Healing with Sound
An Interview with Christine M. Grimm
Saturday, February 20, 2010
As I drove through the morning rain to meet Christine Grimm in her cozy cottage in Montecito, I was picturing a standard sit-down interview: me asking the questions, her answering them. Instead, in the two hours I spent with her, I found myself drumming, dancing, speaking into a voice analysis microphone, “toning” my voice to RA frequencies, and experiencing the healing harmonies of tuning forks. At the end of the session, I had the opportunity to ask this sound healing pioneer some questions about her practice.How are you involved in the art of healing?
Sound is my approach to healing. I diagnose the frequencies (notes) in people’s voices, then help bring them back into balance with breath, tones, and rhythm.
How would you explain sound healing to a beginner?
Music has a powerful effect on our emotions and health. Sound healing uses individual components of music to bring us back into balance. This includes releasing excessive or blocked areas and strengthening the weak ones. The frequencies of sound correlate with the brain waves, so balancing them has a positive effect on the body, mind, and soul — and the voice.
What beliefs led you to this path?
I believe in personal responsibility for our health combined with natural healing. Together with a conscious lifestyle, sound is a tool that anyone can use to prevent imbalances from manifesting as disease. I show people how to use this tool so they can become their own healers.
Who were your teachers?
After studying with sound pioneer Sharry Edwards, Elaine Thompson gave a series of workshops in Germany during the 1990s. She taught me computerized voice analysis, which is a very Western approach. When I moved back to California, I learned how to do voice analysis with a chromatic tuner. Then I studied Fabien Maman’s Eastern approach to sound and integrated the chakra system into my work. I learned overtoning from Christa Ray. I also took courses with John Beaulieu, the doctor who makes the Biosonics tuning forks that I use.
But my clients and students have been my greatest teachers. I’m always happy when people call after a workshop or private session to tell me their stories of healing: The back pain that suddenly disappeared, the speaking voice that now comes from the heart, the failing relationship that was saved, the new financial opportunities, the increased self-confidence, the weight loss, or the non-singer experiencing the joy of having a beautiful voice. That’s why I do this work.
You mentioned that you have two other professions.
I’ve translated more than 60 German books, many pertaining to spirituality and natural remedies. I’m currently harmonizing my own singing and songwriting with the sound work by offering concerts that blend original music and chakra songs with instruments like crystal bowls and the didgeridoo. My March 20th workshop at Camp Ocean Pines with sound healer Steffan Heydon of San Luis Obispo will be the premiere of our joint sound healing concert, which we plan to also offer in Santa Barbara.
What would you recommend to anyone on a similar path of healing?
I encourage people to have a private session with voice analysis to determine which frequencies are weak or excessive. Then I design a customized program with breath, release, and toning exercises to bring them into balance. Instruments such as tuning forks also support this process. The first step is to use sound for your own healing and growth, as well as learning as much as you can about it. Then you can begin to work with other people.
Some hospitals are now using sound healing techniques, so I predict that this approach will become increasingly popular in the future. Because sound is a very powerful tool, it’s important to learn how to use it responsibly. Analyzing the voice allows each of us to work with the correct frequencies for maintaining balance and health.
4•1•1
Christine M. Grimm will give a free sound healing lecture with a toning circle on Wednesday, March 10, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Karpeles Museum. To learn more, visit TuneYourVoice.com.
TUNE YOUR VOICE - TUNE YOUR LIFE with Christine M. Grimm: Articles
SOUND TREK
You can read "Sound Trek" feature on Alan Howarth and sound healing in the September 2009 issue of Vision Magazine, pg. 26 at www.VisionMagazine.com
Here's a chart with correlations between the RA Frequencies, Chakras, & Soul Types. You can listen to the samples at www.newequations.com/ramusic, but use this updated chart to determine which of the 9 RA Soul Type CDs to order:
Chakra Number
Chakra Name
Color
Soul Type
Frequency
7
Crown
Violet
5
426.4
6
Forehead
Indigo
7
425.7
5
Throat
Blue
1
424.9
4.5
High Heart
Green/Blue
3
424.1
4
Heart
Green
6
424
3.5
Back
Yellow/Green
9
423.8
3
Solar Plexus
Yellow
2
423.1
Sacrum
Orange
4
422.3
1
Root
Red
8
421.6
A=432 or PHI, which correlates to physical structures, is also available as Chakra 0.
RA NATURAL FREQUENCY
It's the frequency at which people speak, whales sing, birds chip and wolves howl.
Nature is tuned to RA Natural Frequency, named after the Egyptian sun god Ra and inspired by the acoustics inside the Great Pyramid of Giza, Alan Howarth says. The 60-year-old film composer, who has researched the subject, will discuss it at 7 p.m. July 23 at Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum, 21 W. Anapamu St. Admission is free.
