It might be new for people. It be feel uncomfortable. It might be kind of new agey. Basically you want to normalize the experience. You want to teach them a few basic things. You could start with toning. They might never have toned before, and you mention this: “Toning is bringing vibrations in. It can stimulate the vagus nerve, which connects the brain to the central nervous system. The vagus nerve controls the fight or flight response. And by bringing virbration in, it inducees the relaxation response.”

You can also talk about how deep breathing can help stimulate the vagus nerve. Deep breathing is part of toning. You also want to address any kind of concerns people may have about it ahead of time. That way it doesn’t come up in the session. You want to mention that there’s no right or wrong to this process. You could mention: “The pitch and quality of your voice doesn’t matter. Just focus on the sound of the group voice and how your voice lends to that unique sound of the group. We’re meeting together at this one time in space. We’re here together for support and community.”

You’re setting up a group intention without really having formed their personal intentions yet. It may sound like my explanation goes on for a long time, but it really doesn’t. I formulate a few sentences here and there within the process so that I’m breaking up the educational in between experiential pieces.