Grace's Blog - Touched By Grace Wellness-HeartCoreHealing, CranioSacral, Reflexology,QHHT, Energy Healing, Reiki

Do you find you have trouble speaking up for yourself sometimes? Do you get nervous when meeting new people, and fear you'll stumble over your words?

Perhaps you speak very softly or tend to mumble, a conditioned response to being put down or ignored. Any of these issues reflect one significant part of the body and energy system.

The throat.

Structurally, the throat contains muscles, cords and tubes which channel and connect air and nourishment from your head into your body. When a cold first takes hold in the body, the first line of defence is in the tissues at the back of the throat, which become inflamed and sore. A battery of lymph nodes back there marshals up the immune system to combat the invaders. Hence we suffer the 'sore throat'. The vocal cords are in the neck too, vibrating in different frequencies and volume as we direct them. Located about two inches under the jaw is where the Larynx is, and it's inside here that two folds of soft tissue vibrate on demand to give us language and song.

You've probably already noticed that when you're sick, you usually go through a phase where your voice doesn't work right. It's creaky, and froggy and maybe hoarse, or might even choke you back to a whisper. This is because those tissues I was talking about have become inflamed and swollen and can't move as they should.

The truth is, anything that makes those structures have trouble moving restricts your voice.

When you're uptight, there is a constant tightness in the throat area. If you're exposed to someone who criticizes or exerts their will over yours, one of the first places to shut down will be the throat area. People who suffer in this way have difficulty speaking out because of fear of repercussion. Abusers don't want their victims talking back or gaining the strength to stand up to them. And often they don't want the victim talking to other people, either. Whether it's a government or a spouse exerting control, vocal people are harder to subdue.

In clients who are stifled from expressing their thoughts and feelings, there will always be a corresponding diminishing of the throat chakra. Normally a bright, light blue, this chakra may show a lack of energy in many different ways. I can help it by charging it with energy and chatting with you about how you feel restricted from saying what you would really like to say. Sometimes the restricted speech cannot appropriately be expressed. I see this in managers, for instance, who are frustrated with employees or a system over which they have no control over and must follow rules they would like to see modified. So what then? How can you heal these restrictions when you can't or don't dare speak what you want to say?  

You sing.

Have you heard me talk about how important music is in our lives? Even if you're not musical, melodies that make you feel good are a rich and uncomplicated way to raise your vibrational energy and enjoy life. You can join in the tunes by adding your voice and exercise that organ and chakra in a joyful manner.  

Engaging your vocal apparatus while revelling in songs that lift you up and make you feel good will help rebuild this vital center in double-time. You will find as it naturally heals, that your ability to speak your mind, vocalize your needs and wants, and say 'no' will improve immensely.

Afraid you can't carry a tune? Here are some ways to sing with dignity:

• In the car

• At home, alone

• In a choir or singing group

• Walking outdoors

• Singing with friends can be a lot of fun

• Sing along while you play an instrument

Keep your eyes and ears open for casual get-togethers of making music and singing. A friendly gathering of ukulele players can be the perfect place to prime your pipes.

So what if you're off sometimes? Just keep listening and matching your voice to what you hear. Practice, and enjoy the process. And don't let critics shut you down. Even Barbara Streisand was told once that she would never become a real singer.

If you really, really, hate singing then tone. Toning is a method used to clear and balance the chakra systems, and it also strengthens the throat. Each chakra has a different corresponding note on the musical scale. You can Google this information or perhaps find a book on it. Making these sounds with deep sustain will work as well as singing.

And I'll let you in on a secret. When I was a kid, I used to drone to sounds I heard. For instance when the vacuum was running, I would hold a matching note to the pitch of the vacuum, and I'd hold that note until I vibrated. Then I would go higher and lower and notice which ones blended and which ones didn't. Just a sort of flat tone, on and on with the vacuum. I didn't know what I was doing (and I loved to sing then, as now) but I was practicing my ear and strengthening my throat and clearing my chakras and energy field. And because the vacuum was so loud, nobody knew I was doing it! (Except you, now.)

So have fun with this, and let me know what happens for you!