Sound Healing Training Testimonials

Part One

Gill Gosling - 23rd February, 2008

Thanks to Part One of this course I have managed to piece together another part of the jigsaw of life. I have learnt a lot more about energy and vibrations.  I have learned that it is possible to use sound to maintain and/or bring the body back into harmony. I learned that sound is a wonderful thing but that the silence between the sounds is just as precious in helping people heal. (The sound of silence)

Sound is vibration. Everything has vibration. Everything resonates. Once we can learn to free the voice we can bring ourselves into tune with others and the world around us. We can fit into the sound of the universe, the vibration of time itself.

By using sound we can find our own medicine for harmony within our lives and our minds and bodies. We all know how listening to music can be a soothing, healing process. But our own voice can also be used to help heal ourselves and others. Just by altering the way we deliver words, our "tone" can be a tonic.

There are many ways to use sound to heal. Laughter is a tonic; singing or chanting affirmations can plant a seed of positive thought within the very psyche of a person. But we can also use our voice like a scanner to "tune-in" to another human being. Using sound to find out where or how someone is out of tune- finding where dis-ease lies in the body simply by finding a "dis-chord".

We can then use various means and methods to intuitively "sing" to that body to help it find harmony. Just as a mother would sing a lullaby to a child. We can sing to the inner child within ourselves and others.

I realise that although I love chanting and using mantras in my yoga practice that I have shied away from using too much sound in my teaching. This is not because I feel uncomfortable with it but that I sense the discomfort of students when I ask them to chant or repeat mantras. I know now that I will thrust myself into this with confidence and lead the way so that the lack of self esteem in others is conquered.

I also learned that people singing together can be wonderfully powerful. Those stronger than others can help boost the energies of the weak just by opening their mouths and letting sound come out. You do not have to have a fab voice to sing or chant. Fake it 'til you make it.

Powerful sounds can come out in group work. Sounds which seem to be coming from deep within a person yet they resonate outwards to form a unity - a whole. During the chanting work I was amazed at the sound which seemed to be coming from me but then I realised that it was the harmonics of the group as a whole which were very powerful.

I learned that I am a person who is always in her head and I need a lot of grounding.

How Did the Course Effect Me

Profoundly. The first part of the course has made me passionate about sound healing and given me a desire to learn more and more about this fascinating topic. I know I am a sound healer. I have already delved into the world of touch therapy.  I now want the knowledge about harmonics and music to be able to use my own intuitiveness to help heal others using varying sound techniques.

I love using my voice and singing. I have used the written word most of my life as a journalist and have written about music for decades. Now I want to use the harmonics of sound to help heal.

In Part One I was moved to tears several times and none more so than during the Ghanaian Chant. My emotions were taken on a roller coaster. I learned that my self esteem was pretty low. But the chanting work shot me to the heights of elation.  During the laughter warm-up session I got rid of inhibitions and let go. I realised that I have been short of breath. Not breathing correctly and almost chopping my voice off half way through. I learned that I have not been talking my talk. Bottling things up and trying to please others before focusing on my own needs and health.

Part Two

Steve Egan

It was good to be back with the people studying sound healing again. This time I felt that there was more of a chance to begin to get to know people and deepen our connections. It was also good to be back in the milieu of sound healing too.

The exercises made more sense this time. Having practiced them in the interim it was good to be able to revisit them and listen to the quality in his sound more closely. I also became aware of my increasing sensitivity to the energetic effects of sound. Particularly in my body.

I was also able to approach the exercises with more capacity to see their potential place in a daily practice. One particular thing I learnt was that the groaning was similar to the shaking out of the body in chi kung. This analogy helped me to comprehend the process of groaning very clearly.

Giving the healing was an important part of the training. I found that I began tuning in to the state of the person's energy. It was as if the sound healing modality was giving a framework to access intuitive perceptions of a person's state. I have long been aware of receiving these impressions but have never known what to do with them.

The sound healing modality gives me a way to structure and work with them and for this I am very grateful. I also found that whilst singing into the heart a very impersonal energy comes over me. I felt with one of the people that the creator was singing to her beloved child and for a few minutes I could see the person as the creator does. This was very beautiful.

Receiving the healing was very important. It helped me understand from the inside what it is like for a client. And it was very beautiful. After one healing I sat up and my spine felt free in a way it never had before. This helped me experience within my body how the sound healing can work on a physical level as well as an energetic level. It's also just beautiful to have someone singing to you.

All in all a very inspiring and healing time with a deepening of my experience of sound healing that has left me confident to go out and start my case studies.

Lea Cowin

In Part Two of the course I learnt of the guidelines to giving a basic sound healing, the way to commence a healing and how to finish one. I learnt how to set an intention before starting the healing and how to use intuition and to remember the adage that 'less is more'.

As an experienced healer with many years of practice I felt that the training was in the main supporting what I already did but in the context of the new and exciting medium of sound. In particular I liked the 'no rules' concept which allows freedom to use the training as one is intuitively led.

