Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/610464
In the workshop—which La Rosa consistent- ly refers to as esta ceremonia (this ceremony)—he takes us through nine "sound portals," each asso- ciated with distinctive instruments and particular eff ects on the body and spirit. He opens the fi rst sound portal by blowing mightily through a pututo, a conch shell, for a full two minutes without taking a breath, and it is as if an invisible energetic space is opening: "It is import- ant that your fi rst sound be a sound that invokes, that opens, that calls the sacred." And so he proceeds through the sound por- tals, teaching us to re- lease, cleanse and purify negative energy with an antara fashioned from sacred condor and pelican quills and a shakapa, a shaker made of bound dried leaves. He takes us back to our family origins with "a very masculine fl ute, la fl auta de los abuelos (the fl ute of the grandfathers) and a more feminine in- strument, la mama quena (the mother of the fl utes). And he opens el munay, which he describes as "the power of love," with a double fl ute—one side mas- culine, one feminine; when the double fl utes are played together, it sounds like the embodiment of a beautiful relationship between two people. "It is called la fl auta del amor, the fl ute of love," he ex- plains, as he has us lay down with our heads toward the altar so that our bodies radiate out like a star- burst. " is moment that we have constructed is also the moment of el perdon, forgiveness. Anger and resentment are not good for love. If there is something you need to forgive, right now is the moment to do it, so love can fl ourish." As he plays I feel my heart chakra heat up and stir, releas- ing anger I'm holding toward someone I trust- ed who transgressed my boundaries. Letting the double fl ute harmonies wash through me, I feel my heart center so en into a feeling of safety. "Sound is invisible energy," La Rosa says as he "seals" the work we have done by showing us how to play the charango, a small guitar-like Peruvian instrument whose enchanting music resembles a lute. "Your chakras receive the sound and they dis- tribute it through your whole body. Sound can also be a seed that you can plant in your chest or in your bones. But above all," he affi rms, "sound is an ex- pression of love." Wayne Perry www.wayneperry.com Founder, Sound Therapy Center of Los Angeles. Vibrational medicine using toning, breath work, vocal harmonics and audio tapes. Carole Moskovitz www.singingfromtheheart.com Ph.D. in Spiritual Science. Uses voice, toning, breath work, movement and inner listening for self-attunement and person- al transformation. Christo Pellani www.soundformation.com Certifi ed TAMA-DO practitioner (tuning forks applied to Chinese acupuncture points); uses singing bowls, gongs, harmonium, drums, chakra alignment tubes and voice. Chris Rials-Seitz www.biotyping.com President, Axis Evolving. Certifi ed sound healer through Tom Kenyon. Offers one-on-one and community sessions. Sound Healers in the Greater L.A. Area "Trauma, disease, toxic substances and other disturbances alter the healthy aural frequencies of cells; sound healing can bring these frequencies back into proper harmony." december/january 2016 25