Harp Therapy
Harp Therapy & Vibroacoustic Harp Therapy Sessions Available
Please call: 907-299-3741 for an appt.
*Discount rates available upon request*
For Centuries the beneficial relationship between music and healing has been evident. Music has been used therapeutically as long ago as the third millennium BC when Sumerians composed temple hymns to cure sick people. Ancient China and Egypt and King David used music and the harp in particular for healing. (King David used the harp for his own personal health and his military's therapy and healing. Historically the harp has been a symbol of relief and comfort.
We now have substantial documentation of the responsiveness to healing harp music by people of all ages and cultures. Music played on the harp has several unique healing properties including the resonance of the strings and the ability of this resonance to reach the very core of the body as well as having a soothing and calming timbre.
JulieAnn uses a small therapeutic harp at the bedside with the intention of facilitating the client's goals for healing. These goals may be emotional, physical, mental or spiritual in nature. Therapeutic harp music has been shown to help ease anxiety, pain, regulate heart rate, slow heart rate, facilitate memory, and many other beneficial health benefits. Studies show that listening to music that one listened to as a child or young adult activates neurons in the medial pre-frontal cortex area of the brain, which is responsible for storing and retrieving memories. (Petr Janat assoc. pshy prof @ U of Ca Davis; (Ursula Sautter: Odemagazine.com March 2010). The soothing sounds of live harp music enhance the quality of life, is used in pre-surgery and during surgery. It has been found to shorten hospital stay, diminish drug use, and ease pain from surgery. Dentists use it in their offices. For more information go to CDs "Prescriptive Medicine" as coined by Therese Schroeder-Sheker, http://chaliceofrepose.org/concert-recording-artist is music delivered live and acoustically, at the bedside, and reflects the particular needs and phenomenology of one and only one person in the world: that patient or client that you are playing for, at a given particular time, in his/her particular condition. Harp Therapy and Vibroacoustic Harp Therapy are "Prescriptive Medicine".
Vibroacoustic Harp Therapy (r) (VAHT) works by vibrating and resonating with the tissues of the body. VAHT is often described as a musical massage. During a VAHT session, live harp music is amplified through a sound table, chair or vibrotactile mat. Clients are asked to focus on areas of tension/pain in the body, while specific tones that resonate in those areas are identified. Each client experiences the musical tones in different ways at different times; therefore the therapy is a very dynamic process and is tailored to the unique individual. Appropriate music is improvised or selected based on the client's needs. VAHT often produces responses such as awareness, entrainment, feeling energized, a balancing of Ch'i energy, lymphatic stimulation, mood elevation, and perceptual changes among others.
Olaf Skille, one of the
original creators of
vibroacoustic technology, presents a theory that builds on the work of
Drs.
Karel and Heda Jindrak exploring the concept that physical vibrations of
sound
provide an internal cleansing massage. Sound vibrations conducted
throughout
the body from our own vocal sounds (and vibroacoustic music) actually
vibrate
cells, organs, brain structures and tissues. It is speculated that this
stimulation may help eliminate cellular wastes and assist in cleansing
the body
of these and other toxins. If this is true, vibroacoustic music and the
vocal
sounds we make may be the only ways we can actually get an internal
massage!
Research has also demonstrated that vibroacoustics can work within the effective range of a vibration-induced, natural pain-suppressing mechanism of the Pacinian Corpuscles, pressure-sensitive nerve endings located in the subcutaneous and connective tissues surrounding visceral organs and joints. Kris Chesky, Director of Education and Research at the Texas Center for Music and medicine at the university of North Texas, conducted research and correlated information about this natural process ad vibroacoustics, reinforcing the concept that vibroacoustics can trigger this pain-mediating mechanism. Existing scientific research helps us to understand why vibroacoustics can reduce stress, pain and disease symptoms but there is much more to learn. More in-depth information about vibroacoustic effects is provided in the Research and Articles section.
http://www.musicinhealth.net/about_vibroacoustics.html.
What does the
Relaxation Response do?
You can trigger the Relaxation Response in many ways. Tai Chi, meditation, prayer and Yoga are among the numerous wellness modalities known to facilitate relaxation. Regardless of the method used, the physical and mental changes are similar. When the mind becomes focused and free from intrusive, worrisome or anxiety-laden thoughts, the autonomic nervous system responds by stabilizing and down-regulating (slowing down) the heart rate, blood pressure and breath as well as relaxing muscle tone and reducing the production of stress hormones. Physiologically, the relaxation response initiate reduced oxygen consumption, decreased blood pressure, slower heart rate, respiration, and relaxes muscles. Mentally, it provides and avenue for deep relaxation by changing brain wave frequencies (generally slowing down from beta to alpha, or to delta), clears the mind from anxiety, creates peacefulness. A particularly positive side effect of using vibroacoustics to get into the relaxation response is a long term benefit: the more people use this technology the more they learn to recognize the state of relaxation and over time become able to reach a state of relaxation at will. Vibroacoustic Harp Therapy is a GREAT way to learn how to relax and develop relaxation as a daily habit!
Relieves pain
Relieves anxiety
Slow heart rate
Encourage relaxation
Elevate mood
Focus & clarity
Massages to a cellular level