including exercises, guided sound journeys and compositions) on my Ko-fi shop.
Or, as a Ko-fi member!
Best experienced in music
Begin The Journey & listen
*Important: Use headphones to fully hear binaural beats!
An immersive sound journey for when emotions feel like a crushing tsunami,
guiding us gently back to presence.
Binaural beats, drones, shimmering voices and gentle drums guide us to breathe, release tension and float above the waves.
Summary:
I- The Dive
(Immerse Yourself)
II- Frequency Forge
(Understand The Magic)
III- Whispers
(Explore Hidden Gifts Of Voice & vocal Practice)
IV- Sparks
( Revive The Spark - Art, Creativity & Prompt)
V- What to remember (Key Insights To Carry With You)
This editon comes from my personal experience. I hope it can serve as a gentle “first-aid kit” for anyone feeling overwhelmed or wants to better understand how we process stress, inner states and emotions.
☽ Dive In The Sonic Journey ☾
☽ Crushed By The Wave ☾
Sometimes emotions and experiences feel like a tickle,
like a raindrop in a puddle.
But sometimes they crash like a wave too strong to outrun,
pulling you under a torrent of confusion, sadness or panic.
In the deep ocean of your mind, you can't even feel
or form opinions anymore: numb, as if the world itself is muted.
You kick and paddle against the current,
your arms slicing through water that whips your skin
more than you actually affect it.
Each inhale comes fast, automatic, urgent:
your body is alert, reacting before thought.
Your lungs burn,
your chest tightens and your heart pounds.
It's your sympathetic nervous system flooding
your body with stress chemicals,
keeping you alive and vigilant
as you ride the frantic surge of Beta and Gamma waves.
☽ Beneath The Surface ☾
All of a sudden, another wave rises,
larger than the rest.
Its shadow freezes you.
Your amygdala (the sentinel of threat anchored deep inside
your brain) flares up.
Your muscles tighten, your breath catches.
The water's weight presses against your body
like the heaviness of your own emotions,
grounding you in its force.
And in the blink of an eye, you are pulled underwater,
pushed to the bottom, where now, you can only"simply be". Submerged in darkness and cold,
where silence settles around you like a slow current.
Everything: the noise, the weight,
the confusion of the world above
drifts farther away as you sink.
No compass.
No landmarks.
No clock.
You lie there, among the shells, eyes closed,
surrendering to the stillness.
Pitch black.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
☽ A Tiny Spark Lifting Us Up ☾
Suddenly, a tiny sound reaches you.
Your inner senses begin to awaken.
Your auditory cortex notices it.
A gentle sense of safety arises:
your vagus nerve (the calming pathway of your nervous system) sends signals of reassurance throughout your body.
Your emotions begin to recalibrate, easing the flood of stress chemicals as your limbic system softens its grip
on fear and opens toward ease.
Slowly and heavily, you turn your head toward the sound.
A bubble rises toward the surface.
Your hand traces its slow trajectory.
As you follow it upward, your brainwaves gradually shift from the frantic pulse of Beta and Gamma toward the reflective, restorative rhythm of Theta waves.
Your heart syncs to this gentle pulse.
Your body feels lighter.
You rise slowly with it and curiosity begins to spark like sunlight filtering through the water.
As you ascend, your eyes stare at the light above,
noticing nuances: ripples and waves, joy and sadness,
life and death, all dancing together as one unified flow.
You are closer to the surface now.
☽ Eyes On The Horizon ☾
The golden tones softly call you as the reflection of the sun sparks in your chest, a flicker lighting up your brain.
Things feel different. Your eyes see with new clarity.
The sound of the waves interacts with your brain,
gently entraining your nervous system to its rhythm.
Warmth spreads, tension melts
and your body, mind and spirit realign
as you rise, drawn by this hum.
The pull of breath and life strikes your nervous system.
You push with your feet, swimming upward with steady purpose. The pressure softens. Your ears gently adjust, releasing their ache. Your body remembers how to float.
One more effort.
One more!
Almost there.
Your face breaks the surface!
Your lungs fill, breathing deeply and fully, savoring the nourishing air like a long-awaited gift.
You let yourself float on the wavy line you could see from underground:
between light and dark, at the very balanced point of the world.
