Sound Is Something We Hear and Feel— Something That Also Heals Us
I was excited to have Alessandra Montana, a yoga instructor and a sound therapist on my podcast recently. She is someone who has found mention in the Yoga Journal, New York Times and Vogue, but chooses to live on the edge of a forest. Having quit the corporate world, she delved into Mayan culture, the shamanic traditions and the world of music to create unique healing systems. She is now the sound keeper and curator at the Sonora Yoga Hall and offers healing sessions in Tulum, Mexico, the United States, as well as Europe.
The art of sound healing.
Alessandra works with various musical instruments such as the harmonium to create unique therapeutic sounds and vibrations. She uses crystals, Himalayan bowls and gongs as part of her unique sound therapies. As she worked with yoga and then chanting and then music, all of these experiences came together for her to create her music therapies. She explains how the universe seems to come together and delivers; how the bowls, gongs, crystals and musical instruments help her to teach and to heal.
It actually makes a lot of sense to me that sound can help us to heal. Consider the fact that we are all created of the same elements, the same building blocks. In the end everything we are and see and experience around us consists of atoms and electromagnetic waves. It stands to reason what sound, which also consists of waves, would be able to impact us profoundly. We see it in the way that while noise pollution or discordant noises stress us and make us feel physically ill, joyful and positive sounds uplift us and make us feel happy.
The healing sounds of nature.
The fact is that we not only hear sound but also feel sound – the vibrations caused by sound waves have a physical impact. It not only impacts the mood and emotions but also has a physical impact to help the body heal.
Alessandra gives me the example of how taking just a few days off can help us feel rejuvenated and whole again. Just a few days by the beach – listening to the waves, or a few days out in nature with the sound of the trees or a waterfall can feel like a renewal. Within just a few days, our very cells become attuned to the frequency of the ocean, the trees. The fact is that we physically change and that is what helps us feel so rested and so renewed.
I had the fascinating experience of something called a sound bath during my conversation with Alessandra. She explained that some of the sounds do not carry over successfully over the digital medium of a Zoom call. However, she used some Himalayan bowls to create some incredible sounds to help understand how her therapies work. Join me in my conversation with Alessandra and experience the unique Sound Bath she helps create for my listeners.
