Reflecting on Mother's Day 2020, I wrote this list and I wanted to share it with you all.
I hope it helps to give a glimpse as to why, especially as a woman and a mother, I'm so passionate about sound therapy. Top 4 Reasons Mom Needs Ohm 1. Ohm represents the frequency of an Earth year. When we listen to Ohm and send this vibration through our bloodstream, we are reuniting our mind, body and spirit to the great nurturing power of Mother Earth. In that way, Ohm replenishes mothers. 2. Listening to Ohm instantly puts us in a meditative state. This is great for busy mothers who struggle to find the time or space for a spiritual practice. Ten seconds of listening to Ohm (regardless of the surroundings) feels like the equivalent of ten minutes of meditation in a quiet room. 3. Ohm simultaneously nourishes the physical body (boosting overall energy) and soothes the emotional body (reducing stress, anxiety and insomnia). Ohm tuning forks are a wonderful tool for keeping moms mentally, physically and emotionally balanced. 4. There are many lessons for the human race to learn as we face the pandemic. I hope that one of the takeaways will be to slow down. Earth cannot handle the pace at which humans are pillaging natural resources. When we slow down and reconnect to Ohm, the vibration of Earth, we will change our ways and care for Earth the way she needs to be cared for. ![]() I officially refer to myself as a Sound Healer now (a title I never could have imagined for myself). A few years ago an acquaintance of mine shared with me that she wanted to study a form of sound healing called Human Biofield Tuning. I told her that it sounded impractical. So how did I get here? I suppose it all started when I became fascinated with Acupuncture about a decade ago. I had just returned from vacation and my left lung, Larry, collapsed again (collapse number three). I refused to go to the Emergency Room where I knew my options. Option #1: Without giving anesthesia, they bring in a team of about six residents and hold you down. As you're screaming, they insert a chest tube (the circumference of a garden hose) through your rib cage into the chest cavity. Then they leave it there for three to five days until they believe the lung is healed. In my experience, no amount of Morphine or Dilaudid could make it feel as though I hadn't been stabbed in my side and left to suffer for my sins. Option #2: Major lung surgery. No thanks. (I eventually did consent to lung surgery with collapse number four but that's a story for another day.) So with lung collapse number three, my twin sister suggested I go to the clinic at Yo San University (an Acupuncture college in West LA) to see if they could do anything. I went to the clinic and they treated me twice a week with Acupuncture to strengthen my respiratory and immune systems and they also gave me an herbal formula to take three times a day (it kind of tasted like dirt). Along with bed rest, I healed. My full recovery only took about a month. (This was a huge contrast to the six months it took to regain my strength after the chest tubes. Also the damage to my soft tissue bothers me to this day.) So in my experience, Acupuncture was more effective with a much shorter recovery time. Fascinated, I learned that Acupuncture treats everything from chronic medical conditions, to pain relief, to behavioral imbalances, to common colds and flu and decided that it would be my primary form of medical care from then on. Now let's fast forward several years to Sound Healing. During an intuitive reading, it was suggested to me that, with the right instruments, I could use sound to strengthen my lungs. Kind of like I've used songwriting in the past to heal my broken heart. Wait, what!? I could use music to heal vital organs? I was intrigued. I remembered my acquaintance mentioning human biofield tuning. I frantically searched the internet coming across various types of sound healing schools and methodologies and eventually landed at the Acutonics Institute of Integrative Medicine. It was there that I learned that sound actually can heal the physical body and that there are scientific studies that confirm it. The human body, like everything in the universe, is vibrating. Nothing stays still. (I vaguely remembered learning this in my high school Physics class.) So in sound healing, disease, pain and illness are perceived as disharmonious vibrations within the body. Certain frequencies can be used to tune up the body and bring it back into harmony with itself. Once the body is tuned up, it heals very quickly. In my training with Acutonics, I learned about the different frequencies that are used for healing and how to place the stem of a vibrating tuning fork on Acupuncture points. So acuvibrational sound therapy is kind of like giving yourself Acupuncture at home, but instead of needles you use planetary frequencies. The effects are similar to those that you get with Acupuncture, but the overall feeling is more relaxing, enjoyable and it can induce a meditative natural high. I also learned that sound travels through the bloodstream five times faster than it does through the air, so not only is frequency medicine effective, but it works fast. How very rock and roll *insert gif of lightning strikes and air guitar*. Currently, whenever my kids and I come back from an outing, I reach for the tuning forks and apply them to the Acupuncture points that I learned have been used for thousands of years for prevention and treatment of colds and flu. Whenever I have residual symptoms from my lung complications (usually chest pain or shortness of breath), I reach for tuning forks and apply them to the Acupuncture points that are used for strengthening the lungs and respiration. (The same points that saved me from a trip to the ER so many years ago.) With Covid_19 reaping havoc worldwide, I hope everyone will arm themselves with a pair of therapeutic tuning forks and start to use them for prevention, protection and support. As people are quarantined at home, desperate for effective healing tools, I can't seem to spread this information quickly enough.