Ears in the water. Eyes to the sky.
You drift peacefully on the living surface of the sea. Sound Design & Neuro-Informed Intentions
Personal notes
Element | Why? | How? |
Theta binaural beats (4 Hz) | Guide brainwaves toward deep relaxation and introspection | May support communication between limbic regions and the prefrontal cortex involved in emotional processing. Associated with parasympathetic activation, potentially lowering heart rate and cortisol. |
Low carrier frequencies (145–149 Hz, ~D3) | Felt physically to enhance embodied awareness, grounding | May support calming of the parasympathetic nervous system and help counter dissociation. |
Drum / frame drum (50–60 BPM) | Mirror calm heart rhythm | May support heart rate lowering and vagal tone. Associated with reduced cortisol & adrenaline. |
Voice / vocal textures | Human connection, primal signal of safety | It may activate neural pathways (in the ventral vagal complex, brainstem, limbic system, and prefrontal cortex) involved in social engagement, which is believed to encourage feelings of warmth and connection |
Drones | Continuous background for binaural beat & entrainment | May support theta entrainment and nervous system stabilization. Creates sense of continuity & safety |
Bells / subtle surprises | Micro-alertness, curiosity, playful engagement | May modulate attention and support mild curiosity. May be associated with reward pathways. |
Floating pulses / soft swells | Subtle upward motion → gentle guidance | May enhance parasympathetic dominance and likely encourages subtle body movements and releases micro tension. |
Murmaidy / angelic voices | Joyful, ethereal timbre → sunlight through water | May support feelings of safety & emotional uplift, Some studies suggest that hearing human voices can lift oxytocin and endorphins, fostering warmth and connection. |
Slow tempo, sustained textures | Align with respiration & heart rate | May encourage slower breathing and lower heart rate, associated with nervous system downregulation |
Chemical/neurological effects (overall) | Enhance experience of "floating" / curiosity | May involve dopamine (curiosity), endorphins (pleasure), oxytocin (connection), GABA (calm), serotonin (mood) & cortisol potentially downregulated. |
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I. Crushed By The Wave : How did we get there?
☽ When the tsunami rises. ☾
Each tiny drop activates circuits in the brain, triggering the release of
neurotransmitters and hormones,
spreading signals through nerves and bloodstream alike.
The system shifts into high activation :
Beta and sometimes Gamma:
fast, intense brain activity built for action and survival.
Here, in Frequency Forge,
we dive beneath the surface
to explore the depths.
Pushed down to the bottom of the ocean:
Under stress, overwhelm and intense emotion, the brain is more likely to shift into high-frequency states.
Beta waves support alertness, thinking and action. Stress emerges when this state stays switched on too long, locking the nervous system into fight-or-flight.
Gamma waves reflect moments of intense focus and integration, but when driven by pressure rather than presence, they can tip the system into overload instead of clarity.
Every fibre of the body goes on high alert.
The weight of the wave feels heavy.
Its force pushes us downward,
toward the bottom.
This state activates:
The amygdala, ’’the brain's threat detector’’, flaring up and signaling danger, activating the fight-or-flight response: the body’s ancient survival response, designed to keep us alive.
Adrenaline, released by the adrenal glands, rushing through our veins, priming our muscles and heart to act.
Cortisol, also from the adrenal glands, keeping us alert and sustaining energy for prolonged stress.
Noradrenaline, heightening attention, focus and vigilance.
Glutamate, the brain's main excitatory neurotransmitter, firing up neurons, making thoughts sharp, rapid, relentless.
Tiny bursts of dopamine and endorphins spark brief flashes of motivation or survival reward, just enough to keep our head above water but also just enough to feel we have to resist more.
But it's all too much.
Too intense. Too long.
And, eventually, the system overwhelms itself and we sink into stillness:
The body exhausted, the mind suspended.
II. Beneath The Surface: When rhythm becomes a current
As we sink beneath the waves, the sound journey meets us where we are: heavy, inert, still.
Low-frequency Theta-range binaural tones (around 4 Hz) guide our brainwaves toward deep relaxation and introspection: the same state that naturally happens in hypnagogia, the space between wakefulness and sleep. Each pulse and resonance is like a gentle current, inviting our mind and body to drift without effort.
