Sounding om
by Tamara Watson, Tofino
If the sound generated by the vocal cords into the vibratory network
of the universe has the faculty of tuning one, it is because it links
one with the cosmic symphony.
Vihilayat Inayat Khan
I love music. Most people I know love music. It has an ability to
reflect as well as to shift our physical and emotional energy. Everyone
knows
intuitively how powerful sound is, and everyone is musical. Singing
or toning is about listening to our inner voice and honoring it
through audible expression. Shivon Robinsong, director of the Gettin’ Higher
Choir, in her workshop here last month demonstrated the intimacy
and power of the voice with a greeting exercise. We circled the
room sounding
our own notes, looking each participant in the eye and listening
to their voice. The vocal exchange was like an embrace. Also interesting
was how the tone I made changed in pitch involuntarily as I greeted
different people.
Music broken down is sound vibration, just as speech is. According
to yogic theory speech is a feminine force called the Devi, or Goddess,
that has the ability to bring things to life. The Chinese attribute
speech to the Fire element, home of the spirit, or Shen. Yogis have
discovered that the whole universe is shaped, animated and ultimately
reabsorbed by sound, that even consciousness vibrates. Prakasa, a physicist
who is studying the relationship between yoga and physics says, “The
essence of sound is that it echoes back—both within itself and
from everything around it. These echoes lead to resonances that in
turn reveal the essence of what creates the sound and what it interacts
with. Sound is a back-and-forth vibration that eventually spreads out
and fades, but has no real end.”
Sound gives us a direct link to the universe, and is considered the
oldest form of creation. Kokopelli is a mythical Native American symbol
of fertility, music and dance. Pan is a Greek god of music and fertility.
Australian Aboriginal culture explains the origin and geographic orientation
of the world in terms of Songlines: “…laid down by legendary
totemic beings who had wandered the continent in the Dreamtime, singing
out the name of everything that crossed their path - birds, animals,
plants, rocks, waterholds—and so singing the world into existence… Regardless
of the words, it seems the melodic contour of the song describes the
nature of the land over which the song passes,” (Bruce Chatwin,
Songlines).
If sound is creation and vibrations are the energy of the universe,
it makes sense that sound can heal and that it is present within
us. Our voice is an instrument that empowers and enables us to dance
through
life. Om or Aum represents the root syllable of the cosmic vibration
that preceded all of creation, and all the sounds the human voice
is capable of expressing and manifesting in the physical world.
When we listen to ourselves and produce our own sounds, we heal ourselves.
We intuitively know the sounds we need to make to move blocked energy.
Healing with sound vibration realigns our bodies’ frequencies
and encompasses a broad field: ultrasound therapy, toning, chanting,
tuning forks, crystal bowls, Tibetan singing bowls and bells, Australian
didjeridu, rainsticks, drumming, cello… Randall McClellan in
The Healing Forces of Music says that the first requirement of learning
the process of healing is to experience the effect of various pitches
on your own body. He tells a story about an Armenian man who played
one note on his cello day after day. When people told him that musicians
played other notes to make music the old man replied that all the others
were still searching for “the right note” whereas he had
already found it.
Sound is powerful and so accessible. Resonance is the most important
principle of sound, describing the ability of a vibration to reach
out and set off a similar vibration in another body. We are fortunate
to have so many sources of sound to inspire us here: the ocean, the
Sound Waves choir which resumes in the fall, the many concerts Adam
organizes, Solwood, a place where sound related activities often
take place (725-2112). Martha Thomas will be holding a Sound Healing
workshop
this month, you can reach her at 725-2079. Adley Bruneau offers drumming
and didjeridu sessions and can be reached at 725-8324. You are all
realized or waiting-to-be-realized musicians. Remember the power
of your own voice the next time you want to adjust your energetic vibration.
Tamara Watson is a registered Jin Shin Do“ and Shiatsu
Therapist and often combines sound vibration with bodywork. You can
reach her
at 725-3976.
Tofino Body & Soul - Spa and Wellness articles
Tofino yoga instructor and shiatsu therapist Tamara Watson writes about the use of sound in bodywork in this article from Tofino Time Magazine.