Page 4 - Hmmm M the Humdinger Flipbook for HARP Sept 27 2020

A Humming Primer

Hmmm was inspired by Nova Scotia writer Sheree Fitch during a

workshop for Arts Health Antigonish (AHA! –

www.artshealthantigonish.org.) She invited us to write a poem or

a story around a letter of the alphabet. I chose the letter M.

My original idea was simply to shape a story in which M,

communicating only by humming, sought out the company of

Nature’s hummers—bees, hummingbirds, and dragonflies—to

become an advocate for children and grown-ups who were

different. I imagined M inviting them to commune with Nature —

to hum.

I knew instinctively that humming heals. The mother who hums

her crying baby to sleep. At the other end of the life span,

humming a childhood song can be comforting for the elderly,

especially if it helps recall long ago memories.

The health benefits of humming on high blood pressure, elevated

heart rate, depression, and sleep disturbances are well established.

Humming has been shown to counter a sense of loneliness and can

reduce anxiety and dispel agitation. Humming stimulates the sleep

hormone and can give us a blissful night’s sleep. Humming may

release tension held in the stomach, leading to a soft, relaxed belly,

instead of one churning with anxiety.

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