How Does Music Help Us Resurface?
Theta brainwaves: Our Inner Current
Theta activity is associated with increased communication between:
The limbic system (where our emotions live)
And the prefrontal cortex (responsible for reasoning and regulation),
supporting the brain's natural capacity to process heavy feelings.
Slow drums: Our Heart’s Compass
Pulsing between roughly 50–60 beats per minute, mirror a calmer heart rhythm.
This rhythm signals the limbic circuits and brainstem (the parts of the brain connected to automatic functions and emotional response) to support the body's natural reduction of adrenaline and cortisol (stress hormones), while encouraging the release of:
GABA: neurotransmitter that quiets overactive brain signals, helping us feel safe and calm.
Serotonin: which helps regulate mood, focus, and emotional stability.
As these chemical shifts begin to happen, breathing deepens naturally,
attention softens and the body begins to ground itself.
This creates room to notice the first subtle sparks of curiosity...
Like tiny bubbles rising from the depths,preparing the body and mind, creating a safe space, like floating in calm waters, where nervous system regulation, emotional processing
and awareness can slowly begin.
☽ Refractions ☾
This is the magic of sound, rhythm and body working together.
Hormones, brainwaves and the nervous system align
to ease tension, bend perception and open space.
This doesn’t ignore the waves that brought us here
and those emotions may still be present, memories may still linger.
What changes is how we meet them: afloat, buoyed by rhythm, able to drift
instead of being pulled under,stuck under the ocean of our mind.
And while we are not fixing the torrent,we can learn to drift on it,
eyes above water, body and mind in harmony,
experiencing a softer, more spacious view of life.
III. Tiny Bubbles Lifting Us Up: When chemistry shifts our inner lens
As the first bubbles rise, the music calls us: subtle, curious, alive.
Breath deepens, attention widens and perception expands:
colors, sounds and sensations feel richer and the world softens.
This is the spark: a gentle nudge toward light, warmth, or possibility.
Theta brainwaves keep us introspective.
Tension eases and cortisol drops
while those tiny bursts of dopamine and endorphins subtly lift mood
and shift our emotional lens.
How a tiny spark can change our state and lens?
The Gentle Bubble: Ignition
A tiny sound suddenly appears...
→ Dopamine flickers, sparking curiosity, hope or playful insight.
Then more arrive: bells, shimmering tones and murmuring melodies ripple through the senses. These sounds gently lifting mood by stimulating lightly the auditory pathways and limbic system.
Perception begins to shift: colors feel brighter, textures more vivid and the world seems just a little more alive.
Voices Call: Floating Upwards
Drawn by the currents of sound, shimmering voices reach toward us, like sunlight crossing the water, somewhere. We are not alone.
→ Endorphins and oxytocin ripple through the body,bringing warmth, safety and gentle connection. Attention softens and opens outward, breath deepens and posture lifts naturally.
The body remembers lightness as it rises.
First Ray of Light: Changing Our Lens
The world softens, hues brighten, and perception expands.
→ Cortisol eases, tension melts, while dopamine and endorphins bring soft, uplifting sensations.
The body lifts: spine elongates, chest rises and weight feels lighter, as if buoyed by the water itself.
Surfacing: Reaching the Warm Current
As the water warms and the surface comes into view, we feel freer and lighter.
→Neurotransmitters rebalance, muscles soften, heart rate slows.
We float on the current, letting the body and mind align.
We now drifted away from high state like Gamma or Beta.
Perception clearer, emotions gentler, ready to meet the world above.
☽ As The Lens Shifts ☾
As we float upward,
dopamine, endorphins, oxytocin and serotonin
rebalance the body.
Cortisol eases, muscles soften, heart rate slows.
As we stop fighting the fast current
of high Gamma or Beta activity,
we allow ourselves to sink into slower Theta states,
giving the body and mind time to process and integrate.
Like breaking the surface of the water, perception shifts: the world feels lighter, emotions flow more freely
and curiosity, hope or joy ripple through us.
In this gentle ascent,
nervous system, body and mind align,
opening a clearer, more vibrant lens on life.
IV. Eyes on the Horizon: Surfacing
Finally, we break the surface.
Our lungs fill with air.
Water glimmers,
golden light touches everything.