Mr. Howarth and late fellow researcher Wes Bateman have invented and patented a digital process that they say retunes recordings to the natural frequency, which Mr. Howarth says is compatible with the human mind and body.
He notes that retuned music on car radios would help drivers and passengers.
"They wouldn't know the difference, but it would lower their stress levels and lower road rage, and kids wouldn't fight so much," Mr. Howarth says by phone from his home in Pasadena.
"When a person has a heart problem or a disease, it's something that's out of tune," says Mr. Howarth, who lived in Montecito from 1995 to 1998. "We're not saying it will cure everything. But the right state of mind and body can create the right chemical mix. The music enhances one's ability to heal oneself."
RA Natural Frequency occurs when the A note on instruments is tuned to 424 cycles per second, Mr. Howarth says. It's the frequency that Handel, Mozart and other classical composers used.
"You get in tune with the planet, in sync with the earth," says Mr. Howarth, who designed sound effects for the first "Star Trek" movies and in the 1990 film "The Hunt For Red October" starring Sean Connery.
Mr. Howarth explains RA Natural Frequency stems from RA Mathematics, which Mr. Bateman based on his belief that the architect of the Great Pyramid saw the structure as a mathematical model. Mr. Bateman, who died Feb. 13 following a battle with cancer, and Mr. Howarth started collaborating on RA Natural Frequency when the composer contacted him in 1994. Mr. Howarth says Mr. Bateman's mention of frequencies in "The Rods of Amon Ra," a book that Mr. Bateman wrote about RA mathematics, piqued his interest.
In 2005, Mr. Howarth went inside the Great Pyramid, played a CD and recorded how the sounds in the room matched RA Natural Frequency. He discovered that the distance between the interior walls created acoustics with a frequency of 424 cycles per second.
"His (Mr. Bateman's) mathematics predicted the acoustics. I confirmed it," Mr. Howarth explains. Further research led him to discover the same frequency in the sounds of nature.
RA is not the frequency that's normally used in recordings. Since 1925, Western music has been recorded at 440 cycles per second for the A note, he says.
The American music industry made the arbitrary choice to ensure all instruments were tuned to the same frequency, Mr. Howarth says. "It's an even number that had been used on and off historically. The conductors and concertmasters liked the sound for their orchestras, but they didn't consider the implications."
After his work with Mr. Bateman, Mr. Howarth met Montecito sound therapist Christine M. Grimm in 2007 at the Globe Institute of San Francisco's sound healing conference in Los Angeles. They decided to team up in sound therapy. "He's the researcher; I'm the practitioner," she says.
Ms. Grimm says the RA frequency is "juicier" and makes notes more distinct for listeners. She uses it as part of her efforts to make sure her clients have a variety of pitches in their speaking voice, which she says reflects brain waves and is related to health and happiness.
Mr. Howarth provides retuned versions of popular songs for 99 cents a download at his Web site, www.RAmusic.com.
SOUND THERAPY
Sound therapist Christine M. Grimm counsels clients at her Montecito home, and beginning Aug. 2, she'll teach sound therapy classes twice a week at Summerland Healing Arts, upstairs at 2448 Lillie Ave., Summerland. Her therapy involves listening to tones and singing long notes as well as aroma and color therapy.
For more information call Ms. Grimm at 698-3580 or go to www.TuneYourVoice.com.
Got the blues?
You might be out of tune.
People often are missing certain pitches from their speaking voice, and that can indicate problems with some of the seven main chakras or spiritual energy centers in the body, according to Montecito singer and sound therapist Christine M. Grimm. She explains a person who speaks with a variety of notes is balanced in their energy centers and has a greater chance of being healthy and happy.
"Sound affects our emotions," says Ms. Grimm, who earned a master's degree in theater arts in 1976 at UCLA. "Sound is very powerful, as you know. It can have a lot of good effects; it can have a lot of bad effects on people."
To help her clients experience the notes absent from their voices, Ms. Grimm works with them on relaxing their breathing through easy yoga. She also has them listen to tuning forks and sing with CDs emphasizing specific, long notes. The discs are tuned to RA Natural Frequency, the same frequency as whale songs and other sounds of nature.
Ms. Grimm has teamed with Alan Howarth, a Pasadena film composer who has researched the frequency. Mr. Howarth will talk about the subject at 7 p.m. July 23 at Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum in Santa Barbara. After the talk, Ms. Grimm will lead a toning circle in RA Natural Frequency in which audience members will sustain long notes that correspond with the body's chakras, she says. (Chakras are part of philosophies from ancient India.) Admission is free.
