Belonging within Ourselves

As I began work on belonging and, by extension, social emotional learning, I understand that our work as teachers must always start with ourselves. To invest in the teaching of social emotional learning, I must invest in a never-ending journey to know myself. And any program that teaches belonging from a peacebuilding lens must begin with the notion of belonging within/to ourselves.

As we begin this journey, let's listen and sing along to a beautiful choral song, "This is home where I belong." I invite you to copy the motions of the song, using your hands to feel the affirmations that you offer yourself, offering a path to a deeper sense of home.

This is Home by Sophia Efthimou

I first centered on the primacy of this notion of belonging to our bodies when I interviewed Taina Asili for the Music & Peacebuilding podcast and encountered the writings of Sonia Renae Taylor's profound book The body is not an apology: The power of radical self-love. This text is a love letter to the self and the body and a strong manifesto against hierarchies and domination, asking us to find a sense of home within the enoughness of our selves. In doing this for ourselves, Taylor claims that we will likewise enrich in our capacity to enter the intertwined belonging of all of our bodies.

Trauma as Belonging Dislocation

Trauma can be many things. However, for the sake of this article on belonging, I invite us to think of trauma as something experienced as a dislocation within the body. When my own stress response hijacks my nervous system, I lose a sense of full autonomy over my body. If this kind of response is repeated, I may feel a sense of frequent dislocation, of powerlessness over my ability to respond.

In the movie Inside Out 2, the character of anxiety helps us to playfully imagine how "the controls" of the body become hijacked by looping thoughts of inadequacy. This leads the character to experience a full-blown panic attack. In this panic attack, the film makers artfully increased the volume of a rapid, static heart beat as the sympathetic nervous system overrides "rest and digest" systems. To find our sense of belonging in these kinds of moments, we need to develop the coping mechanisms necessary to bring us back to our selves.

Researchers have identified the notion that Heart Rate Variability is a bodily measurement that can tell us about the degree to which an individual is in a sympathetic or parasympathetic state of arousal. When a person is in the upper limits of stress, their heart rate is unchanging at a high level of arousal. When a person is in a parasympathetic or a rest state, they exhibit the signs of heart rate variability -- an indicator that the heart rate moves up and down while it is in a relaxed state. Watch this Pixar clip below to experience the sound of the static heart rate for yourself.

Anxiety Episode from Inside Out 2

Humming and Heart Rate Variability

In Dacher Keltner's podcast on the Science of Happiness I first became aware of the work of Trivedi in an interview that Keltner conducted with Trivedi about her profound work on Simple Bhramari (simple humming). Prior research demonstrated the strength of meditative techniques and deep breathing to reset the nervous system. Indeed, when I first learned about trauma, an expert immediately pointed me to the deep breath as one of the best reset tools that we have during a hyper-aroused response.

The research of Trivedi extends my earlier understanding, teaching me that humming may be as effective, if not more effective, than earlier meditative findings of the power of slowing down to six breaths per minute (optimal rate for heart rate variability).

Heart rate variability is a tricky thing to measure, requiring triangulation from multiple statistical techniques. In a 2023 study, Trivedi and colleagues compared Simple Bhramari humming against states of physical activity, sleep, and stress as 20 participants engaged in a study that followed them across 16 hours. Using measures of stress index, heart rate, RMSSD, SDNN (standard deviation across heartbeat intervals), LF/HF ratio, and finally total statistical power. When examining total power, simple humming significantly outperforms (4318.82) heart rate variability measurements of physical activity, stress, and even sleep.

Results from Trivedi et al., 2023

Another study by Trivedi, Soundappan, Sharma, K., & Saboo (2023) sought to find the optimal length of humming durations to maximize heart rate variability (aka, put the body into a parasympathetic state). The initial findings of this study indicate that the length of a 5-second inhale, followed by a 7-second humming duration, may be optimal. More research is needed to further test this finding.

