Stowe Sound Immersion

Suddenly "sound healing" "sound immersion" and "sound baths" are getting a lot of attention.  Probably the first thing you ask yourself when you see these buzzwords is, "what exactly is a sound bath?"

Sound healing is a very carefully researched science in which vibration and frequency are used as tools for healing, meditation, and psychic exploration. In a sound immersion, one usually relaxes on the floor with pillows and a blanket allowing the practitioners to literally immerse you in various healing sounds and frequencies. The result is very relaxing and many people experience a deeply relaxed and meditative state during the performance, after which they report deep feelings of clarity, freshness and energy.

New studies in sound healing show that 2 or more performers performing together add to the depth and effectiveness of the performance. Structure is also very important. Some sound baths are merely "improvisations" with many different instruments that make sound over the course of the performance.

Over the last 6 months, my wife Kate Graves (of Stowe Yoga Center) and I have been studying with David Gibson on the science side of things regarding sound healing. From him, we have learned what frequencies to do what to what organs and systems in the body. We have developed a structured hour of sound immersive pleasure, and the healing intentions are quite deliberate. Within the structure, we play intuitively together creating tapestries of beautiful harmony, melody and rhythm.

Both of us are seasoned professionals. My background is in drumming and percussion. I've performed in many rock and punk bands as a trap set drummer, but my training goes back aways with performances with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, the Vermont Jazz Ensemble and several Composers Conferences (with Aaron Copland) at the former JSC campus. I've studied with Bill Storandt (who learned from Gary Burton), and as a drummer would be considered "classically trained". The evolution and transformation into hand percussion is quite an awakening for me. Trap set drumming and hand percussion are two different modalities. I like this transition of development, especially since it helps me help you rhythmically. In the Immersion, I play Native American Frame Drum, Udu Drum (a ceramic tabla like drum with two holes that makes water droplet sounds), an Idiopan (which is a steel tongue drum, only hollow and tunable), the Djembe, the Ocean Drum (you have to hear it to believe it! Sooooo relaxing) and assorted rattles, chimes and shakers. I also play the 528hz crystal bowl and a 528hz tuner.

Kate's background in the healing arts is extensive and in-depth. She has been doing Sound Healing for over 25 years as part of her practice at Stowe Yoga Center. This Immersion idea grew out of the way she does her bodywork practice, in which she incorporates tibetan bowls, crystal bowls and tuning forks into her healing. The results are so profound that in conversations we've had about those aspects, this Immersion Performance has grown out of it. Her background as a healer span 4 decades, from her initial training at the Jay Shearer School of Massage in Santa Fe in the 70's to the Barbara Brennan School of Healing, from which she graduated in 2000. She is fully trained in many healing modalities and has studied with many masters in the healing field including Eileen McKusick, David Gibson, Johnathan Goldman, Barbara Brennan, Todd Norian, and Lakshmi Voelker.

In the Immersion, Kate plays a full set of 7 singing Crystal Bowls, a set of brass Tibetan Bowls, a 528hz tuner, 2 different Tuning Forks, the Ocean Drum, and various chimes, flutes, and rattles.

Together, we create a synergy that is relaxing, nurturing, and meditative yet energizing.

Our next performance will be Friday, May 17, 6:00 - 7:00 pm.