"I believe in four levels of health," Ms. Grimm says. "The first level is the spiritual level, which influences the mental level. The mental level influences the emotional level. Emotions affect the body. It also works in the opposite direction."
At her home, Ms. Grimm works with clients by having them speak into a microphone for 20 minutes. It's connected to a Korg orchestral tuner, a gauge that marks the pitches in their voice, and Ms. Grimm writes down the notes in a musical analysis. The pattern of notes represents the client's brain waves, she says.
A person who's balanced in the seven chakras will vary the voice throughout the entire chromatic scale, she explains. That scale consists of all 12 notes in Western music, including the sharps and flats.
Too much of one note in the speaking voice and too little of another can mean problems in health, happiness and relationships, Ms. Grimm says. "Someone excessive in the E notes could be overweight or have digestive problems."
Notes match the chakras, which go from the top of the head to the pelvis, she says.
The F note corresponds with the chakra at the heart, and someone who speaks with the right amount of that pitch is warm and loving, Ms. Grimm says. Those with the proper amount of C notes, she adds, are well grounded. She notes she regularly speaks with G notes, which shows she's comfortable with communication. The G pitch is related to the chakra for the mouth.
"When I look at couples who have been married a long time, their voices complement each other. We give each other the notes we're missing," she says. People are attracted to those who have pitches they lack, and likewise, they become easily annoyed with people who speak with the same notes they do, she explains.
It all brings a new meaning to the word "harmony."
Sometimes it can mean discord. Ms. Grimm says one of her clients lacked E notes, which are connected with self-confidence. The woman was attracted to an overconfident man who had an excess of E notes. Ms. Grimm says it was a bad relationship. "Once she started tuning herself, she felt very different, and it was no problem for her to let go of that relationship.
Ms. Grimm says she has used the therapy to help a woman who had cerebral palsy and a garbled speaking voice to talk more clearly. She adds it helped a reluctant couple to stay together.
"I worked with a man who was 50 or 60 pounds overweight. I believe it (the therapy) strengthened his will," she says. Not only did he lose weight, "he got a job and got married."
She admits she can't credit sound therapy for all the improvements in the clients' lives, but notes they have responded well to it.
Ms. Grimm says the therapy is a holistic method that complements medical treatments and surgery. Proper diet, exercise, rest and sound therapy can help prevent some health problems, she says.
Preventing health problems through the right pitches? Some people might dismiss that as unscientific nonsense.
"You have to have an open mind," she says. "I would tell them that there's a lot of research on this."
Ms. Grimm recalls one of her demonstrations in Ventura. "There was this older man who was totally skeptical and listened to the tones with his arms crossed and said, 'This isn't doing anything for me.'"
The man sang an A, she added, and "burst into tears. . .emotionally he opened up at that moment."
Some would argue that a beautiful melody or a single wonderful note simply has a positive effect on the psyche.
But Ms. Grimm says there's more to it than that. She explains people who feel uplifted by a song may be hearing pitches missing from their lives. The therapy puts the focus on specific notes.
"It's one thing for me to say this, but you have to hear it," Ms. Grimm says.
"Hearing is believing," she adds with a laugh.
She notes it has helped her.
Ms. Grimm, a southern Germany native whose late father was American rock 'n' roll recording artist Ray Smith, grew up in Southern California and moved back as an adult to Germany, where she was a country rock singer. She says she had several health problems there. She saw a new age magazine article about the healing power of music and learned about Sharry Edwards' sound therapy work.
In the 1970s, Ms. Edwards developed the concept of biohuman acoustics. Ms. Edwards believes the human voice represents the biochemical and structural aspects of the body. She's the executive director of Albany, Ohio-based Sound Health Institute Inc. She has written several books such as "Making of a Soul" and "Why Teach Parapsychology."
Her theories made sense to Ms. Grimm.
"I thought, 'This is it. I'm going to try this,' " she says.
By putting six pitches into her voice that were missing, she was singing a new tune.
"It really changed my life," she says. "I listened to the tones, and it really helped me. I started to sleep again. Sound can bring you back to balance and help you to heal."
She decided to provide therapy for others. While she doesn't have a college degree in the field, she studied sound therapy with teachers in Germany and Los Angeles. She completed her training in August 2001 at the Sound Therapy Center of Los Angeles. (An associate degree in sound therapy recently became available at the Sound and Consciousness Institute in San Francisco, and colleges do offer degrees in music therapy, Ms. Grimm says.)
Ms. Grimm moved to Ventura in 1998 and ran a private business, Kindermusik with Christine, which taught awareness of tones to young children, from 2-month-olds to first-graders. She also continued her singing career, performing at Santa Barbara clubs, and her longtime work translating German health, healing and spirituality books into English.
