Admit it. There you were, sitting in your car stuck in traffic when your favourite song came on the radio. Before you knew it, you were belting it out at the top of your lungs, drumming your fingers on the steering wheel and having a great time – until you noticed the person in the next car laughing at you.

So what’s their problem? Don’t they know that singing is one of the most effective ways to release stress? Plus it’s free, available 24/7 and has no toxic side-effects.

In traditional societies, singing and making sound is just part of the culture. Songs and music are often the sound track to daily activities and nobody feels that they ‘can’t sing’ or that they shouldn’t.

So why do we feel that singing in our Western culture is something that belongs to professional performers, and that if we are going to sing, we should be singing ‘well’ i.e. like a professional!?

As a singer and sound healer, I can testify to the healing power of making any type of sound, whether that’s a primal scream, a soothing tone like ‘mmm’ or ‘sshh’, or a beautiful, heart-opening song. Sound is a vibration which moves energy – it travels in waves and impacts all that it touches. Modern medicine uses powerful sound waves to scan the body and even break up kidney stones (ultrasound). The first sense to develop in foetuses is hearing and when we whisper ‘sshh’ to a baby, we are emulating the sounds it first heard within the womb.

We have all heard of the opera singer who shatters the wine glass when her voice reaches a certain pitch and resonance – this is because everything is vibrating at a specific frequency and when the singer’s voice matches the resonant frequency of the glass, it breaks.

So when you sing, let out a cry of pain or whisper ‘sshh’ to your baby, you are actually moving and changing energy. Singing an upbeat song can energise you, crooning a lullaby or toning a single note can calm you down. If you have never seen the fascinating research done by Dr Masaru Emoto on the vibrational effects of music and words on water crystals, look for ‘The Hidden Messages in Water’ and you will be amazed.

Two years ago I trained in an energy healing process that combines energy coming through my hands with different frequencies of sound made by my voice. Sometimes the sounds that come through are like heartfelt songs, other times they are like different languages. I also sing mantras as part of the process, which are words which have a specific effect on the body and energy field.

I love to teach my meditation students to chant simple mantras as many of them find it much easier to settle their busy minds when they are using their voices. We all really feel the energy build in the room when we sing a simple chant together and everyone notices the change in vibration in their bodies and hearts when the chant finishes and we rest in the silence that follows. I often close a meditation by playing my wind gong – people love to feel the vibrations of it moving through their body as the sound shimmers and swirls around them.

Sound and song are everyone’s birthright, so next time you are caught singing your heart out by the person in the next car, just give them a big smile and sing louder!

Louise Charman-James is a singer, sound healer, meditation teacher and wellbeing coach. She helps busy working mums to take care of themselves and do more of what they love without feeling guilty. Her business Soul Signature offers private Empowerment Sessions, meditation groups, sound healing events and mini-retreats.

Visit www.soulsignature.com.au for your free Sanity Saver Meditation.