Sound Healing
Last month I took part in a 3 week Sound Healing course that filled my soul with songs of freedom.
I am aware of how vague this intro sounds and intend to elaborate and share about:
What inspired me to do the training,
The content of the training & the teachers,
and The highlights
As always, I share my experience authentically trusting it may be helpful to someone else.
Inspiration
My home was always filled with music when I was growing up.
My dad played the saxophone, would play the Bob Marley and The Wailers Album on repeat and whistle along all day long.
This resulted in my love for music and singing.
To my own surprise, I realised just how much I Love singing during a 17 day silent retreat. Here is a blog I wrote about this in case silence is of interest.
Over the years I discovered how music could either 'pick me up' or 'take me down'. Certain lyrics and music styles could bring me joy, while others could make me tear up.
Like many, my musical tastes evolved A LOT in the past couple of decades, and in the past few years I discovered the bliss of 'Medicine songs' and Mantra chanting.
The Womb-throat connection
In recent years I also discovered the connection between the Womb and the throat and started exploring and practicing Womb and Throat Healing.
A natural step...
Over the past 15 years, since I started practicing yoga, my understanding of Yoga and therefore my practice have evolved continuously. I am eternally grateful for the teachers and spiritual guides who have supported my spiritual journey.
I was initially fascinated by the human body and "what could be done with it". I could spend an hour practicing handstands but rarely dedicated more than 20minutes to meditation. I am still amazed by how wonderful the body is, but I am now equally intrigued by the mind and the soul and therefore willing to spend hours in meditation.
During Yoga Teacher Training I discovered that asana, the physical practice, was developed as a means to create harmony in the physical and subtle bodies so one could realise their own nature. Interestingly, sound can also support the harmonisation process.
Through practice I discovered more subtle layers of my being and it was during a silent meditation retreat that I became aware of 'nada' or 'naad'. I could write a whole article about 'naad' only, so perhaps I will hehe! But to keep it brief, Naad can be described as 'the original sound' or 'the universal sound current'.
In recent years I also started learning about frequencies and how they can support our chakra health.
I have since became interested in learning about how to use Tibetan bowls and other instruments as well as chanting to help relieve tension and support meditation.
When I saw the School of Naad's advert for their 3 Week Sound Healing Program it seemed like a natural step to take on my journey.
The Teachers and the Teachings
Though I had never met Hari Ram and Sat Kirtin I trusted I could learn from them when I read their description which said:
"They are ambassadors of love!
Both are KRI Certified Kundalini Yoga instructors, love coaches, sound healers, kirtan artists, and composers. Between them, they have over 40 years of experience teaching transformational Kundalini Yoga classes, workshops, retreats and leading Kirtan."
The Course description read:
The training is comprised of 10 Modules. They include titles such as Naad Yoga 101, The 3-Stages of Ceremony, Free Your Voice, Listen Deep and Let it Flow, Leading Kirtan, Inducing Trance States, Tuning the Human Energy Field & Activate Abundance, just to name a few.
Learn how to express your authentic voice.
Learn to play sound healing instruments.
Connect with your own unique expression in creating shamanic sound scapes and healing sessions for both groups and individuals one-on-one.
Increase your confidence and sense of self-worth.
Develop skills for highly effective communication.
Fine-tune your natural intuitive abilities.
Develop leadership skills.
Awaken your creativity.
Connect more deeply to your Soul Purpose.
Gain the wisdom, compassion and ability to ‘hold space’ for others.
Step more fully into YOU!
Indeed, we covered all these themes, through theory and practice, and I feel better equipped to offer Sound Healing. Having said this, I feel like there is so much to learn and explore and 30 hours is not such a long period of time so I am looking forward to deepening my journey through sound.
Highlights
Learning and Playing
I love learning so it was a joy to be a student and even better to have the freedom to play with instruments.
The group
The little group we formed with the 2 other students was an important element of what made the training so special.
Hilary Radha and Momo are inspiring women and sharing the training with them was enriching in many ways.
Mantras
Learning and chanting mantras every time we gathered was my favourite part of the training. Although I have been introducing mantra in my daily Sadhana for the past couple of years, chanting with others is truly nourishing.
The Space
The Sound Temple, where the training took place is the perfect space to explore sound and I found a lot of joy simple being in this space.
Practice
I enjoy learning theory but I believe it is best integrated when put into practice.
It was wonderful having the time and space to practice on the other participants.
I felt safe to explore and it was beautiful to see how much intuition plays a part in this practice.
Having said this, I think it is important to consider that even though we can receive a Sound Healing certification in just 30 hours, it is essential that we keep a humble attitude towards all healing modalities and commit to practicing as long as we endeavour to be of service to others.
There is so much more I could say about the 3 weeks I spent visiting the Sound Temple, but I think I've mentioned the most important.
Last but not least I want to thank Sat Kirtin and Hari Ram for their guidance, love and encouragement during the programme.
If you would like to hear what all 3 of us had to say at the end of the training here is a video recorded freshly after our closing ceremony :)
Thank you for reading,
Blessings to All being Everywhere,
Melissa
I will be sharing some of what I learnt in our upcoming 300hour Yoga Teacher Training in Hawaii for which we only have 2 spaces left. Please reach out if you would like more information.