In 2000, the single mother and her son, Alex Bollfrass, now 25, moved to Santa Barbara, and that's when she started teaching sound therapy classes and working with clients privately. In 2005, she sold Kindermusik. In May of this year, she decided to commit to a full-time career of sound therapy.
On Aug. 2, she'll start teaching sound therapy classes twice a week at Summerland Healing Arts, upstairs at 2448 Lillie Ave. She also plans to start performing what she calls "sound healing concerts" in Santa Barbara and elsewhere in Southern California. The performances will feature songs she has written with self-affirming lyrics such as "I feel the peace in my soul."
Besides having her clients sing with her CDs, she gets them to experience pitches with chromatic tuning forks, one for each of the 12 notes. She shows her clients how to strike the tool against a pad and listen to it.
She also has biosonic brain tuning forks that she says can help calm a person after a lot of mental activity or energize them. She presses body tuning forks, which are tuned to the meditative "om" tones between C and C sharp, against her clients to help them relax and release blockages of energy, she says.
Ms. Grimm leads groups of clients in toning their voices, which will be part of the July 23 presentation at the Karpeles museum, 21 W. Anapamu St. They do that by sustaining long notes that correspond with the chakras. For example, they'll hold the sound "woh" on the E-flat note, which represents the chakra at the navel, says Ms. Grimm.
For her, the sustained pitches are the sound of success. It's all about bringing the mind, spirit and body into balance, she says. "Your voice is a reflection of who you are and your personality. You become more comfortable."
Tuning her own voice is helping her to overcome her shyness, says Ms. Grimm, who, on this day, appears anything but timid.
"See, it works!" Ms. Grimm says -- with a laugh that seems right in tune.
SOUND THERAPY: IS THERE A CONNECTION BETWEEN THE VOICE AND THE BODY-MIND-SOUL?
SOUND THERAPY is a holistic method for balancing the body, mind, and soul - as well as improving the speaking and singing voice. In contrast to music therapy, sound therapy uses individual components such as tones without rhythms.
VOICE ANALYSIS: The first step is a diagnostic analysis with a chromatic tuner, which graphs the notes of the speaking voice. This identifies the weak and/or excessive notes (frequencies) in the voice. According to L.A. sound therapist Wayne Perry: "The voice accurately reflects the brainwave patterns, which reflect all activity of the physical body. Research has shown that a frequency missing in the brainwave will also be missing in the speaking voice."
Once the weak and/or excessive notes have been identified, sound exercises such as releasing excessive notes (sounding) and toning the weak notes can be used to balance the voice. Even just listening to the weak tones strengthens them in the voice. (Christine's Tune Your Voice - Tune Your Life CD can be used for this purpose.)
Tuning forks can also be used to balance the frequencies. Please see below for articles on Toning & Tuning Your Voice and Tuning Forks.
"Sound is a major contributing factor to our present states of health and consciousness. The difference between the random sounds of daily life and the focused use of sacred sound is that the latter produces harmony rather than dissonance. When we learn to produce and direct specific healing sounds through our energy centers (chakras) into the physical body, balance occurs. Our entire energy system is strengthened. We have greater health on all levels, and we can disrupt negative qualities and patterns as they arise within our physical and subtle bodies. It all begins with understanding eight basic principles of healing sound:
Resonance, rhythm, melody, harmony, pitch, timbre, accumulative and detectable effects, and sound as energy." (from The Healer's Manual by Ted Andrews)."Research has shown that when we are deprived of certain light frequencies we can become sick. One of the most fascinating scientific facts to emerge recently is that sound behaves in a similar fashion to light. In other words, sound and light act like vitamins and minerals in our body. Most people are deficient in certain tones and this is traced when the human voice is recorded and monitored. We need a certain balance of sound frequencies, which may vary from one individual to another, in order to maintain our bodies in a healthy state.
Recent experiments indicate that one of the most powerful ways to heal the individual is to play back the missing frequencies at a low octave which corresponds to brain wave frequencies. What happens here is quite remarkable and really beautiful. The body is simply helped to heal itself by activating the control center in the brain that looks after this healing." (Jocelyn Godwin, ed., Cosmic Music, Inner Traditions, Rochester, Vermont 1989)
TONING AND TUNING YOUR VOICE
Toning is so simple that almost anyone can do it. In my work with children, I heard a 10-month-old baby girl tone the sound of "ooo" – with raised eyebrows and a perfectly rounded mouth. But beyond the effortless act of taking a breath and holding a vowel sound while exhaling, there are other aspects that require more attention:
How do you inhale? Does your breath have enough support to hold a steady tone? Are the muscles of your face and throat relaxed? What is your intention as you tone? How are your emotions responding? What are the sensations in your body? Can you tone on a specific pitch? Can you visualize this healing sound as a color and send it to one of your energy centers? Does your toning resonate with the healing harmonics created by a group? Can you use the healing energy created by the combination of color, sound, and intention to help yourself and others?
