Toning – The Breath of Life
by Dudley Evenson
Prana – Sanskrit translation – breath of life, breath, ancient, filled, old, full, life, power, air inhaled, vital organ, vital air, myrrh, respiration, spirit, vitality, energy, wind, spirit identified with the totality of, dreaming spirits, poetical inspiration, vigor
My passion these days is all about vocal toning and how to use sound and breath for healing. In the process of my search for understanding the subject, I decided to reference yoga since I knew that the concept of prana had originated in the Sanskrit teachings of India. I was curious about prana, the name given to the life force, and knew that it was somehow connected to the breath. Imagine my delight when Dean and I came across a movie about yoga called ‘Breath of the Gods’ where we learned the story of Krishnamacharya, a yogi who not only understood the subject, but who was a primary force in bringing yoga out of the caves and into modern life in the mid-20th century.
In the process of learning more about the relationship of breath and the life force, we were surprised to learn that yoga as an available practice was virtually unknown, even in India, in the late 1800s except among a few dedicated souls living in caves and keeping the yogic traditions alive. T. Krishnamacharya (1888-1989) was going to change that. He studied and researched everything he could find about yoga, practiced relentlessly, and even spent seven years in a cave apprenticing with one of the few remaining yogis where he mastered over 3000 asanas and developed many of his own. Later he evolved his own style of teaching, pioneering the sequencing of asana postures and also prescribing therapeutic values to many of them.
What interested me as I am continually studying the relationship of breath, sound and healing, was how he combined yoga postures (asanas) with intentional breathing (pranayama), thus making the asana practice part of the meditation itself, not just preparation for it. He taught that breath has spiritual as well as physiological benefits and the intent of doing the breathing and asana practice together should be an act of devotion leading to inner calm.
He instructed his students to close their eyes and concentrate on the point between the brows, having them focus on a power greater than themselves, whether it be God, the sun or nature. He spoke of the cycle of breath as an act of surrender: “Inhale, and God approaches you. Hold the inhalation, and God remains with you. Exhale, and you approach God. Hold the exhalation, and surrender to God.”
So with this background in mind, we approach our modern day practice of meditation and yoga using many of the techniques originated by Krishnamacharya. During the four decades my husband, Dean Evenson, and I have practiced yoga, we have also explored the path of sound and music healing. One of the significant things we discovered along the way is about using vocal toning and breathwork as part of our practice. We find that toning has the benefit of slowing down the exhalation by putting a break on the outbreath, thus elongating the exhale. Slow down the breath and you slow down the heart rate. Slow down the breath and you are able to slow down the incessant parade of thoughts crossing your mind. Control the breath and you control the mind.
With recent interest in sound healing, vocal toning has naturally emerged as a useful tool. As an ancient rite, toning appeared in many cultures and eras although as a modern healing technique, it has only come into public awareness in the past few decades. Toning is especially beneficial because it involves no musical instruments or high tech equipment, just the human voice.
The beauty of toning is that it isn’t about words or melodies; it is simply a neutral sound and can be a simple vowel tone such as ahh or ohh. It can relate to the chakras or it can be a hum resonating deep inside. One could tone for 30 seconds or a few minutes and feel a benefit, although the longer one tones at a time, the greater the benefit will be in terms of relaxation of the whole body system and calming the mental processes. Through the breathing and toning process, we consciously invoke the life giving energy of prana and enhance our own healing. An added benefit comes when we tone together as a couple or in a group, raising the vibrational energy and giving us a closer connection to each other and the focus of our meditation.
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About the Author
Dudley Evenson co-founded Soundings of the Planet in 1979 with her husband Dean Evenson. Together as sound healing pioneers they have produced over 80 albums and several DVDs including their newly released Sonic Healing Meet the Masters Video Course featuring today’s leading musicians, meditation teachers and sound healing luminaries. Dudley has been the Executive Producer, art director and copy writer for all of the Soundings releases and she works with video, photography, graphics, writing, music and dance. She also plays harp and zither, tamboura, Tibetan singing bowls, hand drum and does guided meditations. An environmental activist, spiritual teacher, coach and musician she is devoted to healing the planet with the power of sound. Blog healthylivingdreams.com. Music site www.soundings.com.
