Sound As Medicine

A few weeks ago I heard one of my favorite clients arguing with Alexa as to what music station she preferred during her bodywork session. Sounded like Alexa wasn't having it but my client is nothing if not persuasive and convinced Alexa to play Ambient Radio on Pandora. The sound vibration is great with that station, so much so that other clients commented that they wanted to play that particular station in their work environment! Everyone is happy! I never paid attention to how important music was until many years ago when another client asked that a CD of Tibetan singing bowls be turned off as it brought back memories of her father's funeral. Certain sounds resonate deep seated emotion that has made music selection an art form.

In clearing my computer cache this evening and came across a presentation from May 5, 2021, Mind, Medicine and Music: The Healing Potential of Sound by Richard Gold, Ph.D., L.Ac who noted a certain Chinese character that refers to a medicine or drug also carries an additional meaning of music. Cool. Sound healing has been used for thousands of years but only recently caught the attention of neuroscience and clinical medicine. I had read about water frequencies altered with vibration produced through sound that harmonize cells throughout the body and now use those altered water frequencies in studio sessions.

Our primary cilium contain an array of proteins on cell membranes that quiver like tuning forks responding to sound, light, touch, our intention, electrical and magnetic frequencies. Cells begin to change their shape with sound vibration. Neuroscience is reshaping cells affected by illnesses with certain vibrational frequencies. My daughter recently moved to New York City where there is a lot of sound vibration but not at the most healthful frequencies---too loud, too much and all of the time. Not about NYC, anymore. I am more interested in using sound healing to touch the parasympathetic nervous system to reduce stress in slowing heart rate, reducing blood pressure, anxiety, and pain while improving memory. Incidentally, sound as medicine is also a big part of Spring Forest Qigong meditation that lengthens telemeres but also thickens the pre-frontal cortex that manages higher order brain function such as concentration and awareness keeping the amygdala in check and who doesn't need that?

The Moon Over Matsushima

Insights Into Moxa and Mugwort

Blue Poppy Education hosted a fabulous interview on its YouTube channel with Yuki Itaya, DAOM, and Merlin Young, a Toyohari acupuncturist located in West Midlands, U.K., and author of the book noted above who both co-founded Moxafrica. Moxafrica is a British charity dedicated to investigate direct moxibustion immunomodulation as a adjunctive treatment for tuberculosis particularly when drug-resistant. My interest peaked when Yuki and Merlin spoke about the application of cone moxa in the treatment of Long COVID manifestations that so many of our HealingGround clients struggle on a daily basis.

Moxafrica launched an important investigation to establish which moxa 'protocols' (of five or six moxa-points) might be of most benefit for those struggling to put any of the lingering 'Long COVID' symptoms to rest. If you think you are a Long COVID longhauler and wonder whether you might benefit, please get in touch at: 100daymoxachallenge@gmail.com

A free manual is available at the Moxafrica.org website home page to guide placement of moxa cones that are inexpensive and readily available. I did not know until the conversation with Yuki and Merlin that mugwort is a keystone species. I will be foraging through the Wisconsin northwoods for our mugwort!

Moxibustion has been a journey since 2005 as Junji Mizutani Sensei mentioned it would take about twenty-five years to become proficient in rolling moxa needles as efficiently as he rolled in class. At the time I glanced at my watch and thought I had best stay with moxa wool in a box, pole moxa, or stick on moxa as my moxa rolls resembled sausages. All three moxa applications run too hot producing too much smoke for my taste and now that I am approaching Mizutani Sensei's twenty-five year prediction the gently rolled sausages are now pretty good rice half grain. Daily practice is key!

Spring Forest Qigong

Spring Forest Qigong prepared the foundation of all subsequent classes that focused on Chinese Medicine, Japanese Meridian Therapy, and Thai healing arts. Studies with Chunyi Lin began back in the 1990's when his classroom was small holding less than one dozen students. The corporate environment no longer had any appeal after years of being at the desk at 7:00 a.m. and not leaving the office until after midnight. The work produced in those years are still referenced in other reports to this day but the work no longer brought joy. I found Chunyi Lin to be 'joy'. He radiated love and shared with his students. Chunyi would say, "Chinese Medicine is easy and anyone can do it." At that time I had no idea what Chinese Medicine entailed so sure I believed Master Lin and would simply do qigong. It wasn't until immersed in other classes afterward that I realized Chinese Medicine not only had tremendous depth but was vast and required a different way of seeing the world that has taken nearly thirty years to wrap my arms around. Upon the advice of Master Lin every client session has begun with Spring Forest Qigong opening Du and Ren Channels, removing blockages with Sword Fingers, moving Excess back into the Universe and Supplementing Deficiencies packing Qi into the body. Spring Forest Qigong as the basis of all treatment that found root all over Asia is what makes sessions different at BodyWorks.