After I presented this to my master's students, one of my students, Rishima Bahadoorsingh, with expertise and interest in traditional Indian approaches to music, healing, and wellness, wrote to me about beliefs about the approach to humming within this tradition. She writes, "In Dhrupad, we use "n" and "m" nasal sounds with syllables ra na na na, re re ra na, ri re noom etc. to activate and vibrate the sinuses. It also does this where the "a" sound is in the back of the mouth, "u" is in the middle and "mm" vibrates the nasal areas as well. On a spiritual side, it is said that vibrating this area stimulates the nadi (subtle energetic system/nerves) in our nasal cavity that helps us reach meditative states of higher consciousness." She encourages beginning pratitioners to start slowly and gently, gradually increasing the length of humming without making yourself dizzy.

As I delved deeper into this research, scholars also directed me to findings on the generation of nitric oxide within the paranasal sinuses. The nitric oxide in these spaces has exceptional health properties, acting as a microbial agent, relaxing blood vessels, modulating the immune response, and enhancing the delivery of oxygen when it reaches our lungs. Humming can be a kind of activator, creating vibrations that release nitric oxide into our bodies, offering us enhanced health benefits as we achieve a parasympathetic state (Maniscalco et al., 2003). When we pause for three minutes after a humming practice, nitric oxide levels reset and we can return to activating this agent through humming vibrations.

I created this soundscape video below to guide teachers on a humming meditation that alternates at 5 seconds of inhalation followed by 7 seconds of humming. After several iterations, participants are asked to rest for two minutes, followed by additional iterations of humming. Try it to experience this approach for yourself.

Science of Humming Meditation, Kevin Shorner-Johnson

We will all become hyper-aroused at different moments in our lives. We will all experience moments where our nervous system feels "hijacked" and we experience a kind of dislocation in our being. I believe that when we invest in coping practices like deep breaths and humming, we invest in care for and belonging within our bodies. As music teachers, we can become the facilitators of vibrational toolsets that help us to return ourselves to our bodies. This science may further inform our intentions in humming.

Journaling to Excavate our Experiences of Belonging Uncertainty

I love to journal. It is one of the most valuable tools I use to slow myself down, to reflect, to become creative, and to return myself to my body. As I bring this blog post to a close, I want to write about impostor phenomena and belonging uncertainty because our uncertainties about whether we belong can lead to a hyper-aroused vigilance that taxes our physical and mental resources leaving us feeling like we are never truly "home." Geffrey Cohen (2023) first introduced me to "belonging uncertainty" writing that belonging uncertainty is "the state of mind in which one suffers from doubts about whether one is fully accepted in a particular environment or ever could be." (Cohen, 2022 p. 30) Related to belonging uncertainty, individuals frequently describe experiencing impostor syndrome, or more appropriately named "impostor phenomena" (named as such because it is not a diagnosable syndrome).

A recent study by Sorenson (2025) points to the ubiquity of impostor phenomena among music education majors, particularly among student teachers. In an analysis of 173 music education majors using a modified CIPS scale, Sorenson asked individuals to rate their feelings of impostor phenomena. A significant majority of participants rated their feelings of impostor phenomena as frequent (76) or intense (64). When impostor phenomena becomes intense and pervasive, it turns into a constant state of doubt, a sense of "belonging uncertainty" that continuously questions whether or not we are home.

Sorenson followed up with focus group discussions with some participants to add qualitative detail to quantitative findings. Themes emerged from these discussions about feelings of fradulence, fear of failure, ideations of the "natural genius," the music(ian) factor, and talking it out. The researcher noted “some participants saw failure and perfection as the only two options as student teachers, a false dichotomy that seemed to intensify their IP (impostor phenomena) feelings” (p. 9). Participants in this study later spoke about how the act of "talking it out" was therapeutic and resotorative in addressing their feelings of impostor phenomena.

Cohen's text on belonging (2023) introduced me to the power of writing about our feelings of impostor phenomena and normalizing these experiences. In some studies, researchers found that when an upper-class group (like seniors) writes about their impostor phenomena at transitional moments and shares these experiences with a less experienced group going through the same thing, this helps to normalize feelings of impostor phenomena across thresholds. In a sense, we can gift others a sense of "home" by writing our own stories and, when appropriate, sharing our own stories of feeling out of place or feeling that we are not enough.

As we bring this to a close, I invite you to listen to a narrative below that I captured in my Music & Peacebuilding podcast with Erin Guinup about how choir became a sense of home for her. Then, I invite you to find a comfortable place to write your experiences of finding a sense of home and feeling out of place.