The practical sessions of giving and receiving healing on both days were invaluable. I received more than I could ever have imagined. The opening at the heart was almost overwhelming and the visual representations were quite dramatic.

The healing aroused a passion in me. However it was not about sex but about an awakening and was very much linked to the heart. Some might name it as a kundalini experience. I would prefer not to give it a label - rather say that it affected me at the deepest level of my being.

I knew that this had changed things. That it had altered my state of being. That my life was about to change as if I had been re-energised and re-born.

Since that time my life has indeed changed. As if by magic things started happening. I have a wonderful new job that I love and which compliments my healing and spiritual life in ways that every day astounds me. I am happier and more content than I have ever been in my life - and considering that only two years ago I was ready to die that is quite amazing. And things have just got better and better.

I put this all down to the work I have done and continue to do with sound.

Patra Jayne Cooper - 7th March, 2008.

What was my experience of the training weekend?

After the weekend, when I asked myself this, the following word immediately presented itself  - "heart".

In my own personal healing journey, I have realised the sublime gentleness and power of my heart.  I know that ultimately we all have a choice to heal ourselves; that we alone can do this, and that at times (especially when we are in despair), we feel we need the help of others.  The sound healing for me is a way of enabling someone to find their truest hearts desire, and that ultimately that desire is their choice and their responsibility.

Having spent the past nine years practising and being taught various forms of energy work, particularly on myself, as a way for helping me to find a way of healing a serious condition, the sound healing technique taught to me was the first time I had utilised my own voice towards helping someone else.  I would describe the sound healing practice as:-
"simple and profound"

In the past, I have used my voice in finding a way to help myself, particularly when grieving over the recent loss of my father.  I was astonished at the way my body found the sounds to express itself - the sounds didn't sound like ones "I would make".

I knew from this, and have felt for some time, there must be a way for my "organic" instrument not only to be of help to myself, but also to be able to help others, but having never received a sound healing treatment before, I just did not know what to expect!

After being given instruction and a demonstration of sound healing, I gave my first treatment. I thought OK, I'll give this a whirl, but as for picking up by "tuning in" where someone's body may need help, well I wasn't too sure of that - "sounds a bit mystical to me" I thought.   Apart from that, I thought "this treatment, if nothing else, is a way for someone to at least relax".   I imagined I would find it a breeze…

I couldn't have been more wrong.  I was working on a lovely person who had told the group she had lost her father three week's ago.  When I asked her to turn onto her back and I placed my hands under her body and tuned in with her heart, I found myself fighting back my own tears.

I realised I was not only helping her, but in sharing my heart with her I was also helping myself too.  The next day when working on someone whose history I knew nothing at all about, I again found this "heart" practice all encompassing - so profound and touching. Again, I found myself feeling an urge to cry.

Even though this part of the treatment was only short, it was so powerful, proving to me the depth and potential of this practice.  The "power" of the time immediately following this part of the healing session, where I spent time sitting with my client, quietly in silence was so profound too and I felt this gave the space and time for the healing to actually begin.  This silence gave the opportunity for us both to go deep within, to bathe in deep relaxation, space and peace.   Just to rest.   It was wonderful.

I was grateful for having done some preparatory exercises on loosening my voice.  It was very challenging to use my voice, to find my heart and share this very intimately with a person who I had never met before.  It took a great deal of courage.

I felt myself falling between two stools - one of being all in the mind and one  of no-mind. I knew I needed to let go of all my thoughts and judgements, and call on my gentleness, to make myself available to support my client, and to be "open to the moment" to enable this practice to weave its magic.

I felt the power of "intention" was fundamental in helping whatever it is my client wished to truly manifest.  Without an intention, I would have been like a dead piece of wood (neither use nor ornament), and neither my client or myself would have benefited, suffice to say, they may have had a good lie down!

It was then my turn to receive a treatment.  The sound given to my body was so soothing.  I was able to totally relax and I found a lovely spacious place to rest within.  I felt my body tingling and could have stayed lying still for a whole lot longer!  The second treatment I received was different again.

This time the therapist had the courage to tone directly to my head area.  A tone so high and pure, I felt a white light travel from my head to my feet; my energy just moved.  This experience totally confirmed my belief in the power of sound.

So, all in all, I know my journey in sound healing is going to be challenging and also, I believe will help me in my own personal growth too.

Part Three

Lea Cowin

I learnt that I love the sound of dissonance as well as harmony. That they both 'resonate' with me. There wasn't one interval that felt wrong or unfamiliar. I also had confirmed once again that my links with the East are profound and of a great age as there was such a real sense of 'coming home' when I heard the Indian Scale.

I also learnt how much I need to learn and absorb about sound and what a magnificent healing tool it is. I also learnt more about the tuning forks and how to use them.

The whole weekend was a continuing journey of discovery about myself, my relationship with others and confirmation of the beauty and profundity of sound.

Rather than 'learnt' it was certainly confirmed, once again, that following one's intuition and doing 'what feels right' in any given circumstance is more important than adhering strictly to rules.

