After attending a sound healing concert at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, my friend asked me how I enjoyed it. I said, “My brain feels balanced; my energy is flowing.” The music brought me to another place in time.
“Music, like language, involves an intimate coupling between perception… and emotion.”
(Molnar-Szakacs)
Years before, a volunteer harpist played on the step-down cardiac floor where I delivered patients after cardiac cath lab procedure. The music and its peaceful intention wafted through the whole cardiac unit - into the hearts of nurses, doctors, nursing assistants, housekeepers, unit secretaries, families, and patients. I instantly felt a decrease in tension in my body. Scientifically, you could say the coherence of the music soothed my nervous system. All I knew was I felt connected to a harmonious energy and adapted more easily to my environment.
I have always enjoyed music and welcomed its use as a healing modality. As a health and wellness nurse coach I use sound in my consultations. My patients enjoy this the most! I use it as a point of entry to soften the interaction (me vulnerable, them nourished). Our ability to connect and nurture is at the heart of holistic nursing. It is based on an unwavering belief that our bodies are designed to heal themselves. Sound healing doesn’t heal, it creates an environment so that the body can activate its own energies of nurturing and renewal.
Sound healing is easy and immediately relevant - you can add it to almost any wellness program. It quickly introduces a positive physiological feedback loop between nurse and patient. Research shows this feedback loop informs and builds trust to foster faster recovery. When a nurse shows up centered and present, with an intention of healing, patients feel it and respond accordingly. Conversely, if a caregiver shows up with burn-out or compassion fatigue (caring for others without caring for self), the physiological feedback loop leads to more exhaustion, brain fog and disillusionment. A pattern-interrupt is needed. Looking at the current rate of nurses leaving the bed side, as well as the current rate of suicide among our collogues, it is clear we need help staying inspired in our professional work.
“Given that nurses alone make up the largest number of healthcare workers in the United States…, we cannot afford to ignore the mental health and stressors health care professionals endure.” (Guille, 2021)
I have worked with Amanda Baird, R.N. at Sacred Sound of the Soul for many years. A former E.R. Nurse, she founded the sound healing program at Sacred Sound of the Soul on evidence-based results. “It has to work!” Amanda says, “I want to see tangible and consistent results from sound healing.” She offers trainings certified by the American Holistic Nurses Association for continuing education credits (CNE). It’s a new paradigm of healing that includes Resonant Sounds of the Harp with Shelly Reef, Rhythms for Healing with Christine Stevens.....
And One of my Favorite drum circle recordings with Christine https://youtu.be/0bsBiRjgd2M
Intro to Crystal Bowls with Amanda Baird, and Integrative Sound Healing with Wah! Devi. Which id Coming up this October 2022!
The training sessions help people understand how sound speaks directly to the body, initiating hormonal and physiological changes to promote healing.
Sound Healing classes and training sessions are going on now!
Online programs make it easy to learn wherever you are in the world.
Check out: www.https://soulofyoga.com/sound/ for a complete list of trainings.
Citation:
1 Molnar-Szakacs, I., & Overy, K. (2006). Music and mirror neurons: from motion to 'e'motion. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 1(3), 235–241. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsl029
2 Guille C. Rate of Suicide Among Women Nurses Compared With Women in the General Population Before the COVID-19 Global Pandemic. JAMA Psychiatry. 2021;78(6):597–598. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.0141
Michele Interweaves her 24 years of Critical Cardiac care into her Holistic Nursing career, receiving a master’s degree in advanced Holistic Nursing from Florida Atlantic University in 2019. As a Certified Healing Touch Practitioner, 500hr e-RYT, Kundalini Yoga Instructor, Integrative Nurse Coach -BC, and Natural Chef. Michele guides her heart-centered practice with optimism, laughter, and knowledge that we are here to feel the universal thread of light from which we are born and will return to.
Michele C. McNiff RN MSN, HWNC-BC, CHTP