What Is Toning?
To understand the benefits of toning, it is important to understand what toning is. First of all, it is not the same as singing. Toning means creating an extended vocal sound on a single vowel with the breath. It has no melody, words, or rhythm to distract from the experience of the sound and its many effects on the body-mind-soul. In addition to physical benefits such as re-energizing the body, restoring balance, and reducing stress, toning also helps release repressed emotions and synchronize the brainwaves. On a deeper level, toning allows you to express your spirit and your creativity. It links breath, voice, and intention for greater self-awareness (from www.spiritsound.com/toning.html)
Although it does not require singing skills, toning helps develop your ability to listen and reproduce sounds on pitch – which improves your singing voice. Using your voice in this way connects you with your emotions, opens your heart, and unifies all levels of your being. As you deepen your breath through toning, this increases the life force within you.
How Does Toning Work?
Studies have shown that sound enters our physical body directly before being processed by the brain, unlike vision, which must be filtered through the centers of the brain first, before we react to it physically. This is the reason why toning and singing can be such powerful therapeutic tools. Sound can give us immediate access to our emotions and a deep body knowing, bypassing the mind. We are predominantly composed of water and bones. When we begin to sing or tone, the water within us picks up resonance and vibrates our bones. (From www.spiritweb.dk/Artikler/lydhealing1.htm)
The Importance of Breath
The conscious breathwork involved in toning can also support your optimal way of speaking and singing with your natural voice. Breath is the basis of your voice – and of life itself. The inhale carries energy throughout your being, and you release what is no longer needed on the exhale. Through toning, you can become more aware of how you breathe and gain greater control over it. Diaphragmatic breathing allows the lungs to expand fully and the energy to circulate more freely in your body. The breath deepens and supports the voice. Your natural voice emerges in an easy, organic process as you release your tensions. It expresses your uniqueness as it resonates.
The Vowel Sounds
Each vowel sound relates to a particular area of the body or energy center (chakra). You can also visualize the associated color while you inhale and hear the tone of the vowel. This inner sounding accentuates the effects of the audible toning. Although there are various systems of vowel sounds for toning, the following is the most common:
sound
Chakra/area
note
color
Uh
1 – Base of Spine
C
Red
Oo
2 – Sacral
(Db)/D
Orange
Oh
3 – Solar Plexus
(Eb) /E
Yellow
Ah
4 – Heart
F/(F#)
Green
Ay
5 – Throat
G/(G#)
Green/Blue
Ee
6 – Third Eye
A/(A#)
Indigo
Ee
7 – Crown
B
Violet/Red
In addition to the seven major notes of the scale, you can also add the sharps/flats for a total of 12 chromatic tones (in parentheses on the chart). This is the system used on the Tune Your Voice – Tune Your Life CD.
Preparation for Toning
In my toning classes, I begin with some form of relaxation to release tensions before the breath work. If you are alone, you can do shoulder rolls or yoga stretches. Partner massage is also a good way to begin the work in a group. You can also massage your jaw muscles and then move the jaw in various directions to release any tension it might be holding. Yawn several times to relax your throat muscles. If they become tense while toning, be sure to return them to this relaxed state. This is a good preparation for the breath exercises, which also support the voice in holding steady tones.
Before introducing new energy into your system through toning, it is helpful to release any blockages. You can do this in a variety of ways. Here are some approaches that I use in my classes: shaking the whole body while making any kind of sound (like a five year old), sounding specific vowels and visualizing a colorful release of energy from the corresponding centers, playing percussion instruments, and dancing.
Importance of Intention
Once you have relaxed and released the energy blocks, be sure to set an intention for your toning. Would you like to achieve a greater harmony of body-mind-soul? Do you have specific health issues to resolve? Would you like your voice to be more balanced and pleasing to the ear? Are there areas of your life that need healing? It's good to also speak this intention before beginning and keep it in mind as you tone.
