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Sound Yoga
Vocal Toning , Movement &
Meditation
by
Stewart McIsaac
It wasn’t that I didn’t have an
interest in music , I studied
music at university . It’s just
that I didn’t know why I was
interested in music , in the
long run . Actually, now I know
I wasn’t interested in music at
all but in , the bigger picture
, sound , and as I get older and
wiser , health . So by combining
these interests , it has become
a passion to explore as a
traveler , and explain as a
teacher , and share as a healer
.
Maybe it begins singing in the
church choir at the age of 10 .
Somehow this filled me with the
love of sacred sound , and
through all my questions and
rebellions and mistakes it took
30 years for me to realize that
love of sacred sound . And what
really brought me there , was
the realization that the sacred
sound and ancient language
Sanskrit of India is so profound
and the ancient Taoist of China
, energy medicine .
But then again maybe it begins
when one has gone through a
healing and come out the other
side and realize that life can
never be the same . For eight
years I suffered from an
intestinal disorder and after a
time in hospital on a complete
bowel rest and nasty toxic drug
therapy , that worked and began
the healing , I was on my own to
continue the process to health
and happiness and a spiritual
recognition and awakening . I
quit my job and move to the
countryside . I set up a
recording studio . I explored
Native North American , rituals
, songs and dance , (mostly the
healing chants of the Ojibway
shamans and Iroquois False Face
Curing Society) . I gave myself
time to tend a garden , to
wander through forests , travel
to distant lands . To experience
the healing , to experience the
awakening to the awareness of
mind , body and spirit .
I get a powerful tingle up my
spine every time I hear Tibetan
monks chanting . Ever since
traveling to Lhasa , Tibet and
visiting temples and monasteries
and sitting with monks in
meditation as they chanted the
sutras , I have this deep
feeling, spiritual connection
that gives great meaning to my
journey as a Sound Healer .
Sound Healing is the use of
vocal sound , to release
negative energy , restore
balance and maintain a healthy
body and mind . The "Toning
Voice" (elongated vowel sounds)
develops (with practice)
vibrational resonance and
balance , relieving stress and
negative energy in specific
areas of the body . One feels
"relaxed with energy" , a sense
of calm to body and mind . The
chanting of mantras (sacred
sound) is an effective way to
use vocal sound for healing and
explores (as does "toning the
chakras") the science of sound .
I made my way from China in 2004
, with my summer off from
teaching , to Jonathan Goldman’s
Healing Sounds Intensive at the
Sunrise Ranch in Loveland ,
Colorado.
This was something I was called
to do . Energy workers came from
all over USA , Canada and
Europe. There was lots going on
during the 9 days . Lots of
energy working , exchanging ,
transforming . I didn’t realize
how sensitive I was to sound and
light and harmony and harmonics.
When I left there , things were
different , energy was different
, sound was different . From
then on , although I wasn’t
aware of it at the time , I was
a Sound Healer . It took me
awhile to get used to the name ,
but after practicing for some
time , it has become the essence
of my sound work / soul work ,
Sound Healing .
I began practicing Hatha Yoga in
Guangzhou , China when I was
there teaching English, 6 years
ago . The assistant teacher was
Ivy Xie . She helped me with my
asanas and gave me a deeper
understanding of yoga and
meditation. She continues to
help guide me as my wife .
Sound Yoga , combines the
practices of Sound Healing and
Hatha Yoga or Qigong to
prepare us for meditation and
healing .
Sound Yoga can be considered as
six stages of development :
1) an awareness of breath is
needed to develop deep abdominal
breathing
and the "Complete
Breath".
2) to develop flexibility of the
body , by practicing yoga or
qigong postures ,
to relieve the body and mind
of stress and relax muscular
tension .
3) to develop a vibrational
resonance in the body by "Vocal
Toning"(elongated
vowel sounds) and chanting
mantras .
4) Toning to release negative
energy from specific areas of
the physical and
ethereal body (chakras) ,
to balance and align the energy
of the chakras .
5) in silent meditation to
experience self-healing energy .
6) to direct Sound Healing
energy to others
.
Daily
vocal toning , movement and
meditation is essential for
effective Sound Yoga practice.
OMMMMM
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