Therapeutic Sound
I have been using sound elements in my table massages regularly since I began this work in 2008. Many people, once they experience the pleasures of receiving these vibrations during their session, enjoy it so much that they want it to become a regular feature of their massage experience. I generally begin a session using the frame drum pictured at left, producing a gentle heartbeat over the entire length of the back body. I finish either with the pure, cleansing sound of a quartz crystal singing bowl or with the energy infusing, grounding effect of the didgeridoo over the front of the body. Each lasts only a minute or two and I affectionately refer to it as the Sonic Sandwich. I also offer a very special experience for the body and soul which I call Instrumental. After your massage has left you floating in sweet stillness, your spirits are soothed by live cello and flute improvisations intuited to cater to your current emotional state.
I would like to share some excerpts from Vibrational Healing by Ellen F. Franklin, published in Massage Magazine in July of 2012 …
When things are in harmony, we experience a sense of coherence that is also achieved through certain combinations of sounds, which we perceive as pleasing. However, not all sounds are pleasing: some discordant sounds can be used to break up stagnation in the body, clear energetic blockages and reduce scar tissue. Some practitioners will work with rattles and rums using a staccato beat over the body to break up stagnation in the tissues.
The body will also entrain to certain vibrations and rhythms. Entrainment is the natural predisposition for the human body and its physiological processes to respond to and synchronize with both internal and external environments, including sounds and rhythms.
One example is the use of rhythmic drumming, which acts as a focus for concentration and breath, and is also used in shamanic work to facilitate altered states of consciousness. Nursing literature describes the principle of entrainment being used with premature twins. One twin was thriving and the other had a weak heart rhythm. Placed in the same incubator, the heart of the ill twin entrained to the heart of the healthy twin. Our bodies have the ability to entrain to certain sounds and to be transformed as a result.
… Sound not only prepares the way for manual therapy, but it immediately invites the client into a deeper state of receptivity.