Sound healing self-help tools

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What is sound healing and how does it work?

Minna explains what sound healing is to her, how does it affect us and what type of people come to a sound healing session.

Clearing your sinuses with humming:

This is a very simple yet powerful practice to clear your sinuses during a cold. For stronger effect, add neti pot nose clearing as well.

Finding your center:

In this video, I will guide you to explore the areas around subtle energy centers in your body. We are not trying to change them in any way. We simple bring awareness in these places and breath. Find a comfortable place to sit or lay down. Close your eyes and enjoy. This is a perfect meditation to “do” at the end of the day before sleep or anytime during the day when you need more centering and grounding.

Clearing your core with vowel sounds:

If you need more energy OR grounding (also great for better sleep), this is a great exercise for you. I teach you to use specific vowel sounds and tones to clears the core of your being. If you need energy or do the practice in the morning, start from the root of your spine to the point in between your eye brows as shown in the video. If you need grounding or practice in the evening before going to bed do the sounds the other way around from head to the root of your spine. Once you are familiar with the vowels, it is easy to do either way. I recommend doing each vowel minimum five times and really connecting to each of the locations in your body.

Low tone humming – release your though patterns and hum yourself to sleep:

When you feel that you are too much in your head and can’t let go of your thoughts, low tone humming is a great tool to use. Close your mouth, let the tongue hand loose in your mouth and find a tone that connects with the lower parts of your body. Start humming and sensing the vibration. I recommend doing low tone humming 5 – 7 minutes or longer. This is also a great exercise to do if you have hard time going to sleep – do it just before going to bed.

Calm your mind and recognize the subtleties in your body and mind

This is a very calming practice that gives you a nice facial massage as well. I recommend taking the time with each of the vowels, noticing how they feel in your body and also where the sound come through in your mouth. Each of the vowels have a very different quality in them. You may notice the difference in the sensation when you sing them out loud with a breathing sound and also silently. I recommend doing 3 – 7 rounds each way. Once you are done, take a few minutes to meditate before you open your eyes.

Breathing exercise to calm your mind and enhance focus

This breathing exercise starts with scanning your body looking for places of tension. Breathing deeper to these areas, you can start the release. The actual practice is done three times in four sections keeping the entire focus on the sound of your breath. First section is breathing in and out through the nose. Second is breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. Third section is breathing in through the mouth and out through the nose. And the final round is breathing in and out through the mouth.

Enhancing focus and concentration

This meditation can be done in nature or in your garden. Find a plant such as tree and sit or stand in front of it. First start paying attention to the tree as a whole, how the tree moves in a wind. Take your time and begin to notice how each branch moves with a different pace and pattern. Slowly select one branch and begin to follow the movement with your eyes. Pick one leaf or needle of that branch and follow its’ movement. When you notice your mind getting distracted by thoughts, pick another leaf or branch and follow its’ movement. Continue this way as long as you feel comfortable. Once you are finished, take a few moments to recognize how you feel in your body and in your mind.

Self empowerment practice

This practice teaches your body and mind to connect with the vibration of self empowerment and most importantly, it teaches how to bring it out to the world. We need both in order to succeed in this.

First bring into the body the color of your choice related to power, strength and self respect. On an in breath, breath in the color and on an out breath, allow the color to vibrate to all your cells and entire body. When you feel the strength move on to the second part of the practice. Connect with the base of your spine as you chant the seed syllable “DZA” opening yourself to act upon your empowered self. Once you are finished, take a few moments to recognize how you feel in your body and in your mind.

Elemental meditation

This is a guided meditation that connects the elements in your body to the elements in the nature. Start by standing up, having your legs shoulder width apart. Look at the photo in the video below, then close your eyes and visualize yourself walking in the forest fresh after the rain. You may sit down at any point of time during the recording. Stand/sit quietly for couple of minutes after the meditation sensing the spaciousness in your body and in your mind. Once you are finished, take a few moments to recognize how you feel in your body and in your mind.

Strenghtening the mind-body connection with voice

This meditation helps you to develop mind-body connection. The video shows short example on the process, so check it out and work with it on your own time schedule. The key is to do the meditation slowly and with lots of repetition.

Start by sitting comfortably. Close your eyes and start connecting with the part of the body you are working on (such as the heart). Breath directly into the front, back and sides of the heart. As you breath, listen to the tone of your heart. Slowly continue humming with this tone. Eventually you may use a vowel sound with the tone creating opening. Keep the connection to the heart at all times. The tones you are making are coming directly from your heart, so listen carefully and only create tones that your heart wants to vocalize. This is not about sounding beautiful – simply connecting with your heart using deep listening.

The process is meant to be very slow and it generally takes 15 – 30 minutes or even longer. At the end, come back to humming and finally back into breathing into the heart.

Connecting with inner joy

According to Louise Hay it’s the arteries that carry the joy of life, so it is vital for our wellbeing to connect with joy. Researchers say that smiling releases dopamine, endorphins and serotonin into the body. This practice starts with bringing into your memory a joyful event in your life. Gently release the story and concentrate on the sensation in the body. Slowly drop the sensation into your heart as you listen to the sounds in the video. Finally allow the joy to spread around your body.

Balancing receiving and offering

In this practice we create a web of energy as we receive and offer or go inward and open outward. Connect with your heart as you hum and sing the vowel “A” and notice what is happening in your body. Take your time and go slow for 10 minutes or so.

Making decisions based on my values

This meditation gives you and idea how to connect values (things that are important for you) to feeling tones. Connecting with the sensation of the value offers you opportunity to “be” with the value inwardly without outside support. For example you do not need to be with friends in order to have a sense of friendship. Connecting with your values (through feeling tone) is important when making every day decisions. This will help you to demonstrate and act up on your values every day. As you become more consistent, the feedback loop activates the reward pathway and enhances your wellbeing .

Releasing anger and fear with mudras and humming

When was the last time you were angry or fearful? These emotions often come out of the blue and take over our entire being. As any emotion, these too serve a purpose as messenger that create physical changes in our body and further in our behavior. Scientist have found that anger and fear both increase stress hormones and affect our immune system. Staying long time in these states can create severe damage to our health. The key word here is “long time”. With awareness, we have the capacity not to overwhelm ourselves, allowing the emotion to run through us and not hold onto it.

This exercise is meant to help us on the overwhelm and release anger, fear or anxiety that is not helping us i.e. we are not in life threatening situation.

Connecting body, speech and mind

This is a modification of the Tibetan Buddhist practice of connecting body, speech and mind. This time we are sending out vibration of loving kindness and compassion ahead of us to the future.

You can star the week with this practice – almost like clearing the way and bringing in compassion and kindness both in yourself and the people you meet. You can also use it going to a meeting where you don’t know anyone or if you think it may be challenging. 

Body Scan – releasing tension from the body

In this technique, I guide you through specific parts of your body starting from the the head and going down to your toes. As you breath in, pay attention to any tension in that particular part of the body. And on an out breath, release any tension. At the end you can just enjoy the relaxation. I recommend doing this at the end of the day just before falling asleep.