It’s noon on a Tuesday, and people are settling into their chairs in the quiet serenity of the sanctuary of Unity Church.  Laid out on a cloth-covered table on the dais at the front of the room is an array of percussion instruments – crystal bowls, Tibetan metal bowls and bells, and temple gongs.  Deb Jennings is ready to go to work.

Deb’s work is sound healing, and she is ultimately qualified.  She has studied Sound Healing with Jonathon Goldman and with Buddhist monks in Tibet, China and India.  She has studied toning and chanting with several different teachers and in several traditions (Buddhist, Hindu, Sufi, Native American, and Christian).

She also leads drum circles and “Explore Sound Healing” groups in the community, teaches workshops on crystal and Tibetan metal bowls, offers private and group sound healing sessions, plays for Yoga in the Park and church services, and leads meditations using sacred sounds.

Deb first began using crystal bowls for herself and friends in 1995, but didn’t begin her professional sound healing practice until August, 2012, with the debut of her business, Sounds for the Soul. The catalyst for this new focus came when she was sitting in meditation on the final day of the Buddha Relic Loving Kindness Tour earlier that year.  Says Deb, “I received very strong guidance that I should start a business doing sound healing.  It was very compelling.”  Adding fuel to the fire, she was given an astrology reading that told her the planets were aligned to start a new venture, and it would become a great success.  And the final straw was that her current employment duties had changed, freeing up a big chunk of time.  It seemed her destiny was clear.

Throughout the start-up of her business, Unity Church and its minister, Reverend Cynthia Leveque, have been encouraging and supporting of her endeavor, allowing her to conduct her practice in various rooms in the church and helping to promote her activities.

That was two years ago, and Deb says, “It gets better every month.  I keep finding new ways to share the blessings these instruments can bestow.”

How can sounds be healing?  Deb explains:  “Receiving the sounds of Tibetan and crystal bowls, gongs, and other instruments helps the body achieve a very deep state of relaxation, allowing one’s inner healer to do its best work.”  Resulting benefits can include decreased stress and anxiety, improved coping abilities, decreased pain levels, decreased respiratory and heart rate, increased self-awareness, and improved creativity.

To the uninitiated, healing with sound may seem a little far-fetched.  In actuality, the concept is based in science.  In the following excerpt from a recent article posted in the online version of The Edge Magazine, Deb writes:

Everything that moves vibrates, making sound, whether we hear it with our ears or perceive it through the cells in our body. All matter is also energy, and is constantly changing shape and form. Each form has its own frequency. By changing the vibratory rate, the structure of matter can be changed (the science of cymatics).

When our bodies are healthy, they vibrate in harmony. If an area becomes diseased, its vibratory rate changes to a discordant pattern. Sound helps restore the natural balance of perfect harmony through a principle called sympathetic resonance. When two objects are vibrating in the same vicinity (i.e. a Tibetan singing bowl and a body) the body tries to match the vibration of perfection, harmony and balance that the bowl emits when played, and the body’s brainwaves entrain to the bowl’s vibration.

Sound is conducted especially well through water, and our bodies are made of a high percentage of water. In this process, our body’s immune, endocrine, circulatory, respiratory and metabolic systems are changed. Every atom, molecule, cell, gland and organ of the body is positively affected by the vibrations.

Deb especially enjoys one-on-one sessions with clients.  “I like helping people find the core issue behind a symptom and then developing a positive intention connecting to the core issue.”  People come with a variety of issues, from anxiety, to physical symptoms, to a history of abuse or trauma.  “Some people come because they are on a spiritual path and they simply want to raise their vibration.”  (Many of the Tibetan instruments are specifically developed to raise vibration and expand consciousness.)

During a typical one-on-one session, the first step is to discuss the issue the person wants to address and form an intention around that. Essential oils are chosen that correspond to the issue the person wants help with.  When the client is comfortably settled on the massage table, Deb starts the process by offering Reiki.  Then a guided meditation helps the client relax further.  Deb employs tingshas to diagnose energy blockages, and then plays a pattern on the Tibetan bowls, depending on what the issue is and the intuitive guidance she receives. Sometimes the bowls are played all around the body in sacred geometric patterns, and sometimes they are placed directly on the body.  Then she moves on to the crystal bowls or tuning forks or gong, again depending on intuitive guidance.  The session ends with the use of a polarity clearing bell or a crystal practitioners bowl, more Reiki, and a final guided meditation.  Sessions typically last for 60 minutes, but they can be extended, depending on the circumstances.

Deb has had good results with people complaining about migraines, sometimes after only one session.  (Sometimes a client will want several sessions, in order to reinforce the cellular memory of wellness.)  One time after a group session, a person reported disappearance of chronic tinnitus during the session. Others have reported alleviation of back pain, and lessening of anxiety and stress. Deb says the best compliment she ever received was when a client proclaimed, “Oh, that was better than a massage!”  The client was feeling relaxed and wonderful without even being touched!

Deb is always looking for new types of events that she can offer.  Gong “baths” and chanting are the two newest additions to her repertoire

Deb has applied her “trade” in a wide variety of offerings.  For a rejuvenating respite from your hectic workweek, consider dropping by Unity of Des Moines (414-31st Street) for the weekly Tuesday Mid-Day Meditation from noon to 1:00 (suggested love offering $10).  For a more in-depth experience, try the “Explore Sound Healing” group on the fourth Thursday of every month at 6:30, also at Unity of Des Moines (suggested love offering $15).  Deb will also be happy to schedule private individual or group sessions.

Deb has two CDs for sale, “Crystal Bowls to Cultivate Compassion, Loving Kindness, and Peace,” and “Sounds for the Soul Live,” (Tibetan and crystal bowls, tuning forks and gongs, and meditations, including the “61 point relaxation process”). Both of these CDs are available to the public for a love offering.

For more information, visit Deb’s website: www.soundsforthesouldj.com.  You can contact Deb by phone at 515-371-0725, or by email at soundsforthesouldj@gmail.com.

*All photos provided by author*