We float, weightless,
drifting instead of fighting.
Everything feels lighter, senses sharper, emotions soft but present.
This is The Magic of Rhythm,
The Magic of Sound
The Magic of Being carried by your own body’s response.
As you let peacefully yourself floating & drifting on the waves:
Brainwaves: Theta activity dominates
→ introspection, emotional integration, calm awareness.
Hormones: Cortisol decreases
→ Tension eases; dopamine & endorphins surge
→ Soft joy and curiosity: oxytocin rises
→ Safety and gentle connection.
Nervous system: Parasympathetic activation
→ Slowed heart rate, relaxed muscles, deeper breath.
Perception: Colors, sounds, textures feel richer.
Attention flows outward: the world feels expansive yet gentle.
At last, we simply float, carried by the waves, weightless and at ease.
Stress softens, the world shrinks to a gentler scale and perception opens:
colors, sounds, textures and emotions feel vivid but manageable.
We feel free.
Our body, brain and hormones align: theta brainwaves guide introspection, parasympathetic activation slows heart and breath, cortisol eases
and dopamine, endorphins & oxytocin bring gentle uplift.
☽ Our Inner Sea ☾
From the bottom of the ocean, weighed down by waves of stress,our hormones, heart and nervous system
shape everything we feel and see.
Cortisol, adrenaline and tension tighten perception.
Every color, sound and thought feels magnified.
As we ride the currents upward,
music, rhythm and brainwaves can guide us:
dopamine sparks curiosity,
endorphins bring gentle joy,
oxytocin softens connection,
And parasympathetic activation slows heart and muscles.
We float, carried by our own body’s response,
eyes on the horizon, weightless and alert.
This doesn’t erase the currents beneath us, what triggered us.
but for this moment, we drift peacefully,
opening a clearer, calmer and more expansive lens
surfing on each drops instead of sinking.
Music doesn’t just feel healing...
☽ It turns the tide. ☾
It shifts our neurochemistry from deep down under the waves
in a state of high alert
(amygdala-driven, cortisol-elevated, glutamate-racing)
to the surface: a state of calm awareness
(theta-dominant, GABA-increased, parasympathetic-activated).
Dopamine sparks like curiosity in the dark,
endorphins bring warmth and oxytocin fosters connection.
This is the magic of rhythm and sound
carried by your body's own response.
On its own flow.
Dive Deeper - My Personal notes
Signal | What’s Happening | Why It Matters | Read more |
Amygdala | Music can calm or activate the amygdala, influencing emotional reactions. | Shifting amygdala responses can soften anxiety and support a more open, emotionally guided listening experience. | Koelsch, S. (2014). Brain correlates of music-evoked emotions. Nature Reviews Neuroscience. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24552785/ |
Cortisol | In relaxing or low‑stress music contexts, cortisol can decrease, whereas high‑stress performance situations can increase cortisol. | Modulation of cortisol changes how the body responds to stress, influencing whether music feels calming or arousing. | Thoma, M. V., et al. (2013). The effect of music on the human stress response. PLOS ONE. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0070156 |
Adrenaline (Sympathetic arousal) | Relaxing music can reduce markers of sympathetic arousal (e.g., heart rate, stress markers), shifting the body away from a “primed for action” state. | Reduced sympathetic activation supports a sense of settling, making it easier to immerse in sound without feeling on edge. | Thoma, M. V., et al. (2013). The effect of music on the human stress response. PLOS ONE. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0070156 |
Dopamine | Pleasurable, emotionally intense music can trigger dopamine release in reward-related brain regions. | Activation of reward circuits underlies chills, anticipation, and motivation to stay engaged in the musical journey. | Salimpoor, V. N., et al. (2011). Anatomically distinct dopamine release during anticipation and experience of peak emotion to music. Nature Neuroscience. https://www.nature.com/articles/nn.2726 |
Endorphins | Group musical activities such as singing, dancing and drumming can increase pain threshold, interpreted as endorphin release. | Endogenous opioids contribute to a warm glow, subtle euphoria, and social bonding during shared musical experiences. | Dunbar, R. I. M., et al. (2012). Performance of music elevates pain threshold and positive affect. Evolution and Human Behavior. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23089077/ |
