Sound Awakening by Joy Hughes

All of life is, after all, a wheel... A Circle... Joy gave me such a gift when her songs bathed my heart chakra in remembrance of something ancient and eternal...

I am reminded of whales and their songs, carried through the waters over so many miles! We, too, have the ability to send out ripples of Love that reach for distant shores...

Just one act of kindness can change someone's perspective. This is the shift I felt after my sound healing, and I am forever grateful."

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Dimensional Recording

It was my first show at Harbin Hot Springs in Northern California, and just three people were laying there on the floor, absorbing the sound of the didgeridoo and singing bowls. Gradually, more and more people were drawn to the sound, and by the end of the show a dozen people were enjoying the relaxing sounds.

One man sat up and told me he had really enjoyed hearing the motion of the didj, and that he'd love to make a recording that captured the three-dimensional qualities of the sound healing. He just happened to have a professional studio in San Francisco.

My high-school rock star dreams were coming true (in a very mellow way). Imagine that... my very first show, and there just happened to be a great sound engineer laying there on the floor.

And so I found myself lugging my didgeridoo through the streets of San Francisco during the rainiest March ever recorded. James set up seven microphones to pick up the sound every which way, and his wife Rebecca received a live sound healing (her sigh is audible at the end of track four).

The result is, as far as I know, completely unique. Crank up the bass, lay down with your head between the speakers, and be prepared for a sound journey!

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http://www2.steamboatpilot.com/news/2006/nov/03/sounds_healing/

Review in the Steamboat Pilot and Today - November 3, 2006

Joy Hughes’ sound-healing career began the day a man on the streets of Portland, Ore., asked her if she wanted a brain massage.

But instead of actually touching her scalp, the man played a didgeridoo, an Australian Aboriginal instrument that looks like a long wooden pipe and creates a deep, reverberating humming sound.

“He played into my chakras on the spiritual level, and I had a sense of energy moving upwards that continued for two months,” Hughes said. “That’s when I decided to be a sound healer myself.”

Hughes said there are emotional and physical benefits of sound-healing through the use of the didgeridoo. Hughes has helped friends with ear and sinus infections and emotional issues.

“I can’t make any medical claims,” she said. “But it is good for physical blockages. That is purely the effect of sound waves.”

Curious residents can experience soul healing Monday at the Depot Art Center, when Hughes will give a live performance of songs from her first CD. The performance also will incorporate belly dancing.

“When I do shows, people start by laying on the floor, and I play over them,” she said. “I play my didgeridoo songs that are more rhythmic and energetic music, and I finish with belly dancing and playing the didgeridoo at the same time.”

Tom Lange, the creator of the sound-awakening concept of healing, told Hughes that only one in 30 people experience the phenomenon.

“If one person does, then it is worth it,” Hughes said. “Of the ones who have, some have picked up the didgeridoo to become sound healers themselves.”

And playing the didgeridoo isn’t easy — it requires circular breathing.

“Circular breathing is kind of a trick. You breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth at the same time, using your cheeks to force the air out your mouth,” Hughes said. “There’s a certain rhythm to it, and it is a very meditative experience.”

Hughes combined playing the didgeridoo with belly dancing because it uses some of the same muscles, she said.

“Circular breathing uses the diaphragm, like when you do belly flutters and rolls,” she said. “The sound makes the dance, and the dance makes the sound. The good thing is, you can’t be off the beat.”

Orca whales provided the inspiration for some of the songs Hughes plays on her didgeridoo.

“I saw a pod of orcas by the shore and put my didgeridoo part way into the water to play,” Hughes said. “The first thing they did was disappear under the surface because that’s where they go to communicate. All these new sounds started to come back up through the didgeridoo.”

Average Customer Review: 5