Vibrational Sound Therapy Singing Bowl Certification Course
Tuition cost covers six days of intensive practice under the supervision of Vibrational Sound Association (VSA) accredited instructors. The procedures we teach in class are limited to 1-4 bowls at a time which keeps the method both simple and cost effective. Students can add additional bowls to the procedure, and additional bowls are also available for purchase throughout the class. All bowls and tools used in the classroom will be provided for use during the class.
Becoming certified in Vibrational Sound Therapy allows you to perform Vibrational Sound Therapy as well as become an affiliate of the VSA. All VSA certified VST practitioners receive a discount on bowls and other instruments for as long as they are associated with the VSA. Our graduates also receive bowl credit by referring more future practitioners to our classes. The VSA is a pillar of support for all our practitioners and we will continue to provide new information and course opportunities as the association expands.
Each day, we start with a short sound meditation followed by study of the full color manual, live demonstration, and hands-on practice that is also a lesson in both community and communication. In addition, every day we will pair up in class and each student will both receive and perform a Vibrational Sound Therapy session. Both giving and receiving a treatment each day of the intensive course ensures our graduates are able to confidently perform Vibrational Sound Therapy in any number of real world situations.
This course introduces our students to all the modern variations of metal singing bowls in unprecedented number and style as well as a limited number of antique Himalayan bowls, Tingsha chimes, hand chimes, and other instruments. The star of the class is our exclusive line of Therapeutic grade singing bowls that is featured throughout the course. Gongs and crystal bowls are touched on and used during brief parts of practice, but are not the focus of the course. We bring over 100 singing bowls and other instruments for students to explore and use during the class.
The bowls featured in the class are the perfect costars to our highly trained practitioners. All hand-hammered singing bowls have some therapeutic qualities to the sound. The distinction that we draw with our bowls is that we are the only singing bowl school in the USA today using and promoting engineered Therapeutic grade singing bowls.
Therapeutic grade singing bowls may have a similar look to traditional hand hammered bowls, but that is where the similarities end. The bowls used in the course are world-class instruments, specifically engineered to provide vibration over sound. The sizes and vibrational characteristics are matched to appropriate body zones in the course. Our Therapeutic series bowls were designed for use in hospitals and are the safest singing bowls on the market today. Using pure metals in the construction of the bowls has allowed us control over their content. Our bowls are a perfect bell metal mixture, free of impurities and possibly toxic metals found in traditional cottage industry bowls or antique bowls due to lack of regulation.
Practitioners are introduced to the Measured Strike Technique. The MST has revolutionized the way we use and play singing bowls across the board, and will become the singing bowl practitioners’ most powerful tool. Developed at the same time as the engineering of the Therapeutic singing bowls, the MST provides the cleanest activation of the bowls available today, and is the most efficient and effective method for use in the treatment. The MST is more than just the style of strike that we use during the VST procedure, it can be used with any hand-hammered bowl with a very similar end result. We have designed the measured strike technique around specific weighted mallets to provide a very predictable result each strike. The techniques are honed in each practitioner through demonstrations and live practice throughout the course.
Our future practitioners enjoy learning and discussing the fundamental ideas behind Vibrational Sound Therapy, the history of Himalayan singing bowls, the physics of sound, and psychoacoustics. These subjects provide the practitioner with a solid knowledge base from which to confidently practice the method. These ideas are reinforced through live demonstration and the practice of the method itself. Practitioners are attuned to sound in wholly new ways through the intensive program. Many of our past students have made note of this, gaining a new understanding of sound itself through the course, and forever changing the way we hear the world around us.
Attracting practitioners from the widest scope of backgrounds provides each class with a unique perspective on the treatment. Each day finds students from different backgrounds interacting with one another, all in the scope of learning and applying this powerful modality. Students are paired with new partners every day, ensuring that the practice sessions are as varied and diverse as the class itself. Limiting our class sizes allows direct interaction between students and instructors. It also limits distractions and allows us to deliver a massive amount of information in the time that we share.
Working with the bowls directly on the body strengthens the effect of the powerful vibrations that come from the specially engineered Therapeutic singing bowls. Practitioners are able to see and understand the results of the method the very first day when they perform their first Vibrational Sound Therapy Session.
The Vibrational Sound Therapy modality is the first of its kind, eschewing cultural appropriation and seeking instead a common ground based on scientific principles and effective techniques. This is another reason the Vibrational Sound Therapy Method is so powerful. We are able to adapt the techniques to interface with any existing modality. This is evident when you look at a cross section of who is taking our classes.
