Mine does, many times every season. The music has changed over the years (I’m now in my 9th decade: 81 years), naturally, but it’s still an inspiring song!
I first hit on this singing body idea one morning in Cumbria, northern England, when I was about 40. I was walking in the mountains, had just toiled to the top of a steep section, and suddenly found myself rejoicing that I had done it and that my body enabled me to do it. Oh beloved body! Thank you, thank you! I couldn’t have done it without you!
It’s singing today, which is why I am prompted to write this. And no, it’s not an endorphin rush. It began with the first few steps. As a result, I feel lighter and my tread not as heavy!
Does your body sing to you? If not, ask it! What tune does it come up with (don’t impose your choice of song). You might get a ding dong surprise!
If it turns out to be gloomy or discordant that probably is a clue to investigate your mental and physical health.
In any case, almost everyone is familiar with the reverse: the effect music has on our bodies, as well as our psyches. Depending on the tune and rhythm it might make you want to tap your feet, get up and dance or just swoon with delight. Different music, from different sources, has a different effect on different people.
But the physiological effect is beyond doubt; it’s been clocked and even measured. The calming and soothing effect of gentle Baroque puts us into parasympathetic mode and, let it be said, hard rock and heavy metal can be quite disturbing, leading to significant sympathetic overload. Me, I hate noise and find sound VERY stressful, so it’s important to me that music is congenial and beneficial. Not necessarily slow but congenial, restorative.
And did you know that music can be healing? Of course it can. Song has even been described as healing cancer. Very controversial, of course. It has been studied in trials where it can be shown that certain kinds of music damage and inhibit cancer cells.
[Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2016 Jul 12;2016:6849473. doi: 10.1155/2016/6849473]
But let’s go back to your body singing its song. I have written before about a person’s shamanic song. It’s just a name; I don’t mean it necessarily has shamanic significance. It just puts me in mind of primitive tribal drumming and chant. There’s something very holistic and earthy in this!
If you are clever, you can learn a special song for yourself. The main skill you will need is the ability to recognize deep resonance within. That means you can feel your body vibrating like a string, in tune with the sound.
Then you start singing (just making sounds, really) until you recognize what “feels” right. It’s remarkable, the difference between nearly right and spot on. Once you make the exact sound of a resonating note, it will begin to amplify, a bit like turning on a microphone, though loudness itself is not the really the effect being sought. It’s sameness or resonance.
It’s hard to describe but easy to teach.
What’s the point? If you achieve it, you will know. It feels like you are in tune with your surroundings, in harmony, with the whole cosmos (which is true, you are!) And I dare venture a little woo-woo philosophy, which is that your shamanic song will contribute something, however slight, to the cosmos. We are all part of the whole, of course.
Maybe this is something along the lines of what Greek philosopher Pythagoras thought in the 6th century BC. He famously talked about celestial harmonies and the music of the spheres! His followers, known as Pythagoreans, lived according to a strict code of moral conduct that included silence, vegetarianism, simplicity of dress, and the pursuit of mathematical and spiritual knowledge. Though Pythagoras left no writings of his own, his teachings were preserved by his disciples and would go on to influence many of the greatest minds of antiquity: Plato, Aristotle and probably Socrates.
What is clear is that he understood harmonies (as a mathematical proportion) and resonance.
Singing (aloud, not to yourself) can feel like gathering yourself together: emotion, breath, body, intention and spiritual presence find a shared expression. That would also fit a soul-song practice centered on embodied expression, although someone else might use “soul song” for music heard inwardly.
Then there is the emotional force: courage, tenderness, joy, longing, release—or a feeling too particular to name. The song matters because of what awakens in the singer. A listener might hear a simple melody while its owner feels a profound recognition and renewed capacity to act.
Soul Song
Similar but not the same is what people sometimes call a “soul song”. I do not mean the black singers movement (R&B or soul). That’s a cultural movement. “soul song” is very personal and unique.
Somebody else can be singing it. It still captures a person’s core identity, emotional history, or a distinct chapter of who they are.
What a Soul Song Does…
- Unlocks Memories: Certain melodies bypass casual listening and instantly pull a person back to a specific time, place, or past version of themselves.
- Mirrors Emotion: It gives voice to internal feelings—whether deep heartbreak, healing, or quiet joy—that regular words struggle to express.
- Reflects Identity: Much like a personal anthem, it resonates with an individual’s unique rhythm and lived experiences
I would place the difference mainly in emphasis. Soul song suggests “This expresses who I am at depth.” My shamanic power song suggests “Singing this brings my power into expression.” Those can readily be two aspects of the same experience. Recognizing yourself more deeply can itself be empowering.
Prof. Keith Scott-MumbyThe Official Alternative Doctor
