I always try to incorporate new sensory activities into trauma training workshops, and this month I added sound healing as an option. After Covid lifted, I started practicing yoga to calm my nerves and found it helpful. So when a local yoga studio offered a 2- day training in sound healing, I eagerly signed up. It was great fun, and I learned an entirely new way to introduce self-care and deep relaxation.
I’m excited to offer hands-on Introduction to Sound Healing at upcoming teacher trainings, This is something you can now choose as an add-on to any in-person training. The room set-up for this add-on feature is shown in the photo below. As you can see, it’s one element of many in a training and serves as a simple introduction to this fascinating modality.
We already added a sound healing element to two QSLA-sponsored workshops just last week. These were 2 all-day trainings (one in English and another in Spanish) called Empowering Educators: Trauma-Informed Art for Classroom Transformation! Having the whole day to learn and make deep connections was great. And adding to the sound and rhythm mix, we made our own paper mache Tambourines…replete with bells, beads and satin ribbons.
Here’s what my Sound Bath and percussion instruments look like:
Sound Bath Singing bowl, small brass. Sound Bath Singing bowl, large crystal. Sound Bath Koshi Chimes – EARTH. Sound Bath Koshi Chimes – WATER. Remo thunder tube / Wooden Frog / Duck Clacker / Stirring Drum
What happens to your body after a sound bath?
A sound bath not only reduces stress and anxiety by inducing a state of relaxation, but it also has physiological benefits. A sound bath can re-calibrate the body, turning off the sympathetic nervous system — which is best known for its role in responding to dangerous or stressful situations — and stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system, which is how bodies naturally repair and heal. As the mind and body relax, the heart rate and blood pressure decrease and our breathing become deeper.
I already introduce several mindfulness methods in Wellness & Stress Management trainings, including process art, progressive relaxation and guided imagery. So adding sound healing was a natural addition. All these mindfulness activities help us engage our bodies in learning and healing.
As the late Bev Bos would say, “If it hasn’t been in the hand and the body, it can’t be in the brain. That’s how we learn.”
Learning and healing – that’s what we offer the children in our care…and that’s what I am here to offer you.
Thank you for taking the time to read my ideas and share your experiences. I hope you enjoy connecting with like minded spirits as much as I do.