I wasn't aware of how common swollen ankles are during pregnancy and postpartum as I didn't experience this symptom myself. Nevertheless, I come across it all the time and truth be told, I love when I do (not because I want women to suffer through uncomfortable swelling but rather, because uncomfortable swelling appears to be no match for the anti-inflammatory effects of tuning fork sound vibration therapy). A client recently sent me these before and after photos: If it weren't for the pedicure, I probably wouldn't have known that that these feet belonged to the same person. In my experience, even the most simple of vibration therapy treatments (such as Balancing the Womb with Ohm) yields a significant reduction in swelling of the ankles therefore making tuning forks a great option for birth workers to have on hand. Alternatively, these methods are something that pregnant women can use at home for self-care.
Sound Healing is a concept that is being talked about more and more and means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. So what is it? And how does all of this sound healing look in real life? To shed light on the topic, I wrote a quick description of the three most common types of sound healing I come across personally-- sound bath, music therapy and sonic vibration therapy.
A Sound Bath usually refers to a super relaxing musical performance slash meditation session that makes you feel amazing inside and out. You will often lie on a mat with your eyes closed as extremely mesmerizing music is performed. Tibetan singing bowls, gongs and chimes are the instruments of choice. (It's like a meditative, lullabye-serenade for your body, mind and spirit. A sound bath definitely takes the class menu at your neighborhood yoga studio to the next level). Music Therapy employs a variety of activities such as listening to melodies, playing an instrument, singing and/or writing songs. Renegade health professionals sometimes recommend it for elderly patients suffering from Alzheimer's or the like, and also for individuals struggling to overcome mental illness, hardship or addiction. It's like the straight-edge, rehab equivalent of getting the band back together, finally taking those guitar lessons, or blasting your favorite song over and over and over again. (I imagine scientists and medical professionals dissecting rock'n'roll in a science lab and deciding to prescribe it as a pill. The centuries-old secret that dancers, musicians and music-infused cultures have guarded is out.) Sonic Vibration Therapy (also known as Acutonics, Human Biofield Tuning, Biosonics or Vibration Healing) is basically like punk rock acupuncture with no needles. A trained practitioner applies vibrating tuning forks to key points on and around the body flooding it with sound frequencies. The blood, bones, vital organs, brain waves, energy field, and chakras are recalibrated and the body's major systems are reset. It's like a tune-up for the human body. This type of therapy is sought out by individuals seeking natural and alternative ways to treat certain mental, emotional or physical health concerns. You know when you hear the right song at the right moment and everything is magically better? Imagine you could put that song in a syringe and inject it directly into your veins-- that's what sonic vibration therapy feels like. Colleen Lovejoy is the twin sister of Keli Garza, founder of SteamyChick, and has been working behind the scenes with the company since its inception. She was inspired to delve into Sonic Vibration Therapy upon realizing that her own practice of singing and writing songs was above all else, an effective method of therapeutic self-healing, and could be used alongside Vaginal Steaming to support others on their healing journeys. We interviewed Colleen to learn more. What is your profession? Sound Healer. Vaginal Steam Consultant. Musician. Actor. Mother of two. Where did you go to school or get your professional training? Acutonics Institute of Integrative Medicine. Peristeam Hydrotherapy Institute. Rostov State University School of Linguistics. How did you learn about vaginal steaming? I learned about vaginal steaming from my twin sister Keli (founder of SteamyChick). All I know is that at one point she was talking about getting our periods to sync up with the moon, and the next I was driving to her house to hold the baby while she built steam