Unique Tools
Gong
As early as the 18th century, German scientist and musician Ernst Chladni demonstrated that sound affects matter. Then the experiments of Dr. Hans Jenny, a Swiss medical doctor and scientist, demonstrated that sound both affects matter and also creates, alters and maintains form, and that differing frequencies produce different results.
In the early 1980s, bioenergeticist Fabien Maman, along with Helene Grimal, a biologist at the French National Center for Scientific Research in Paris, explored the impact of sound waves on healthy and uterine cancer cells. The sound waves of a gong caused the cancer cells to disintegrate or ultimately explode.
A gong bath is excellent therapy for depression, fatigue, feelings of separation, loneliness, anger, fear, hostility and many other conditions caused by a lack of balance and harmony in the body and mind. According to Contreaux, “A Gong Bath is the most powerful form of holistic resonance known to man.”
In the simplest terms, the gong awakens innate wholeness and guides the body to a state of greater balance and harmony. A gong bath is as scientifically sound as it is mysterious. It is as other-worldly as it is logical. It requires nothing but receptivity in order to be fully experienced, but it must be experienced in order to be understood.
We wanted to bring the experience of gongs to all of our trainings. The Sun Gong is known for its vibration frequency similar to the Sun. The sound characteristic of Planet Sun Gong is comparable to that of Symphonic Gong in diameter 38”. Planet Gongs are tuned in conformity with the natural harmonic series based in the orbital properties of the Sun according to calculations of Hans Cousto. Thus they resonate in harmony with the cycles of the celestial bodies and communicate a distinct aspect of the “music of the spheres” so amply quoted since the Antique. Their sound color is extremely mysterious and conveys an unusual, unfathomable atmosphere. What most people might not know is that the practise of gongs goes back all the way to ancient Greece and its purpose was to train participants in eliminating fear.
At Conscious Yoga Academy we help participants to overcome fear, fear being a significant cause for the blockages in the flow of energy in our body. Mystics of the east say that one gong therapy can equate with many thousands of meditations.
Singing Bowls
A number of studies has found singing bowl meditation significantly reduced tension, anger, fatigue and depressed mood in participants.
Also, first-timers to this style of meditation experience a significantly greater reduction in tension compared with participants experienced in this meditation. On top of it all, a feeling of spiritual well-being significantly increased across all participants.as well as a number of other markers related to well-being. According to Harvard trained Dr. Leonard Horowitz all healing occurs from sonic waves or vibrations, specific frequencies of sound.
Conscious Yoga Academy uses specially designed singing bowls that do not only help to induce greater states of wellbeing and inner peace but also heal and activate the energy centres of the participants greatly aiding in their yogic process.
Tuning forks
A tuning fork has the form of a fork with two prongs that form a U shape. They resonate at a specific constant pitch when set vibrating by striking it against a surface or with an object. A tuning fork’s pitch depends on the length and mass of the two prongs. Tuning forks are traditionally used to tune musical instruments – the sound they make is totally pure. Tuning Forks is a wonderful and effective method of applying sound to the body, including acupressure points, trigger and reflex points, bone, muscle and tendons to help increase the available energy or disperse blocked energy, to help relieve pain and attune the body on a cellular level. There are two main types of tuning forks used for healing, plain tuning forks and weighted tuning forks.
Some benefits include:
- Tune natural cycles of the body
- Aid digestion
- Anti-inflammatory
- Increases bone density and promotes healing of strained muscles, tendons and ligaments
- Balances nervous system
- Great for sound sleep
- Opens energetic pathways
- Boosts energy levels
- Improves brain function
- Removes anxiety
Voice (Chanting/Kirtan/Humming)
The human voice is the most basic sound source available to man and at the same time it is the richest in tone, the most practical and immediately available musical instrument. Each voice is like a fingerprint, unique. There are whistling voices, loud voices, musical voices, colorless voices and thousands of languages, dialects, and ways of communicating. Through the voice, each person communicates with his environment, expresses that he perceives internally and externally. About 65% of information is transmitted by voice.
We often use the voice in sound healing for Chanting, Kirtan and Humming. Humming is a sound made by producing a wordless tone with the mouth closed, forcing the sound to emerge from the nose. (Interestingly enough if you close someone’s nose they can’t hum anymore).
Chanting is the repetition of powerful phrases/mantra and powerful.
Kirtan is a very different kind of music. Based on ancient chants and accompanied with musical instruments such as the harmonium it has the ability to quiet the mind if listened to with intention.
Looking back historically the Orthodox Christians with the Byzantine hymns, the Catholics with the Gregorian psalms, the Muslims with the practices of the dervishes, the Hindus with the mantras, the Buddhists, the Taoists have made use of the voice’s beneficial properties. First of all it vibrates internally the whole human body but also it promotes deep breathing which plays an important role. This not only supplies the body with more oxygen, but also expands the energy field, allowing the flow of energy, slows down the respiratory and heart rate, synchronises brain waves at lower frequencies, improves the quality of sleep and the treatment of insomnia. It also helps to release negative emotions and stressful situations, slows down blood pressure, it gives an internal massage to the body, relaxing from the pressures, it is an anxiolytic process, it helps manage and ultimately release traumatic experiences.
Sound vibrations release blocked energy and are tuned to specific areas of the body to relieve emotional and physical stress and tension ”(Austin, 2008).
“To be born means to become sounding, to have a voice means to be something which has its own growth, its own development” (Streich 2009)
Essential Oils
Essential oils have been used for thousands of years in various cultures for medicinal and health purposes. Because of their antidepressant, stimulating, detoxifying, antibacterial, antiviral and calming properties, essential oils are recently gaining popularity as a natural, safe and cost-effective therapy for a number of health concerns.
The particles in essential oils come from distilling or extracting the different parts of plants, including the flowers, leaves, bark, roots, resin and peels. In fact, just one drop of an essential oil can have powerful health benefits. Typically created through the process of distillation — which separates the oil and water-based compounds of a plant by steaming — essential oils are highly concentrated oils that have a strong aroma. By concentrating the oils of these plants, you are literally separating the most powerful healing compounds of a plant into a single oil.
So, we are harnessing the power of the world’s most proven therapeutic compounds to unblock energy blockages and to allow for the free flow of energy in your body.
Some additional benefits include:
- Hormones Balancing
- Boost Immunity & Fight Infections
- Support Digestion
- Boost Energy Levels
- Improve Brain Function
- Reduce Emotional Stress & Anxiety
- Alleviate Aches and Pains
- Boost Skin and Hair Health
- Reduce Toxicity
- Relieve Headaches and Migraines
- Promote Restful Sleep
Flower Remedies
Although conventional science has not yet caught up with the subtle effectiveness of the original Bach Flower Remedies, it is a safe and natural method of healing discovered by Dr. Bach from 1920 – 1930’s in England. 
They gently restore the balance between mind and body by casting out negative emotions such as fear, worry, hatred and indecision which interfere with the equilibrium of the being as a whole. The Bach Flower Remedies allow peace and happiness to return to the sufferer so that the body is free to heal itself.
The Bach Flower Remedies are made from wild flowers and are safe for the whole family including pets.
Tintures
A tincture is an extract of plant material dissolved in ethyl alcohol (ethanol). We use the same tinctures used from world renowned healers to help to ease the mind into a meditation process. Our tinctures are 100% organic.
Pranayama
Pranayama techniques practiced with the right intention and consciousness can take us very far into our path. Old but also newer techniques are shared that will help us be guided into new possibilities for our life experience.