Listen to this excerpt from a Music & Peacebuilding Interview with Erin Guinup about what it means to belong in choral spaces

Journaling prompts:

When did I first feel 'at home' or like I 'belonged' in choral spaces?

When have I felt like an impostor or felt 'out of place'?

Closure

I invite you to consider the ways you can use your body to recenter your sense of home within yourself. I invite you to use your breath, your voice, and the act of your journaling to practice deeper senses of finding a sense of home within your body. Returning to the song we opened with, I repeat the lyrics as a mantra:

"This is home, where I belong

In this breath, in this heart

This is home where I belong

In this voice, in this song"

Cohen, G. L. (2022). Belonging: The science of creating connection and bridging divides. W. W. Norton & Company.

Maniscalco, M., Weitzberg, E., Sundberg, J., Sofia, M., & Lundberg, J. O. (2003). Assessment of nasal and sinus nitric oxide output using single-breath humming exhalations. *The European respiratory journal*, *22*(2), 323-329. https://doi.org/10.1183/09031936.03.00017903

Sorenson, R. A. (2025). The prevalence of impostor phenomenon among music student teachers: A mixed methods approach. Journal of Music Teacher Education, , 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1177/10570837251346512

Trivedi, G. Y., & Saboo, B. (2021). Bhramari Pranayama - A simple lifestyle intervention to reduce heart rate, enhance the lung function and immunity. *Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine*, *12*(3), 562-564.

Trivedi, G., Sharma, K., Saboo, B., Kathirvel, S., Konat, A., Zapadia, V., Prajapati, P. J., Benani, U., Patel, K., Shah, S., Trivedi, G. Y. (2023). Humming (simple Bhramari Pranayama) as a stress buster: A holter-based study to analyze heart rate variability (HRV) parameters during Bhramari, physical activity, emotional stress, and sleep. *Cureus*, *15*(4), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.37527

Trivedi, G. Y., Soundappan, K., Sharma, K., & Saboo, B. (2023). Effect of various lengths of respiration on heart rate variability during simple Bhramari (humming). *International Journal of Yoga*, *16*(2), 123-131.

Yildiz, S., Thyagaraj, S., Jin, N., Zhong, X., Heidari Pahlavian, S., Marin, B. A., Loth, F., Oshinski, J., & Sabra, K. G. (2017). Quantifying the influence of respiration and cardiac pulsations on cerebrospinal fluid dynamics using real-time phase-contrast MRI. *Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging*, *46*(2), 431-439. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmri.25591

Course on Social Emotional Learning for Music Teachers: https://edge.etown.edu/courses/social-emotional-learning-for-music-teachers

Maniscalco, M., Weitzberg, E., Sundberg, J., Sofia, M., & Lundberg, J. O. (2003). Assessment of nasal and sinus nitric oxide output using single-breath humming exhalations. The European respiratory journal, 22(2), 323-329. https://doi.org/10.1183/09031936.03.00017903

Trivedi, G. Y., & Saboo, B. (2021). Bhramari Pranayama - A simple lifestyle intervention to reduce heart rate, enhance the lung function and immunity. Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine, 12(3), 562-564.

Trivedi, G., Sharma, K., Saboo, B., Kathirvel, S., Konat, A., Zapadia, V., Prajapati, P. J., Benani, U., Patel, K., Shah, S., Trivedi, G. Y. (2023). Humming (simple Bhramari Pranayama) as a stress buster: A holter-based study to analyze heart rate variability (HRV) parameters during Bhramari, physical activity, emotional stress, and sleep. Cureus, 15(4), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.37527

Trivedi, G. Y., Soundappan, K., Sharma, K., & Saboo, B. (2023). Effect of various lengths of respiration on heart rate variability during simple Bhramari (humming). International Journal of Yoga, 16(2), 123-131.

Yildiz, S., Thyagaraj, S., Jin, N., Zhong, X., Heidari Pahlavian, S., Marin, B. A., Loth, F., Oshinski, J., & Sabra, K. G. (2017). Quantifying the influence of respiration and cardiac pulsations on cerebrospinal fluid dynamics using real-time phase-contrast MRI. Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 46(2), 431-439. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmri.25591