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Ta k e 5 a n d t r y A B M P F i v e - M i n u t e M u s c l e s a t w w w. a b m p . c o m / f i v e - m i n u t e - m u s c l e s . 59 What Is Sound Healing? Sound healing (or sound therapy) is the use of sound vibration for its therapeutic effects. Also known as vibrational medicine, this practice uses the vibrations of the voice and other resonating objects (such as Himalayan bowls, tuning forks, bells, etc.) to promote healing. 1 Sound healing has a basis in neurology and psychology, and sound practitioners, as well as some medical doctors, believe sound vibration has significant physiological effects. The vibrations during a sound healing practice, experts say, encourage relaxation in brain wave patterns, which in turn helps reduce stress, lower blood pressure, slow respiratory rates, and restore the heart rate to its natural rhythm. "Today, people are practicing sound therapy in many forms, and it is much more mainstream. You see sound healing in TV ads, business hotels, celebrity events, yoga studios, and full moon gatherings. People are open to it and driven to it!" And today, the work is not only building its body of research evidence, it's being taken into hospitals as well. The Touch and Vibration for Cancer Care Program The Touch and Vibration for Cancer Care Program was developed in 2017 when Eastern Vibration (EV )—which Hays owns with his mother Christine Hays— and the Christine Clinton Cancer Care (CCCC), owned by Christine Clinton, formed a partnership to create a treatment experience that uses sound and touch. Hays came into contact with Clinton through The Global Wellness Institute, a nonprofit organization with a mission to empower wellness worldwide by educating public and private sectors about preventive health and wellness. Upon getting to know Clinton better, Hays realized that a cancer care program would be a great collaboration. "We both have the same ideology— helping the body to heal itself in our treatments," Hays says. "CCCC focuses on gentle techniques and using sound to improve energetic flow; our focus, at EV, is to educate and share the use of therapeutic sounds with as many people as possible." The Touch and Vibration for Cancer Care Program familiarizes bodyworkers with the basic principles of cancer and sound therapy. Through the program, practitioners have the opportunity to experience the touch and vibration treatment they will offer to their clients upon completion of the program. "Our training teaches practitioners how to use singing bowls in treatment and provides the necessary knowledge to add it to their practice and begin working with cancer patients," Hays says. Why Sound Healing is Beneficial to Cancer Patients Stress is the biggest threat to the immune system, which is severely compromised in cancer patients. "Stress stops the body from operating in the right rhythms," says Hays, "causing hormone and chemical imbalances, for example." Sound helps the brain slow down into a relaxed, sleeping state, which is therapeutic for cancer patients. According to Hays, "Vibration can be used in sound healing to massage specific points in the body to help strengthen the body's processes like digestion and liver function." He says that sound healing works to help the body heal itself. "The body knows what it needs to do and how it should function." Stress relief is important for cancer patients, but many forms of traditional bodywork are not practical for this demographic, and many are turned away from traditional spas. Since sound healing offers a gentle, stress-relieving, vibrational massage, it's a better fit for some clients with cancer. It is the hope of EV and CCCC that soon no cancer patient or survivor will be turned away from spa treatments simply because they have, or have had, cancer. Sound also influences thoughts and emotions, so adding therapeutic sound promotes relaxation and allows the body's healing pathways to open. The practice of sound healing allows the body to be more receptive to other forms of treatment as well. In his practice, Hays uses many instruments and impromptu sounds— including his voice, gongs, and a didgeridoo—to promote relaxation and open healing pathways. But he feels the "most common, and arguably the most therapeutic of them, are Himalayan singing bowls. These instruments create sounds that help us return to homestatsis— bringing balance or balancing us physically, mentally, and emotionally." Hays says sound acts on a very deep level, while still being gentle and noninvasive. "Sound is an amazing modality Sound Therapy