FACULTY & CLASSES 2024

Joseph Schmidlin: The Healing Principles of Sound on the Body Mind 

A sound stream is composed of vocalization and/or instruments such as drums, wooden flutes, gongs, singing bowls, and tuning forks. The body-mind can achieve integration, leading to a therapeutic response rarely experienced in daily life or other modalities.

In this class we will discover and work with the fundamental healing principles of sound and its effects on the Body Mind. We will practice full-body listening, and explore the biological relationship between the elements and the intervals. This class will balance empirical science and phenomenological experience.

Joseph Schmidlin (D.O.mtp, LMT) is a classical osteopath and clinical sound researcher with over 30 years of teaching and practice in energy medicine, including cranial osteopathy, Traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda. He uses sonic vibrational medicine and Nada yoga in teaching and clinical practice. He founded Onetone Sonic Alchemy (www.onetone.one), which is involved in research and raising sonic awareness. He frequently leads trainings, retreats, sound immersions and meditations worldwide. He is involved in several creative artistic projects, including “Sonic Universe Now (S.U.N.)”, The Velvet Noose, and “Primordium”.

Peter Blum: TranceSonics: The Vital Link Between Sound Healing and Hypnosis

Traditional healers of all cultures have used vibrations - precisely the audible vibrations of sound and music, to induce and enhance healing, vision and creativity. Hypnotherapy typically employs primarily spoken language to make suggestions to cause change in an individual. We will address the question: How can those following the path of SoundHealing learn to incorporate spoken “hypnotic” language and an understanding of the “structure” of trancing into their personal practice and/or professional use?

After over four decades as an award-winning hypnotherapist and pioneer in sound healing, Peter has developed a way of integrating these two in his practice with individuals and groups. In this intensive overview, students will learn about theories and be introduced to practices for personal and professional use. However, what will be emphasized at this retreat is the relational aspect of the work. “Intra” and “inter” personal aspects will be examined.

Lea Garnier: Peace. Love. Shruti

The Shruti Box originates from India and is fast becoming an essential part of the sound practitioner’s “kit” as one of the main tools to facilitate a sound journey.  Lea will Demonstrate how to use a  Shruti Box in therapeutic settings such as a yoga class, group sound healing or a private healing session.  For personal practice, it provides deep healing for our throat chakras and teaches us the many ways to liberate our voice.  Students will have the opportunity to practice and will be provided with a shruti box to practice with during this session.

Lea Garnier has worked in the healing arts for over 25 years and is an established practitioner.  She is an Upledger-trained Craniosacral Therapist, practising now since 1990.  In 2007, she became a certified yoga instructor trained in the Desikachar lineage and co-founded Sage Academy of Sound and Center for the Healing Arts in Woodstock, NY.  Lea is a student of the shamanic arts, which inspired her ongoing interest in therapeutic sound for healing, which led to the organization in 2011 of the first annual comprehensive SoundHealing retreat in the northeast, The SoundHealing Retreat Intensive.  Now in its 14th year, it is an ongoing platform created explicitly for sound healing pioneers to come together and share their knowledge and wisdom,  often resulting in deeply transformational experiences for participants.  
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Jessica Caplan: Sonic Embodiment

Our voice is medicine, the original sound healing instrument each of us was born with. When we tap into the voice as the multi-faceted tool for healing, transformation, and authentic connection that it is, we open up access to our vast potential. In this workshop, we will nurture our connection to our voice through movement, sounding, singing, and deep listening; we will express our essence in sound and rest in silence and sound to digest and integrate what we've received. We will play, journey, explore, and activate our unique vocal channel. Through embodying our sacred instrument, we will re-member ourselves as the Sound Beings we are.

Jess is a singer and a vocal coach. She works with voice and sound as gateways for transformation and healing. Known for her voice-infused soundscapes and open-hearted approach to embodying the voice, Jessica leads immersive workshops, retreats, trainings, and 1:1 mentorships in the art of therapeutic voice and sound. Jessica grew up singing and performing, but in her 30s, through journeys in yoga, sound healing, and deep listening, she discovered her authentic voice. She is passionate about cultivating connection, compassion, and curiosity to guide students to their unique expressions. Jess graduated from the Open Center’s Sound and Music Institute, completed Silvia Nakkach’s Yoga of the Voice program, and currently studies classical Indian music with master vocalist Samarth Nagarkar. She lives in the Hudson Valley with her husband and daughter.

Lea Garnier & The Sage Sangha: Crystal Corpus SoundHealing Ceremony

When the crystal bowls and pyramids are sounded with healing intention and in a sacred way, they invoke a quiet peace that can still our minds and release stress from our bodies, allowing us to relax and be open to receiving healing.  As they are crystalline in structure, they are extraordinary tools for amplifying, storing and transmitting intentions of healing, love, and well-being.  Because the structure of our bodies and DNA are crystalline, we respond and resonate with the frequencies associated with the properties of quartz crystal in profound and mysterious ways.