According to Jonathan Goldman, "Sound is a carrier wave of consciousness…depending upon where an individual’s awareness is placed when he creates a certain sound, the sound will carry information on that state to the person receiving it…I like to think of this as the intent or purpose behind the sound. With this word ‘intent’, we are really talking about the consciousness of the sound being created. This encompasses the overall state of the person making the sound and involves the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of that person. The initial understanding of intention involves our conscious mind. Is the conscious intent of the sound to heal or to hurt, or is there no specific intent or purpose there at all? A more advanced understanding of intent involves what may be understood as alignment with the purpose of our higher selves, or the ‘Divine Will’. It is that aspect of consciousness that is able to align with the sacred energy of sound." (From www.healingsounds.com/articles/project-intention.asp)Emotions and Sensations
Pay attention to your body and feelings as you tone. Can you feel the sound in a particular part of the body? What is the effect? Do you feel comfortable or agitated? Are you energized or tired? Determine what the feeling is as best you can. Don't be discouraged if you can't label it. Toning is a process of both learning and healing.
Honor your uniqueness as you discover your own natural voice instead of trying to imitate someone else's voice. You are a complex and unique being on all levels. Your voice is also a reflection of your brainwave patterns, which can change as you tone and create greater balance.
While you tone (and even during the preparatory work), you may experience energy moving in your body, physical sensations, emotions, and/or sensations of release. These may not always be pleasant feelings, but they are natural in toning and other types of energy work. Stay in touch with your sensations and emotions as you tone. Trust that the end result will be a transformation and healing of your body, mind, and soul in the most appropriate way. Stay focused on the present moment and the sound you are producing, as well as listening for the overtones that are created with the others when you tone with a group.
The Body Position
Involving the whole body deepens and enriches the toning experience. Be sure to explore different positions and movements while you tone. I prefer standing because it allows the breath to move more freely than sitting, but you can also sit on the floor or a chair with an upright spine. If you are standing, you can also move your arms intuitively as you tone – or dance, if you like. You can also do toning while lying on the floor, walking, or doing your chores. If you are especially in need of healing, you can move to the center of the toning group and absorb the tones directed at you. Whatever position you choose, always be mindful of healthy posture and deep, full breathing. Be sure to keep your voice at a comfortable and moderate volume that doesn't strain it. Stop toning whenever necessary. And always have water available! (From www.spiritsound.com/toning.html)
Benefits of Toning
Some of the benefits of toning are obvious, but the most significant one is developing the voice into a powerful instrument of healing – for yourself and others. Toning as a group creates not only a sense of unity with others, but also overtones or harmonics that have the power to affect living beings down to the level of the cells and molecules.
"Toning has a neurochemical effect on the body, boosting the immune system and causing the release of endorphins. Toning assists in good breathing and posture. The muscles of the digestive system are massaged and stimulated by regular toning. Toning has also been effective in relieving insomnia." (Don Campbell, The Mozart Effect. See www.MozartEffect.com)
Through toning, we can vibrate and stimulate our entire physical system. We can "tone up" our bodies; learn to regulate our blood flow, increase oxygenation, and "tune" our nervous system, glands and organs. As we focus inward and develop concentration, our mind chatter begins to disappear, and our emotions become calm. We become totally involved with the process and our awareness heightens. (From www.spiritsound.com/toning.html).
In Toning the Creative Power of the Voice, Laurel Elizabeth Keys says that "A whiny weak voice will suck in negativity, attracting lingering illness like cancer, asthma, allergies, tumors, rheumatism and arthritis. No healing will be possible until the person reverses their tonal pattern." (From www.positivehealth.com/permit/Articles/Sound_and_Music/heather64.htm).
Toning on the Pitch
The benefits of toning can be increased by using the pitches of the major (white keys of the piano) or chromatic scales (white and black keys of the piano). Each of these pitches corresponds with an energy center (chakra), as well as various functions on the level of the body-mind-soul. I use the voice-analysis method to graph the frequencies of the voice and then recommend toning on the weak notes in the client's voice (after releasing the excessive areas).
Another approach is to sing the tones and observe how well you can match the pitches. Notes that are difficult to tone are usually deficient in the voice, but sound pleasant to the ear. Notes that can be sung but have a "grainy" texture or a great deal of emotion connected with them may be excessively present in the voice. These should be released with sounding exercises instead of toned. The goal of this type of toning work is to bring the frequencies of the voice, as well as the body-mind-soul, into balance.Toning with Fifths
Another way to balance excessive notes is to sing their fifth note. The fifth has a complementary function, which means that if the note F is excessive, the C will frequently be deficient. Toning on the C with other voices on F will create the perfect fifth interval that Pythagoras considered to have the most healing properties. Singing this interval as a group also creates beautiful overtones.
Here is the Circle of Fifths:
C – G – D – A – E – B – F# - C# - G# - D# - A# - F – C
The fifth of a note is located to the right of it (C-G, G-D, D-A, etc.) You can also remember the interval by singing do–sol from do-re-me-fa-sol. If you are toning alone, you can practice singing this interval of the fifth with the tones on the Tune Your Voice – Tune Your Life CD.
