Sound makes all the difference.
Music moves you, it makes you weep. Some gives you goosebumps. Drums call people together, chimes give focus, and the sounds in nature restore and heal you. Sound therapy is a huge subject, and one I have always been interested in.
It only seems right that sound is used in healing therapies, whether it is peaceful resonance music during a treatment, the use of singing bowls to mark the end of a healing session, or a full on gong bath on a retreat. Whatever rings your bell, (excuse the pun!) find something that works for you. Try something different. I did, and it’s now incorporated in my treatments.
Sound healing.
I’ve always fancied a set of tuning for forks for therapy work. Each fork resonating to a different Chakra. Somehow it seemed a little too structured for the way I work. I wanted something more fluid. Something I could use during a treatment I already do, rather than as a treatment in its own right.
After my trip to The Scarlet Hotel last month, I was inspired to purchase a rain drum. Finding one was another matter, and after a little internet trawling I found Anastasia
– a girl from the Ukraine who helps sell these beautiful drums on an Etsy Site. A new generation of rain sticks…. much easier to use, and beautifully made. The sound of ocean waves washing over you at the beginning of any treatment starts the process of becoming present. Settling in, and allowing everything that doesn’t matter in this moment, to just wash away. Preparing you for the next part of the journey.
No matter whether it is a massage, Aromatherapy, La Stone or a Facial, this adds a different dimension. Clients normally arrive in my treatment space fairly relaxed as the drive through the Somerset countryside sets them up nicely for a relaxing hour or two. Sometimes stress is still following them around from their hectic lives and busy minds, and a little time spent adjusting to the treatment is needed.
Please don’t tell me how to breathe!
It can be quite patronising to a client when a therapist starts to suggest how they should breathe. Especially when that client has done mindfulness classes, practices yoga and meditates daily. The therapist I had at The Scarlet knew my profession, and she had no intention of talking me through a guided meditation. It would have irritated me intensely! Instead, she used sound. She used something that I could interpret with my own energy field, and my own mind. It was, one of the most amazing experiences I have had during a massage therapy.
The feedback has been amazing!
Clients who have already experienced my new found tools, have all given very positive feedback. It’s not just the ocean drum at the beginning, it’s the chimes and the crystal bowl used during treatment that really hits the spot. Sometimes very deeply. There has been some kind of shift and change in the way I work, and I’m liking it very much indeed.
Gratitude is the key.
So, thank you to Lorena at The Scarlet for the nudge to move towards sound. Thank you to the clients who were very willing guinea pigs, and thank you for reading!
If you want to know what an ocean drum sounds like, here is a little video. This is just the beginning. There is much more than this!
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