By D.A. Wiley, LAc
When you start to feel as though your life is crumbling right before your eyes, it may seems as though you are in a deep, dark chasm. Combine depression and anxiety with body pain that won’t improve, and that is a recipe for suffering. You may stay close to tears, want to isolate, and feel no love in your life! In Chinese medicine, this could be diagnosed as a Five Element imbalance of energy. Body pain creates emotional upset and vice versa. We ALL go through periods of similar challenge to our wellbeing.
I believe we are invited to experience life at its most difficult so that we can dive deep into our psyches, know ourselves better, and step into our next most beautiful phase. But if there’s no energy or motivation to get there, then what??
Imagine how comforting it would feel to sit, connect to your breath (your own healing sound and vibration), and experience support as it connects you to all the energy from the “well of qi.” The simple act of breath connection is amazing by itself, and I’ve found that when we combine it with some acupuncture and sound vibrations, there is an even stronger impact that goes deeper and is more profound.
Healing sound is an integral part of my work with patients. There are many ways to access this transformative modality and apply it in acupuncture sessions. By employing the singing bowls and tuning forks, I’m able to enhance and deepen the effects of the needles. I can show you how to tone or chant so you can use your voice as a healing tool anywhere (and no, you don’t have to be a singer to benefit!) We can find the sounds that will bring you more joy or more energy, based on what your unique body and spirit need.
Sound has a direct relationship with the brain and nervous system. Many neurologists and researchers have studied how patients with strokes and Parkinson’s disease may benefit from sound. They have studied the positive effects on a baby’s heartbeat in the womb as music is played. Through the use of sound, we can balance a woman’s menstrual cycle, wake up the immune system, and bring peace and calm to the central nervous system (CNS) for sleep disorders. We can play the tones associated with specific organs correlated to the Five Element system to bring balance to each. Toning with each of the chakras can bring us into a more clear and restful state. When sound moves the CNS into a more peaceful state, we tell the body that it’s now safe to be healed.
Wherever you are now, sound healing can help you move into the new phase of being that awaits you.