Once again I had come to the course with a very specific intention of healing so what happened to me gives greater insight into how sound can be used on all levels.

During the day on the Saturday the healing had felt very energetic and quite blasting in its force. I knew from previous experiences that this was a portent of a transformation or transmuting of some sort.

At the healing on the Saturday another piece of the jigsaw 'fitted' into place when humour replaced consternation a realization for that moment of the simplicity of it all! And what fun it could all be.

On Saturday night I had a dream. It showed me aspects of myself that still needed to be shed. It was a disturbing experience as it came from very deep within and had been hidden for many years. It was linked to tremendous fear. It was (I hope) the last remnant of my ability to sabotage myself and my soul. Fear of loss and criticism.

On the Sunday I felt very vulnerable and sensitive. I described it as having shed a skin - like snake - and wanted to feel safe. I felt a great need to partner Trixy in the session and so approached her at the beginning of the day to ensure that this would be the case. The healing on the Sunday was much calmer and still. Integration is how I would name it. As though a veil had been removed and I now felt more comfortable in my new skin.

During the weekend I had also had digestive problems - bloating and bowel pain - as well as what felt like the onset of a bladder or kidney infection leading to frequent trips to the loo! During the Sunday the healing with both Trixy and Simon something 'moved' both energetically and physically. As if there had been a blockage. On the Monday I had a massive 'clean out'!!!! Quick, easy and safe!!!

The work I now find myself doing is definitely an integral part of that cleansing. I am now in a position where I can reach people that otherwise would not have crossed my path. People from all over the world and for the first time in my life I am integrating the spiritual side of my life with the mundane! It is all quite remarkable.

Part Four

Helen Johnson

Giving the Sound Healing

Despite feeling nervous, I enjoyed giving the treatment. It helped that I was working which someone for whom I had a lot of respect.

I chose the "Sa Re Ga" treatment as this is (still) the one with which I am most comfortable. I am 99% certain that the fact that my voice broke up was due to nerves rather than something transmitted from my client.

During the first period of silence, I felt a great peace descend and surround my client.

During the second period, I became aware of a trauma affecting my client. During the third I felt a sense of resolution.

When I described my feelings to my client afterwards, she confirmed them all and told me that the trauma related to a childhood incident. I felt affirmed, knowing this.

Receiving the Sound Healing

This treatment continues to affect me today (two months later). My partner used the scanning method and singing of my name.

It seemed that it took tremendous courage to persevere. I felt that my partner became my mother and I know that the circumstances of my birth reflected this overpowering sense of trying to cope with something almost too difficult to bear.

It made me look very much more kindly upon my mother as someone who was able to carry on in spite of being in 'fight, flight or freeze' response following the trauma of a difficult pregnancy and birth. I am still aware of these emotions and they continue to generate compassion from me towards my mother. I feel enormously grateful towards my partner.

Lifting of Spirit

Following the treatment and for what remained of the weekend, I felt a lot lighter in mood. It seems that to be a Sound Healer, one needs to retreat deep into one's innermost self and discover 'Divine Simplicity'.

It is so 'right' that it should be EASY to deliver, in the same way that breathing is natural and easy and utterly straightforward. With the continued practice of sounding, I am becoming increasingly aware of what I like to call the 'Consciousness of God' upon one's breath. I find this is a lovely way to think of sounding/toning/singing.

Once again, the sound made when we were all giving and receiving healing was all- encompassing and full of heavenly beauty. However, it felt as though we were all in a very different space than we were when we gave our first treatments during workshop two.

There was a maturity and a sense of growth that enhanced the sheer power and magnificence of the soundings. There was a sense of purpose, of confidence and of certainty in the delivering of the healing.

I felt we had all accompanied each other on a journey. We had connected at a very deep level and found (and been able to give) love, compassion and understanding to each other.

Rebecca Imber

For me, the time since Part Four has been a time of change and learning. It has been a period of deepening and developing my sense of trust and learning to respond to my intuition.  I have also enjoyed deepening my connection with the elements which has supported me in this change.

I am profoundly thankful for both the whole experience of Part Four, but also in particular the opportunity I had to exchange a treatment with Annike, who was kind enough to point out that I am not trusting and following my intuition in my wider life!

With the awareness I have been fortunate enough to develop, that the clarity that comes out of the silence that follows the sound, is indeed the still small voice of truth, I have been able to find the courage to take the major step of quitting my current job, as well as making other less dramatic changes in my life.

Working with the Sanskrit sounds and elements with other people has also been a humbling and powerful experience that has further helped me to put trust in the intrinsic power of the process and keep my own short-comings out of the way.

I have found the whole process to be an extremely useful and simple way to tune in to another person's energetic and emotional state, allowing me to access and interpret information that can help them move forwards.

To finish then, the learning from Part Four for me has very much been a consolidation and confirmation of everything that went before.  I have been privileged to renew my sense of connection and and trust and I currently feeling very content. Whatever the future holds, I am confident it will be more real and more authentic to me than the chapter I have just left behind.