The voice is an ‘instrument’ we carry with us wherever we go. I have chosen to write about the voice for that very reason. The voice doesn’t need batteries, electricity. It is the one tool that is most natural and easiest to learn how to use. It doesn’t cost anything to buy it and it can be used in sound healing in many different t ways. Especially the effects the voice can have with focused intention. Then the physical wave forms of sound become potently charged with the intent of the practitioner. One of the practises which can be used is vocal toning. It simply means to make sustained sounds with the voice for therapeutic and meditative purposes. Toning can be thought of as generating and shaping pure energy in the form of sound via the voice. Using the voice in sound therapy can help reduce tension and relax. The foundation of vocal toning is breath awareness. Breath is the foundation of all life. There is a difference of course between the breath we need for performance singing or sound therapy. Intention and purpose is the difference here.

What I do sometimes as a meditative practise is I make up a song and melody as I go along and put in things that annoy me or I want to express. I am usually more of a writing person, but sometimes emotions and feelings need to be expressed in a quick way, without too much thought. Often when I drive a long and I feel like screaming, I start singing a song with made up words about the things that are happening and I need to vent. This usually cheers me up as it does not stick to a pattern and I can just freely express myself and it is not judged or censored.

For sound therapy there are different ways of using the voice, as mentioned before.

There are humming practises, which can be done with the mouth closed. When the mouth is closed the vibration felt in the body is different to for example a chanting practise where the mouth needs to be open. It can be done loudly or quietly depending one what is needed. Chanting loudly can be a very good way of releasing stress and anger, chanting quietly can be good for focusing the mind and being in the present moment.

When I first starting using my voice for sound therapy I started of with closed mouth humming. Just because my life is so busy and noisy, this helped me to focus on the here and now and just on my voice and the different vibrations. Once I got more confident with that I started ‘playing’ around a bit more with my voice. Just like with every ‘instrument’, it takes practise to get more confident.

The voice can also be used to balance the chakras. Each chakra responds to a certain sound. The vowel for the root chakra for example is uh, as in the word cup. The vowel for the crown chakra is an ee, as in the word me. These toning exercises can be used to balance the chakras.

Using the sound of ones voice can facilitate shift and change inside and out.