Combining Toning, Color, and Touch for Healing
The power of the fifths can also be combined with color visualization and the touch of two hands to create a synergistic healing effect. Placing one hand on or above the energy center that is deficient and the other hand on or above its complement or fifth allows a balance to occur between the two. Simultaneously tone the deficient note and visualize its color as a sparkling sphere of energy around the area. You can also use this approach to help others. (I developed my method with the knowledge I gained from courses by sound healer Fabien Maman, who uses the acupuncture points instead of chakras (see www.Tama-Do.com)
However you decide to tone, it's important to do it on a regular basis. Toning for 10 to 20 minutes every day can bring many benefits for your voice and your health on all levels. And toning in a circle attunes your relationship with yourself and others as it creates a harmony with the rest of the world.
TUNING FORKS
(Now also available directly from Christine)
Christine M. Grimm uses various types of tuning forks as part of her sound-healing sessions. These include the full chromatic octave of 12 tuning forks (C,C#,D,D#,E,F,F#,G,G#,A,A#,B,C). In addition to the Pythagorean forks that range from 256 to 512 Hertz, the RA Music tuning forks will soon be available as well. Special tuning forks include the Otto body tuners, the Om body tuners, the brain tuners, and the angel tuners. Each type of tuning fork is described in detail below. Pictures of the tuning forks are on the Photos page.
Overtones are a strong healing aspect of sound. In terms of music, overtones are the harmonic notes such as the octave, the fifth, the third, and so on that occur when a tone is sounded or struck. Tuning forks also create the fundamental note (C, D, etc.) and these subsequent higher tones. Even though we may not always hear them, overtones are always present. The human voice, singing bowls, bells, and the didgeridoo are all instruments that produce wonderful overtones. “The body, in its natural intelligence, is able to assimilate all these beautiful overtones and utilize their healing properties on a vibratory level,” according to Marjorie De Muynck, creator of Ohm Therapeutics Sound Healing.
INTERVALS WITH CHROMATIC TUNING FORKS
Tuning forks function on the principle of resonance. Dr. John Beaulieu, ND, PhD, uses tuning forks to realign the nervous system and restore the nature rhythms of the body. He has done extensive research on the properties of intervals, which is when two different tuning forks – such as C and G – are made to vibrate simultaneous. They produce a harmonic sound called an interval. C and G produce the interval of a 5th because G is the fifth note in the scale of C major. Beaulieu believes that the fifth interval has one of the most powerful healing effects because the ratio of its frequencies is 3:2 and this ratio plays an important role in the physiology of our bodies. Beaulieu has discovered the following benefits from sounding the fifth, which is a general tonic: alleviates depression, enhances joint mobility, and directly stimulates the release of nitric oxide – which is anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and enhances the immune system. Other benefits are balancing the heart, pituitary gland, sphenoid bone, and the sympathetic/parasympathetic nervous system.
There are two methods for tapping the intervals: tapping the tuning forks individually on a rubber tapper or tapping them together. Slowly bring the tuning forks to a distance of 3 to 6 inches away from either ear. Move them around to hear the different types of overtones (healing properties of sound) they create.
The voice analysis reveals exactly which notes (frequencies) are required. The notes and intervals can be used to bring weak/excessive pairs of notes back into balance. (Contact Christine to schedule a private session. Also available via Skpye.)
Dr. John Beaulieu: "I discovered the healing effect of musical intervals while sitting in a completely soundproof room, resembling a sensory deprivation chamber, for five hundred hours over a period of two years and listened to the sounds of my own body. Being a trained musician I became aware of the many sounds made by my own nervous system. One day I brought two tuning forks into the chamber and tapped them together. Immediately I observed that the sound of my nervous system realigned to the sound of the tuning forks. It was then that I realized that people can be tuned like musical instruments!"
OM TUNERS (68.05 and 136.10 HERTZ)
The Om Tuners are tuning forks with weights on the prongs. The smaller fork is tuned to 136.10 Hertz and the larger fork is tuned to 68.05 or half of the frequency, which means it is an octave lower. The octave refers to the distance between eight whole notes in a musical scale: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C or D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D. An octave is simply the duplication of a tone at a higher or lower level of frequency. Each of the Om Tuners produces the tone of C# in the tuning of A=432 (Phi, which has an effect on physical structures). This is considered to be the frequency for the earth.
Dr. Alfred Tomatis, a physician and one of the leading sound-healing experts, concluded that nearly all of the cranial nerves lead to the ear. This means that the heart, lungs, and digestion are affected by what we hear. According to Majorie De Muynck, the benefits of the Om tone include reducing stress and pain, balancing the breath, enhancing the immune system, lowering blood pressure, and stimulating the body to heal itself.
