What will be the biggest trends for 2014? This month, we ask our resident experts to share their predictions on what the future looks like when it comes to wellbeing, skincare and beauty. You heard it here first!
This week, it’s the turn of Skin Specialist and Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner Laura Jones BSc (Hons), Lic. Acu, MBAcC . Laura is a naturally gifted healer who often combines the powerful healing modalities of acupuncture and reiki to enhance the therapeutic effects of her treatments.
LAURA JONES’ WELLBEING PRACTICE OF 2014: “Singing meditation is my favourite form of meditation (it’s actually more commonly known as sounding meditation, chakra sounding, sound circle meditation), I can’t recommend it enough and I have noticed a couple more classes popping up in London in the past six months and I really hope that it takes off this year.
My patients will tell you that when teaching them to meditate in our Guided Meditation Consultations I will, much to their horror, often get them to chant or sound (loudly). Using your voice in this way can feel odd, and intimidating especially if you are in a group. Many people I have spoken to, who have yet to try it, equate it with the same fear they have of public speaking.
The first time I tried this from of meditation I was equally daunted, but as soon as the class started all those fears instantly evaporated and afterwards I felt completely invigorated,and renewed. Often, we don’t express ourselves properly for many reasons for example, fear of upsetting another person, or not wanting to be too loud. All these repressed thoughts and feelings can build up inside and in Chinese Medicine, they are considered as much a cause of disease as poor diet, and stress etc. I’m not suggesting you should start telling everyone who bumps into you on the tube exactly what you think of them, we don’t want to start a riot, but sounding meditations can be an excellent way to release this energy. It can be incredibly cathartic, especially in classes where they have time for free sounding and where you can make whatever sound you like with your voice. That way, if you have had a really bad day you can wail it all away.
Doing this in a group might sound daunting, but actually everyone is focused on themselves and their own sounds that actually they don’t notice you and in fact, it helps overcome any self-conciousness because you are not just hearing your own voice, but the sound of the group as a whole. The other wonderful thing sounding does, is to create a vibration in your body that in terms of your energy can be a very powerful way to clear away any blockages, especially if the class starts with breathe work and some guided muscle relaxations. If you are still not sure about using your own voice, then why not try a gong bath? Just take some comfy blankets and a pillow and lie in the floor in stillness whilst someone plays a gong (more relaxing than it sounds) and the vibrations from the gongs can be felt through your whole body, so it involves minimal effort and participation from yourself. Anyway, I am hoping that this wellbeing trend becomes even more popular in 2014. Some groups I would recommend trying this practice with are Judith at Hands and Voice or Mark at Ascending Angels.
READ MORE ABOUT LAURA JONES HERE