Oxytocin | Soothing music during bed rest after surgery has been shown to increase plasma oxytocin levels. | Higher oxytocin can enhance feelings of safety, trust, and connection. | Nilsson, U. (2009). Soothing music can increase oxytocin levels during bed rest after open-heart surgery. Journal of Clinical Nursing. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19583647/ |
Theta Waves (4–8 Hz) | Certain auditory stimulations, like theta‑frequency binaural beats, can increase theta‑range activity and support post‑exercise relaxation and parasympathetic activation. | Theta activity is associated with deep relaxation and inward focus, making trance‑like immersion in sound more accessible. | McConnell, P. A., et al. (2014). Listening to theta-frequency binaural beats post-exercise increases relaxation and parasympathetic activation. Frontiers in Psychology. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01248/full |
Parasympathetic Nervous System | Relaxing music can facilitate faster autonomic recovery after stress and promote parasympathetic dominance. | “Rest and digest” activation slows body and breath, grounding the listener in a calmer physiological state. | Thoma, M. V., et al. (2013). The effect of music on the human stress response. PLOS ONE. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0070156 |
Vagus Nerve | During singing, coordinated breathing patterns influence heart rate variability through vagal (parasympathetic) mechanisms. | Vagal engagement via slow, synchronized breathing and vocalization helps settle heart and breath into smoother, more coherent rhythms. | Vickhoff, B., et al. (2013). Music structure determines heart rate variability of singers. Frontiers in Psychology. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00334/full |
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☽ Whispers From The Shore ☾
Life can bring waves that feel too big to ride: moments of stress, grief or overwhelm.
In those moments, I realised I needed to sing softly, whisper, hum… soft vibrations that ripple through my body, my chest, my head.
The same happens when I drum slowly,
letting the rhythm carry me into calm.
It made me feel safe and soothed.
I wondered why.
These soft sounds and gentle rhythms activate
the vagus nerve, a pathway in our nervous system that helps
our bodies feel safe, relaxed and soothed.
Tiny, repeated vibrations can calm racing hearts,
ease tension and create space for emotions to move through.
These Whisper practices invite you into that calm.
You don’t need to sing, speak or hum perfectly.
Notice the sensations in your body,
the flow of your breath and the gentle vibrations you create.
Whether you whisper to yourself,
hum softly or explore your voice,
these practices are tools to return to your own sense of safety, presence and grounding.
☽ The Safe Harbor ☾
A Soothing Practice To Feel Safe Again
I. Healing Hums Find a quiet, safe place ( in the shower counts, it’s my favourite!).
Soft eyes. Notice your breath. (If you feel overwhelmed, you might naturally stare into the void.I personally found comfort there. Simply staring, sinking into those depths.)
Gently hum: anything, softly. No effort. No performance. Just sound.
Feel the vibration wherever it shows up.
Keep humming 5 minutes (or less if that’s enough).
Let it fade. Sit in silence for a moment.
As I was humming, I felt soothed.
So, carried by the wave, a shy melody came through.
I then continued along my drum and recorded it to share for Woodchant.
Why It Feels So Soothing?
The physiological magic
Vagal calming 🌿
Gentle humming naturally lengthens the exhale and creates soft vibrations in areas linked to the vagus nerve (the body’s stream connecting heart, breath and brain).
This can activate the parasympathetic nervous system’s “rest and digest” mode, helping the heart rate slow, blood pressure stabilize and body tension melt away.
Result:Your nervous system settles. We feel calmer, safer,and grounded.
Nitric oxide boost 🫧
Humming through the nose increases nitric oxide, a gas our body produces naturally that relaxes blood vessels and supports immune activity. This improves circulation and oxygen delivery, easing muscle and brain tension, while immune signals (like anti-inflammatory cytokines) tell your nervous system,“we are safe!”.
Result: Your nervous system calms, stress responses ease, and you feel relaxed, comfortable, and present.
More...
Less overthinking
Non-verbal humming engages auditory, emotional and motor circuits, rather than language-heavy thinking pathways.
Result: Our mind slows, rumination decreases and we can feel more instead of judging.
Practicing safety
Repeating a simple, pleasant humming sensation gives our nervous system a reliable “safety signal.”
Result: Over time, our body learns to feel safety. Not just understand it in theory.