Why study the Vibrational Sound Therapy with us?
Many practitioners choose Vibrational Sound Therapy as a stand-alone practice, however you can also add this sound-based modality to your current technique repertoire. Vibrational Sound Therapy is the perfect companion to massage therapy, reiki, chiropractic services, psychotherapy, music therapy, acupressure and acupuncture, and dental and medical services. The practitioner is able to work within an established institution providing complementary services, which increases the market share of spas, healing centers, yoga centers, or retreat centers. We currently have practitioners providing relaxation therapy in professional medical settings where the profound effect has presented incredible results. Now we want you to join us!
As of February 2020, the VSA boasts nearly 1000 graduates in Vibrational Sound Therapy around the globe from the USA, Canada, Europe, the Caribbean, and beyond. You will find certified practitioners with an incredible range of backgrounds working in a broad variety of fields. From elementary school teachers to light workers and from yoga teachers to kirtan leaders, we see our influence spreading. Retailers of singing bowls gain an incredible amount of knowledge during the course, helping them to better cater to the needs of their customers. Therapists and counselors are using our modality to introduce a new method of relaxation and peace to people who are suffering. The Therapeutic series bowls are being used in the offices of psychologists and in the homes of retired individuals with equal benefit. The modality is universally effective and our practitioners emerge from our program ready to provide the techniques to the public.
Acupuncturists and Acupressure therapists find direct correlation between the healing points and meridians they have already learned and the basic positions and movements of VST.
Massage therapists are finding Vibrational Sound Therapy to be the perfect addition to the knowledge base they are already working with. Vibrational Sound Therapy was designed to be practiced on a massage table, so the equipment is very similar as well, but that is where the comparison ends. The Vibrational Sound Therapy method allows the busy massage professional to provide a treatment that is as gentle to the practitioner as it is to the client.
For energy workers, Reiki Masters, and practitioners of Qi-gong we find a synchronous harmony with the Vibrational Sound Therapy blending seamlessly with almost all forms of energy work and healing. Most of you are already using singing bowls to some degree. For those of you already experienced in the use of the bowls, the modality will flow smoothly. For the beginner we have provided a structure that is simple and easy to follow, yet unanimously effective.
In this class we not only teach Vibrational Sound Therapy with a handful of variations, we also explore using the bowls or combinations of the bowls in grounding or energizing techniques. These expanded techniques provide more physical demonstrations of the power of the Therapeutic grade singing bowls. This helps to give both existing and prospective clients a great introduction to the power of the bowls.
As the Vibrational Sound Therapy intensive workshop progresses, we begin discussions that delve deeper and deeper into the concepts behind both the modality itself and live performance of sound meditations and sound concerts. We explore basic principles of music theory and how they relate to the sound of the bowls. Because of unique sonic characteristics found in hand hammered singing bowls, some adaptation is required and investigated, and the use of hand-hammered singing bowls as meditative sonic instruments is revealed.
Who is the Vibrational Sound Association (VSA)
A committee of instructors with valuable experience handles course instruction. The well of knowledge offered in class is filled with combined wisdom coming from the backgrounds of musicians, recording engineers, sound therapists, and sonic visionaries. This potent combination is coupled with the founder of the organization that is the largest importer of singing bowls in the USA, Jeff Howard.
Jeff Howard has twenty years of experience with singing bowls through traveling the world and learning about sound therapy in many cultures including Tibet, Nepal, India, Thailand, USA, and China. Jeff created the Vibrational Sound Association (VSA) to offer singing bowl therapy designed with the professional and practitioner in mind. Through our graduates, VST is now used in spas, hospitals, massage therapy clinics, reiki practices, schools, mental health work, and many other organizations. The VSA is dedicated to the continued evolution of Vibrational Sound Therapy with singing bowls. Vibrational Sound Therapy is a method of professionally using singing bowls and other instruments on and around the body for therapy and relaxation. The VSA seeks to further the use of these ancient tools in a professional modern and structured modality that is an efficient relaxation and therapy system. This is a secular course with no need for any specific spiritual or religious beliefs. This course relies on proven methods of using sound and vibration for therapy.
VST is used for the following:
-Quickly introducing deep meditative states
-Reducing depression and sleep issues
-Easing blockages and tension
-Entraining the brain
-Reducing stress
-Raising focus and gaining a clear mind
-Calming the mind, body, and spirit in conjunction
-Boosting Creativity