Your 4-Step Daily Defense Plan for Sound Immune Support

This past year, we’ve all had to adapt to an ever-changing world.

Although there are many aspects of this pandemic that are out of our control, there are still ways you can take charge to protect yourself and your loved ones.

By now, you already know to wash your hands, wear a mask and practice social distancing. So today, I’m going to share with you something a little different…

I’m going to outline my personal “Daily Defense Plan,” designed to fortify your immune system.

Decades of research show that reducing stress and anxiety are some of the best ways to keep your immune system strong.

And you can do just that with rhythm and sound.

Coping with stress

First, it’s important to acknowledge the fact that, for many of us, stress and anxiety levels have been off the charts.

The problem is, if they’re not managed correctly, stress and anxiety can compromise the immune systemmaking us more susceptible to illness or disease.

For the most part, we can sense we are stressed or anxious just by the way we feel. But it’s important to know that they can manifest in less expected ways, like:

• Anger or irritability
• Difficulty sleeping or concentrating
• Increased severity of chronic health conditions
• Physical reactions, such as headaches, body pains, stomach problems, and skin rashes

Symptoms are your body’s way of telling you that it’s out of balance and that it needs your attention!

Remember that covering over symptoms like these with overeating, oversleeping, alcohol or other substances do nothing but stoke the fire of damaging stress-related chemicals like cortisol.

That’s why it’s critical to make the right choices when deciding how to manage your own stress.

And now, without further ado, here’s my Daily Defense Plan. It can help you destress safely and naturally, using the whole-body healing power of rhythm and sound.

My Four-Step Daily Defense Plan

1. Stimulate your vagus nerve with self-generated sound—like humming or singing along with your favorite song. Self-generated sound has been shown to stimulate the vagus nerve, which activates the “rest and digest” part of your body called the parasympathetic nervous system. This system triggers your “feel good” chemicals (like dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin) to help bring your body back to a calm state.
   
   To do this:
   
   
   • Slowly inhale through the nose.
   • Exhale through the mouth while making a humming sound.
   • Inhale and repeat.
   • Try performing eight back-to-back hums three times a day.
2. Focus on controlling your breathing rhythm. Stress often results in rapid breathing and an accelerated heart rate, ramping up our sympathetic nervous system (also known as the “fight or flight” response). Slow breathing helps to center your mind, allowing you to act rationally and make better decisions.
   
   If you’re feeling particularly anxious, try this “square breathing” technique. NAVY Seals have been known to use it to quell their anxiety right before jumping out of planes!
   
   To do this:
   
   Break up your breathing cycle into four even parts, lasting four-seconds each:
   
   
   • Inhale for four seconds.
   • Hold your breath for four seconds.
   • Exhale for four seconds.
   • Remain empty without breathing for four seconds.
   • Repeat for two minutes, or as long as you need. 
3. Listen to relaxing music while taking a slow walk. Slow down the pace of your steps and your breathing to help your nervous system switch over from “fight or flight” mode to calm. A little exercise also helps to burn off cortisol.
4. Explore whole-body sound healing. I encourage you to check out the step-by-step tutorials featured in my free Absolute Beginners Guide to Sound Healing. Regular practice of the vagal nerve stimulation exercises can help you build a deeper resilience to stress and anxiety, in addition to speeding up healing, clear the mind, and alleviate pain.

Even though life feels stressful right now, remember to tap into your body’s built-in tools to help keep yourself in balance.

The more you practice these techniques, the better and faster they’ll work—especially when you, or a loved one, need them the most.

Be Well,

Jim

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_SOURCES:

_{Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Manage Stress & Anxiety. (2020). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from: cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prepare/managing-stress-anxiety.html
Emergency Preparedness and Response: Taking Care of Your Emotional Health. (2019). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from: emergency.cdc.gov/coping/selfcare.asp
Morey, J., Boggero, I., Scott, A., and Segerstrom, S. (2015). Current Directions in Stress and Human Immune Function. Current Opinion in Psychology. 5: pp. 13 – 17. Retrieved from: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4465119/
What Happens When Your Immune System Gets Stressed Out? (2017). Cleveland Clinic. Retrieved from: health.clevelandclinic.org/what-happens-when-your-immune-system-gets-stressed-out/
Zumula, A., Hui, D., Azhar, E., Memish, Z., and Maeurer, M. (2020) Reducing mortality from 2019-nCoV: host-directed therapies should be an option. The Lancet. 395(10224): pp. PE35 – PE36. Retrieved from: thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30305-6/fulltext?fbclid=IwAR3WasKcX_OdAB9Z3WvJ9f9wvCcrtXibtjY0MwAl9S8b7j9PXed0RhCqgjw}

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