According to Yoga science and recent research, pain is a nonverbal form of communication that usually develops from physical and/or emotional trauma. When you are hurt and unable to process the experience, the related feelings often turn into pain. If the body-mind is seen as a vibrational field of energy, its flow is constricted by any pain, stiffness or numbness within it.
A powerful tool for removing these blockages is intentional sound. Your voice can directly target these painful areas like a laser beam, triggering deep healing and transformation. The following sound exercises are an introduction to Essential Musical Intelligence, an approach that can guide you toward greater health, self-awareness and wholeness.
The Healing Tone
Toning is creating an extended vocal sound on a single vowel with the breath. Its sound can become a catalyst for emotional release and allow the body-mind to express itself in a safe way.
You can use toning to support healing in a particular part of your body. Feel free to do this exercise in a standing, seated or prone position. Start by grounding, centering and relaxing your body-mind. You may want to close your eyes in order to move more deeply within. When you are ready, focus your attention on an area of pain, stiffness or numbness. Listen within yourself for a sound or tone. As you do this, you may also experience images and spontaneous movements that become part of your healing process.
Let go of any judgment as you allow yourself to express the emerging sounds with your full voice. Take a deep breath, release the tone, and continue to sound it for the entire length of your exhalation. You can use vowel sounds such as AH, AYE, EE, OH and UH while you tone on one pitch. You may also sense a certain rhythm along with this tone, which you can repeat. Continue toning on your exhales as you envision how the sound and rhythm are releasing blocked energy and allowing a new freedom of expression in your body-mind. You may feel tingling as energy begins to flow into the blocked areas or experience waves of emotion. Continue to tone as long as you feel comfortable and safe.
As your physical body becomes healthier through toning, you may want to practice prevention-oriented sounding to create a deeper level of balance and harmony. The renowned Sufi teacher/musician Pir Vilayat Khan taught me the following exercise as a way of balancing the five elements that sustain and nourish the physical body: earth, water, fire, air and ether (space).
These five elements correspond to specific physical organs (and chakras) within the body: Earth (the first chakra) is associated with the large intestine, adrenal glands, bones and other gross matter composing the physical body; water (second chakra) with the sex organs, kidneys, and fluids of the body; fire (third chakra) with the digestive organs; air (fourth chakra) with the heart and respiratory system; and ether (fifth chakra) with the throat, thyroid and thymus glands. A weakness in a particular organ, system or chakra of the body will probably be reflected in the sound quality or energy expressed in its corresponding elemental sound.
Sounding the Five Elements
Sit comfortably with a straight spine in a space where you will not be disturbed for at least twenty minutes. Ground, center and relax your body-mind. Turn your focus inward and visualize the energy at the base of your spine, which is associated with the earth element. While breathing in and out through the nose, imagine the earth’s magnetism rising up to firmly support and sustain your life. Then tone the sound of the earth element, humming the lowest pitch that you can create from the depths of your being. The sound of the earth element is quite similar to the almost subsonic chanting of the Gyuto Tantric monks.
Now concentrate on the area that is one or two inches below the navel, which is the center of the water element. Inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth as you visualize water flowing through your entire being. Imagine a river, waterfall, brook or any other moving body of translucent water. Allow the water element to release areas of tension or inhibition in the pelvis. Feel the continuous flow of the water activate your creative urges. The sound of the water element is OO (as in cool). As you exhale, vibrate
the OO sound directly into your pelvic and genital area for about one minute. Enjoy the sensual, soothing, and nurturing quality of the water sound.
Next, focus on the area of your solar plexus between your rib cage and your navel – the core of the fire element. Inhale through the mouth and exhale through the nose as you visualize fire burning in the hearth of your body-mind. Let the fire element give you the power to release whatever is not essential in your life and ignite your inner passion. The sound that best expresses this energy is the sound HO. American Indians use HO as a way to affirm an individual’s self-expression and identity. You can vibrate the sound HO either in short spurts to ignite the fire center or hold the tone to increase strength and endurance.
Then connect with the area of your heart, which is the center of the air element. Breathe in and out through your mouth as you visualize the movement of air bringing life, love, and freedom to all. The sound of the air element is AH vibrated softly into the heart center. Allow yourself to feel the palate in the back of your throat rise as the beautiful AH sound emerges. Continue to tone the AH sound on your exhalations until your heart is full.
Finally, direct your attention to your throat. This is the space of ether, from which the other elements are manifested. Inhale and exhale a refined breath through the nostrils as you expand your consciousness into the infinite space that is within you and around you. Tone the syllable HU on your exhalation. You may stimulate the center even more by closing your mouth as you tone HU. This vibrates your lips and creates subtle overtones, which have a purifying effect on the energy system.
Toning the five element sounds on a daily basis is a wonderful way to revitalize your entire being. It is also an effective system for self-diagnosis as you notice how some of the elemental tones are easier to sound than others. Spend more time toning into areas that seem weak, painful, or constricted in some way.
Always be gentle with yourself as you tune into your own Essential Musical Intelligence.
You will feel your body and energy becoming stronger, healthier, and more radiant.
This excerpt from Dr. Louise Montello’s Essential Musical Intelligence was edited by sound therapist Christine M. Grimm.
