Vocal toning– an ancient vocal exercise that uses simple sounds to reestablish a natural flow of energy through your body. Use this simple, yet powerful technique for creating harmony from inside out to reach a meditative state. (From the class description at the Optimum Health Institute.)
Weeks ago when Renee was at my house for a mid-journey stopover, we had an interesting conversation. She mentioned to me that from the time she was a baby she would hum whenever she was very sick or in serious pain. Although her mother found this behavior a little eerie, she soon realized that if Renee went into humming mode then it was time to go to the hospital. Renee still does it as an adult even though it seems strange and no one, not even Renee herself, understands why she does this.
When she told me this I immediately thought of the toning class at The Optimum Health Institute. We learned about healing with sound vibrations and it seems as though Renee had done this instinctively since childhood. (That conversation was the catalyst for us going there together a short time later.)
Toning was the most unusual (new age-y) class for me because I’d never heard of toning before and it sounds a little far-fetched. When I went to the class for the first time I thought it would be a class using weights to tone our muscles. I was way off on that one-there was not a dumbbell in sight! We had a brief introduction on the hows and whys and then we were off and toning. This was a class for everyone at OHI and we had a good-sized group (50-60 people perhaps.) I’ve never tried this at home but I’m guessing it won’t be as powerful with just one or two voices.
There are eight different centers in the body, each one corresponding to different internal organs. When you make a particular sound at a particular vibrational frequency it will actually help improve different parts of your body. For example, the first center is located at the tailbone and affects the adrenal glands, legs, feet, bones and large intestines. We made the sound “ooo” as in the word “tool.” It is associated with the color red and signifies the center of your vitality/life force.
The explanation on the bottom of our handout read: “Each Center governs particular organs of the body. Using sound to resonate each center helps to ‘charge’ those particular organs, increasing circulation, energy and vitality to that area. The eighth center governs the energy field surrounding the body. Quantum physics is suggesting that possibly disease in the body originates with disturbances in the electromagnetic field. Toning 3-5 minutes at each energy center helps “smooth out” the energy fields.”
We went through all eight centers for 4 or 5 minutes with some background music that helped us stay on pitch. Or maybe it was to help us stay relaxed, I’m not really sure. (Renee said it was both.) At times I would get distracted from my zen state and think, “what the heck are we doing? This is really weird! Is this really doing anything at all besides making strange noises?” I tried to throw those thoughts out when they came because when my mind was clear I felt transported to a different place. I felt as though I was actually bathing in a soothing sea of sound vibrations. It’s a little hard to explain. You had to be there.
Renee and I both left that class feeling awed at what had happened. We started the class feeling tired and finished it completely calm but totally energized. No caffeine required. Take that Mr. Red Bull!