"The thing is to be in your heart and not your head," I am told as I stand in the cozy and intimate candle-lit studio of Healing Song; a unique sound therapy practice on Bowen Island. I am about to embark on a sound healing journey with Healing Song's creator Cheryl Ackerman, who assures me that, despite my very strong belief to the contrary, I too can sing. Insert laughter here, because in my past experience I have been able to clear karaoke lounges of customers with my enthusiastic but off-key singing attempts. But just for today I will follow Ackerman's lead and let go of expectations.
Ackerman has a vast background as a soprano, and a voice instructor and, for the past several years, has been working on integrating ancient meditation practices, such as Qigong and Tibetan Singing Bowls to create a unique healing experience for her clients. "Ancient cultures use sound as a way to calm, to find balance and to realign. My intention is, with my classical experience, to carry the message that sound is a vital healing tool for our physical bodies," says Ackerman who studies the teachings of Healing Sound guru Jonothan Goldman.
We start with a chanting mediation used in Qigong and, before I know it, I am fully engaged in the practice of toning and am enjoying every second of what at first seemed like a strange undertaking. Toning has been touted as a powerful tool that can help align and harmonize, "As soon as you tone, you start balancing the right and left hemispheres of your brain thus creating a balance of emotions, thoughts and energy within and that breeds perfect conditions for healing," says Ackerman as she leads me through this light-hearted voice exercise interwoven with breath mediation. And so we move through the various chakras of the body using sound to align and harmonize.
But my experience at Healing Song does not end there. Ackerman introduces me to the Tibetan Singing Bowls known worldwide for their spiritual attributes. At the very basic level, Singing Bowls are used in meditation, music, and relaxation but they are also employed in health care by psychotherapists, and cancer specialists to relieve stress and aid in treatment; "it's all in the vibrations of the sounds the bowls help open vibrational doorways and help the body heal," Ackerman chimes in as she shows me how to make one of the bowls sing in my hand.
Ackerman, who has lived on Bowen Island for six years, says she found her inspiration to integrate her classical training with sound healing theories while on a spiritual retreat on First Nations land in Alberta. "Since then, I knew that I had to use my skills as a singer and channel my deep love for alternative meditative practices such as Qiqong to help create a deeper consciousness among people interested in music," says Ackerman. Many of her young students come to learn voice techniques while others seek help in overcoming fears of singing in public. "Toning with me, they find their voice without judgment. They see that they do have a singing voice and they are ready to come out of their shell," adds Ackerman. And that is exactly what happened to me in that session although I won't be taking on any solo performances in the near future based on just that one experience.
On February 7, Ackerman is hoping to connect the Bowen Island community with hundreds of thousands of people around the world as part of the 10th Annual World Sound Healing Day on Valentine's Day. Healing Song will be putting on Bowen's first women's sound healing circle to honour the big event. "We will join together in song at my place a week prior to the international event to tone, to align and to celebrate our voices," says Ackerman. To find out more, please contact Ackerman at [email protected].
AGNIESZKA WYKA