The purpose of the weights is to transmit a strong vibration from the prongs through the stem. When placed on the bone, this transmits the frequency throughout the body. According to an article on “Resonant Frequencies of the Spine” by June Leslie Wieder (published in Massage & Bodywork, Oct./Nov. 2006):
“Bone is an excellent conductor of vibration and is therefore capable of resonance….A healthy spine generates its own harmonic waves that not only maintain the spine’s structural and neural integrity, but also are transmitted to the brain and the autonomic nervous system where they help balance breath, heart rate, digestion, and other body functions. In other words, the vibrations of a healthy spine keep the body’s entire nervous system ‘in tune’…It is apparent there are resonant systems in the human body that enable our various body parts to work in harmony. I believe these resonant systems are essential to maintaining healthy, harmonious functioning. Prolonged disruption of the body’s inherent harmony produces diseases; one way to restore the body’s balance is the judicious applications of vibrations.”Wieder tested various tuning forks on the vertebra and discovered that “the twelve semitones of the first octave below middle-C, which has a frequency range of 130.81 Hertz (cycles per second) to 233.08 Hertz, has a direct relation to the twelve bones of each spinal curve. She also discovered that the right tuning-fork frequency causes the contracted muscles along the spine to relax and improved the tone of the muscles that had been slack. The result of her research was that “many conditions…can be treated successfully with bone toning…To maintain the beneficial effects of bone toning, it may be necessary to repeat the treatment at regular intervals until the body regains the ability to keep itself in balance.”
Christine uses the Otto and the Om body tuners with the client in a relaxed seated posture or a therapeutic yoga posture (Sound Therapy Yoga) to apply them to the spine or other areas of the body. They can also be applied to the middle of the sternum (chest bone) and about one inch below the navel. Another possibilities are use on tight muscles, joints, tendons, bones, tissue, and/or acupressure points.
A typical comment: “I can’t believe that my lower back pain went away after the session! This is a wonderful treatment.”
OTTO TUNERS (32, 64, and 128 HERTZ)
According to Biosonics, the Otto tuners are used for relaxation. The Otto Tuners vibrate at a low pitch and the sound lasts longer than that of regular tuning forks due to their weighted ends. The 128 Otto Tuner is especially effective when placed on the rib heads, thorasic vertebra, sternum, and illiums. Two Otto Tuners tapped gently on the knees and held to the ears create a beautiful sustained low tone, which is excellent for grounding and relaxation. The 64 Otto Tuner is especially effective when placed on the lower lumbar vertebrae, sacrum, and coccyx. Its vibration helps loosen the sacral ligaments, as well as stimulating and balancing the ganglion impar, a center for controlling the balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. The 32 Otto Tuner works with your skin and hair to stimulate nerves.
According to Christine's research, the Otto Tuners have the frequency of C in the tuning of A=432 (Phi, which has an effect on physical structures).This corresponds with the Root Chakra.
OTHER TUNING FORKS
BIOSONIC BRAIN TUNERS
Christine also uses the Biosonic Brain Tuners developed by Dr. John Beaulieu, ND, PhD, which are based on brain-waves studies using EEG technology to map different states of consciousness. Here is a summary of these states:
Delta is associated with deep sleep
Theta is associated with meditation and dream states
Alpha is associated with relaxed awareness, creativity, and heightened learning
Beta is associated with high alertness and focus
According to Dr. John Beaulieu, “when the Brain Tuners are simultaneously sounded – one in the left ear and the other in the right ear – the two hemispheres of the brain function together to integrate the two sounds, creating a third, different tone called a binaural beat. When the Fundamental Brain Tuner tuning fork is sounded with a Delta, Theta, Alpha, or Beta tuning fork, the difference between the two tuning forks creates a binaural beat. This is heard as a pulsation. The binaural beat gently signals the brain to shift into a different state of consciousness.”
ANGEL TUNERS
Angel Tuners vibrate the cranial bones, even when they are held at a distance. This enhances the meditative state and a connection with the universal energy for manifesting inspiration, visions, and creative expression.
According to Dr. John Beaulieu, “the Angel Tuners are based on the ninth octave of the overtone series. In the overtone series, a fundamental tone creates a second tone and the second tone creates a third tone, etc. These tones ascend in pitch. This rising in pitch of the overtone series represents the archetypal image of Jacob’s Ladder and the stairway to heaven. Alexander Scriaben, a Russian composer, believed ninth octave overtones would bring forth a new era and unite Heaven and Earth…”
Contact Christine to schedule a private session or Sound Therapy Yoga with tuning forks. For more information on the tuners, please visit www.biosonics.com