Skip to main content

Natural Awakenings Naples and Fort Myers

Massage and Sound for Self-Healing

Although the appeal of massage has always been linked to the body’s response to touch, other modalities that encourage healing have been slowly added that set the mood and help the body to relax. Aromatherapy, soft spa music, and vibroacoustic (sound) therapy using tuning forks, Tibetan metal singing bowls and crystal bowls and are the most common modalities used in a massage session to elicit a deeper relaxation and self-healing response.

Each tuning fork that is tuned to a frequency in the body emits a vibration through the air when struck. When applied to an acupuncture point on the body, the tuning fork vibrates the soft tissue around it, and the vibration travels up the meridian pathway. While some individuals feel the subtle vibration, there is no pain or discomfort.

Vibroacoustic technology was developed based on the recognition that external vibration can influence body function. Since 1995, the results of ongoing studies reported through the National Institutes of Health have noted that vibroacoustic therapy is a modality for managing pain, symptom reduction and anxiety relief, as well as for the management of postoperative nausea. Nurses have noted that using vibroacoustic therapy can promote patient well-being and improve the therapeutic environment.

Growing interest in vibroacoustic therapy for self-healing has led to the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMT) approving continuing education classes offered by the Emotional Sound Techniques Association.

Ann M. Raquet is a licensed massage therapist who uses tuning forks and Tibetan singing bowls at SkinCare Therapy, located at 16050 S. U.S. 41, in Horizon Plaza, S. Fort Myers. For more information, call 239-839-4195.