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Sound therapy: for more peaceful, happier, healthier lives
Whether it's police sirens or a cheesy song playing in a lift, we are surrounded by sound. But what difference does it make to our lives? One Peterborough woman believes sound has the power to bring us peace and lead happier, healthier lives.
Whether it's police sirens or a cheesy song playing in a lift, we are surrounded by sound. But what difference does it make to our lives? One Peterborough woman believes sound has the power to bring us peace and lead happier, healthier lives.Jemma Walton met her.
Pulling into a little cul-de-sac in Woodston on a dark and damp winter evening, you might not expect to walk into a living room stuffed with Balinese temple bells and Himalayan singing bowls.
But if you pay Jody Swingler a visit, that is what you would find.
Because Jody (24), who is a sound therapist, met me at her home in Albany Walk, and these bells and bowls are the tools of her trade.
It is a trade she learnt during two years' study with the British Academy of Sound Therapy, and is now keen to use sound to help people feel better. Or rather, to use sound to help re-balance people's "chakras".
I am willing to admit I have bones and muscles. I can see them – if I get X-rayed, anyway. But a chakra?
"A chakra is an energy point within the body," said Jody. "There are seven of them, and they run alongside the main nervous system.
"Each chakra corresponds to something emotional and physical. For example, if I pick up something up over your lower stomach, it could mean you have a problem with your womb, or you may be suffering shock or trauma. Sound therapy can help to release negative energy in both."
At the start of a music therapy session Jody takes a quick case history from you, asking you about your diet and general health. She then asks you to kick off your shoes and lay on a blanket on the floor while she tinkles a small bell above you.
The bell will make different noises according to how your chakras are feeling.
I know this sounds mad, but please, bear with me. When you're lying there on the floor it is actually quite nice to have someone concerned about the state of your chakras.
Jody spotted imbalances in my throat and lower stomach chakras. Oh-oh.
I wasn't aware of any problems in this area, but never mind. A chakra can surely always do with a polish. Let my purification commence.
Basically, Jody rings some bells and rubs some dishes made from metal and crystal, which create a series of noises which are very strong, very pure and very relaxing. They send little shivers down your spine, like when you hear a really good singer sing.
She also stands over you and says things like '"Raaaaaaaaaa" and "Ommmmmmm", which, I admit, had me in stitches (of the laughter rather than surgically-based kind).
Afterwards, a light brushing with some percussion, including with an instrument called a rain-maker which sounds like, er, rain, ties the vibe up nicely.
All this sounds a bit silly, and a bit joss-stick-and-love-beadsy I know, but it actually felt very refreshing. Sound therapy is probably more convincing heard than written about, but for anyone intrigued by reiki, or homeopathy or anything slightly "out there", it's well worth a go.
According to Jody, who gained her qualification in April, three 75-minute-long sessions are all you will need to reap the benefits the therapy can bring.
But where exactly does Jody think the power of sound comes from?
"I think it's interesting that wherever you find people worshipping, you find them singing," she said. "Sound is a very powerful tool. It can depress you. It can make you cry. But it can also lift you up and change the way you feel for the better.
“Noise is all around us, but we never actually really stop and listen to what we are hearing – it’s just there in the background. And we also have incredibly busy minds, jumping from one thought to the next.
“Sound therapy helps to focus the mind on one thing, on one sound, and to give people a sense of peace.
“It isn’t uncommon for people to laugh during the therapy – but it is also fairly common for them to cry, or to feel something strongly.”
Jody decided to study music therapy as she had been a musician since she was small, playing the guitar and saxophone. Ironically, her day job is supporting a deaf child in Hampton Vale Primary School.
“Kids take to this very well,” she said. “I sometimes take a group of six or seven of them for group relaxation. Children don’t have any preconceptions about things, and aren’t skeptical.
“Their minds are open to new experiences, and they just enjoy them for what they are, and whether they make them feel good.”
n Jody is offering 30-minute taster sessions for 15, and works out of Garden of Eden, in Park Road. For more information, call 07834 278387 or e-mail jayesse@hotmail.co.uk
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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