Easy, efficient voice
Soft humming discourages pushing or squeezing the voice, promoting smooth airflow and gentle vocal fold contact.
Result: We can produce sound with less effort, reducing tension and supporting a relaxed, natural voice.
☽ Anchored In The Thread ☾
Many ancient cultures treated continuous vocal sound not only as music but as medicine.
Gregorian monks chanted for hours each day, their slow, steady voices calming the heart, easing anxiety and guiding attention through breath and rhythm.
Across Vedic, Buddhist and other ancestral traditions, repeated mantras and chants were designed to flow with the breath, supporting steady rhythm, focused awareness and emotional balance.
Long before language-based therapy, Indigenous caregivers used humming, tonal lullabies and simple chants to soothe children and grieving adults, offering predictable sound as a direct experience of safety.
Even in the natural world, some mammals use vibration to self-regulate:
Across Earth’s body, life speaks in vibration. For example: - Cats purr in deep, healing frequencies.. an innate hum of comfort and repair.
- Whales carry song through the seas, their rhythms known to stir calm and connection.
- Birdsong in the wild has been shown to soothe stress more than silence itself.
☽ Shape The Waves ☾
A vocal Practice to connect and explore
II. Guide Your Sound
The beginning
Sit or stand somewhere quiet.
Breathe in and as you exhale, drop your shoulders and relax.
On the next exhale, let any sound or note emerge.
Shape the Sound
Raise your hand and notice if the pitch follows.
Move your fingers and feel how the volume changes.
Explore gestures that shift vowels, tongue placement,
breath or tone.
Follow the Resonance
Notice how the sound travels through your body.
Where does it vibrate most: chest, throat, face...?
Play Freely
Experiment with your voice:
Try different tones, textures, or hums.
Let your sound grow, shrink, wobble, or ripple.
Let curiosity guide your exploration, there are no rules here.
Rest & Reflect
Slowly let the sound fade.
Sit quietly, noticing any sensations, shifts or feelings the sound has created.
☽ Flowing with Natural Resonance ☾ By noticing where vibrations ripple through the body, we develop a deeper body awareness that guides our voice.
Like water moving over rocks,
carrying its natural harmonics outward,
this helps the vocal tract (the throat, mouth and lips) taking shapes that let the voice flow freely.
Drawn toward a richer, more resonant tone and projection that feels effortless.
Not because the sound is “placed” somewhere,
but because the voice rides
the current of its own natural resonance.
Dive Deeper - My Personal notes
Statement | Clarification | Why It Matters | Read more about it |
Vocal cords contain sensors | The vocal folds contain tiny receptors called mechanoreceptors and proprioceptors located in the laryngeal mucosa (the soft, sensitive lining of the voice box) and in the ‘’intrinsic laryngeal’’ muscles. They detect movement, stretch, pressure, and vibration. | Allows accurate sensory feedback instead of guessing or forcing vocal production. | |
Sensory feedback | Sensory feedback is the information sent from these receptors to the brain about vocal fold tension, vibration speed and mechanical stress. | Helps us distinguish efficient coordination from strain and adjust in real time. | |
Stretching the vocal cords | Intrinsic laryngeal muscles coordinate to adjust vocal fold length, tension and thickness, which directly determines pitch. | High notes rely on muscular coordination. | Titze IR (1994) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8178842/ |
Precise muscle coordination | Singing depends on fine neuromuscular coordination between multiple small laryngeal muscles rather than muscular strength. | Reduces fatigue and increases range, control and vocal longevity. | |
Resonance in chest / skull | Vibrations may be perceived in the chest or skull due to bone conduction, but acoustic resonance occurs through vocal tract shaping (pharynx, oral cavity and nasal cavity). | Helps us feel where our sound vibrates and shape it for richness, projection and ease. So the voice carries without strain. | |
Diaphragm support | The diaphragm functions primarily in inhalation. Controlled exhalation (“support”) is regulated by the abdominal and intercostal muscles, which manage subglottal pressure. | Ensures steady, controlled sound and dynamic flexibility; supports long phrases, tonal consistency, and prevents vocal fatigue. |
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☽ Ink & Intent: The Water's choice ☾
As we follow the waves within this piece, we follow the direction they chose to take.