boxes with power tools next to a yurt on her front lawn. As Keli shifted steamychick's focus more towards education and research, I was employed to edit all of the blogs and write all of the quizzes for the Peristeam Hydrotherapy Institute. That's when I accidentally got smart in the field of women’s health. Do you use vaginal steaming yourself? Hell yes I do. What has your personal experience with steaming been? It helps me to extend my cycle so that it comes every four weeks and not more often. Also, steaming regularly makes me feel super fresh and sexy like… meow. Why use sound healing together with vaginal steaming? Healing with sound is an ancient and sacred practice found in traditional ceremonies worldwide. The same is true for Vaginal Steaming. Steam infiltrates soft tissue and heals internally. Sound Vibration permeates the blood stream and bones and is able to reorganize cellular patterns. Using the two elements in combination is extremely powerful and yields incredible results. Why did you decide to offer this service to others? Was there an “aha” moment? Aha moment #1: I gave a sonic vibration treatment to my dad who is in a wheelchair due to complications with Diabetes. He recently fell and broke his wrist which limited his mobility even more and he was quite depressed about it. (Back story- this is not a guy who believes in the power of natural healing methods and in general isn’t very outwardly enthusiastic about stuff). I started treatment on his legs and he started screaming, “WOW! THAT’S AMAZING. THAT’S AMAAAAZING!!” Afterwards, he was doing kicks from his wheelchair. He said he couldn’t wait until his next physical therapy appointment so he could practice walking again. Next, I used the tuning forks on his arm over the cast. The vibrations were able to permeate all the way to his wrist and he said the aching went away entirely. Lastly, I worked around his energy field to see if it would cheer him up. By the end he was laughing and smiling and appeared to be in a state of euphoria. Aha moment #2: I recently treated a friend whose pregnancy was full term and was eager for labor to begin. I told her that we could use vaginal steam therapy to release the mucus plug, and then sonic vibration therapy to help encourage contractions. When the mucus plug was released, I applied the tuning forks to her distal induction points. Contractions began immediately and became increasingly longer and more intense. She gave birth the next morning. Aha moment #3: A client had recently given birth but her milk supply was low and her ankles were swollen. First, I made her a half gallon of milk-boosting herbal tea and gave food therapy recommendations. Next, I gave her a Sonic Vibration Treatment in order to strengthen her blood, boost milk supply, reduce swelling and cleanse the uterus. Lastly, she did a full body healing herbal soak. The next day, her milk supply had increased significantly and swelling was down. I was ecstatic to hear it was working. I remembered that with my second-born, I also struggled with milk supply and for some reason felt like a complete failure because of it. Those were hard times for me and although I can’t go back and change my experience, utilizing this unique combination of skills to support the physical and emotional health of pregnant and postpartum mothers has become a remedy for me on my own healing journey. We are healing together. Where do you offer your services? I do home visits in the Los Angeles area. What benefits do services have for your clients? Relieves aches and pains (awesome for pregnancy). Assists with labor induction. Increases breast milk supply. Increases energy. Clears allergies, infections and inflammation. Reduces symptoms of anxiety, depression and insomnia. How do clients respond when you offer them services? Any funny stories? A first-time client asked me what we’re going to do. I started explaining that everything in the universe vibrates at a certain frequency... and how I would use tuning forks and other instruments on and around her to adjust patterns within the vibratory field. She was like, “Oh! So you’re gonna give me a tune me up. Okay let’s go.” Any favorite quotes from clients either during or after vibration therapy? 1. “I feel like I’m high... like the way I expected to feel when I tried edibles for the first time.” 2. “The yeast infection appears to have left the building.” |