While drawing, I accidentally dropped water onto the paper.
Frustration came first, then curiosity and quickly enjoyment sparked.
Rather than correcting it, I continued the entire piece using only pen and water. The ship rose, riding the waves and emerged through that playful dialogue.
I thought this work belongs naturally within this Woodchant edition:
Rising Though the waves.
Guided By The Drops
Creative Prompt to spark creativity
You will need pen and paper. You can use colors too if you feel like it!
Create:
Start by drawing or writing something.
Drop a few drops of water onto the page and wait a moment.
You can tap it gently to help it settle or dry a little.
Observe and follow the flow:
Now, observe. What emerges from it?
Will it become more text, abstract shapes, or will you continue the scene you imagined?
Let the process guide you: continue dropping gentle drops as you draw, write, or respond to what the water shows you.
What happens to us?
Encourages Flow & Adaptation
The water introduces unpredictability. The brain shifts from trying to control everything to responding to what emerges, strengthening creativity and adaptability.
Engages Senses & Body Awareness
Seeing ink bleed, feeling water on the page and tapping to guide it activates sensory perception, grounding you in the present moment.
Reduces Perfectionism & Frustration
Accepting “accidents” as part of the process trains your mind to embrace imperfection and enjoy discovery.
Stimulates Imagination
Random shapes and patterns trigger new ideas, opening pathways for unexpected creative connections.
Mirrors Life & Voice
Just as waves guide a ship, your interaction with water models listening and responding, similar to improvisation in voice, movement or daily challenges.
☽ Wherever The Ocean Leads Us ☾
The ocean cannot be controlled.
The nervous system works the same way.
So does the voice.
So does creativity.
When resistance meets uncertainty, tension rises.
When attention replaces control, rhythm emerges.
Water brings chaos.
Ink brings direction.
Together they bring novelty.
The wave decides the route.
This is not giving up the helm
it is learning to steer with the current.
We don’t cross the sea by flattening the waves.
But understanding their timing,
their pull, their breath.
☽ Drifting Away ☾
And there we are…
Floating.
On golden waves carrying us somewhere
we don’t yet know. Toward another story.
The sound still moving us.
The rhythm holding the body.
Chemistry softens. The nervous system exhales
Nothing to solve. Nothing to control
Just floating.
Listening.
And letting the waves lead the way.
☽ What to Remember ☾
Whether we are wide awake or falling asleep in the most quiet cabin in the world, there is no true silence.
Our brain is never silent. It moves in waves: fast, slow, deep or alert, it is constantly adapting to keep us alive.Each rhythm shapes how we feel, think and react. Our perception.
Brainwaves
When we’re stressed or overstimulated: neural activity speeds up and becomes less coordinated. Fast beta or gamma activity tends to dominate, supporting alertness, problem-solving and survival responses.
When we soften - when we breathe, sing, listen or feel safe: neural activity slows and synchronizes. The brain naturally shifts toward alpha or theta states, linked to calm focus, creativity, learning, and emotional regulation.
⚓ Imagine this: You’re navigating a small boat on the sea at night.
Suddenly, a figure emerges through the fog on a nearby vessel:
like a messenger standing on the stern deck: that’s the trigger.
The fog clears, and you see either a familiar friend or a shadowy stranger.
Instantly, the brain interprets the situation: safe or threatening?
That interpretation is translated into neural firing patterns: faster and more fragmented for survival or slower and more coordinated for safety and connection.
These patterns are reflected in different brainwaves and neural networks, influencing the nervous system, hormone release and the body’s state.
Your reaction changes.
And with it, the lens through which you experience what happens next.
The Cycle In other words:
trigger → interpretation → neural coordination → brainwaves → body → emotion → perception
In modern society, stress and alertness are often present in a quiet but constant way.
Although all brainwave states are necessary, staying too long in one state (especially high alert) can affect our wellbeing.
The magic of sound & flow: Listening, humming, singing, drumming or creating freely can help shifting brainwaves, lower cortisol, regulate heart rate and support emotional balance.
Because it’s a cycle, once we step out of a painful loop, we create space to enter the next one with more creativity, flexibility and ease.
If something here resonated with you, feel free to share this with someone who might enjoy it too!
☽ Where The Ripples Continue☾
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