Healing from paralysis-Music (toning) to activate health
Posted: November 22, 2021 Filed under: behavior, Breathing/respiration, emotions, healing, health, mindfulness, stress management, Uncategorized | Tags: chakra, chanting, music therapy, paralysis, quadriplegia, singing, Toning 8 CommentsMadhu Anziani and Erik Peper
In April 2009, Madhu Anziani, just one month prior to graduation from San Francisco State University with a degree in Jazz/World music performance, fell two stories and broke C5 and C7 vertebras. He became a quadriplegic (tretraplegia) and could not breathe, talk, move his arms and legs and was incontinent. He also could not remember anything about the accident because of retrograde amnesia. Even though he was paralyzed and the medical staff suggested that he focussed on how to live well as a quadriplegic, he transcended his paralysis and the prognosis and is now a well-known vocal looping arts and ceremonial song leader/composer.
His recovery against all odds provides hope that growth and healing is possible when the mind and spirit focus on possibilities and not on limitations. Alongside physical thereapy he utilized energy healing and toning/sound vibrations to recover mobility. Toning, the vocalization of an elonggated monotonous vowel sound susteained for a number of minutes tends to vibrate specific areas in the body where the chakras are located (Crowe & Scovel, 1996; Goldman, 2017). Toning compared to mindfulness meditation reduces intrusive thoughts and mind wandering. It also increases body vibration sensations and heart rate variability much more than mindfulness practice (Peper et al, 2019). The body vibrations induced by toning and music could be one of the mechanisms by which recovery can occur at an accelerated rate as it allows the person’s passive awareness and sustained attention to feel the paralyzed body and yet be relaxed in the present without judgement.
Watch Madhu’s inspirational presentation as part of the Holistic Health Lecture Series by the Institute for Holistic Health Studies, San Francisco State University. In this presentation, he describes the process of recovery and guides the viewer through toning practices to evoke quieting of mind, bliss within the heart, and a healing state of being.
For an additional discussion and guided practice in toning, see the blog, Toning quiets the mind and increases HRV more quickly than mindfulness practice.
Madu Anziani is a sound healer who endured being a tetraplegic (paralysis affecting all four
limbs) and used sound and energy healing to recover mobility. He is a SFSU graduate and most
well-known as a vocal looping artist and ceremonial song leader/composer.
http://www.firstwasthesound.com
http://madhu.bandcamp.co
REFERENCES:
Goldman, J. (2017). The 7 Secrets of Sound Healing. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House Inc.
the peper perspective 
[…] Read the rest of the article at peperperspective.com […]
[…] 2012; Wahl, 2011). Other assignments included watching Madhu Anziani’s presentation, Healing from paralysis-Music (toning) to activate health, in which he discussed how he recovered from being a quadriplegic to becoming an inspirational […]
[…] get out of her wheelchair. Other assignments included watching Madhu Anziani’s presentation, “Healing from paralysis-Music (toning) to activate health,” in which he discussed his recovery from being a quadriplegic to becoming an inspirational […]
[…] By reframing the experience as positive and appreciating what the problem area of the body had done for you in the past as well as incorporating a healing compassionate process, the healing is support. The limits of our beliefs as expressed by our language is also the limits of our possibilities. See the TED talk, A broken body isn’t a broken person, by Janine Shepherd (2014) who after a horrendous accident and being paralyzed became an acrobatic pilot instructor. Another example of a remarkable recovery is by Madhu Anziani who initially was a quadriplegic after falling from a second floor window and used Reiki, toning and self-compassion and hope to improve health. He reframed the problem as an opportunity for growth. He can now walk, talk and play the most remarkable music (Anziani and Peper, 2021). […]
[…] Healing from paralysis-Music (toning) to activate health […]
[…] M. & Peper, E. (2021). Healing from paralysis-Music (toning) to activate health. the peper perspective-ideas on illness, health and well-being from Erik Peper. Accessed March 22, […]
[…] and get out of her wheelchair. Other assignments included watching Madhu Anziani’s presentation, “Healing from paralysis-Music (toning) to activate health,” in which he discussed his recovery from being a quadriplegic to becoming an inspirational […]
[…] Toning or humming (Peper et al., 2019a). While exhaling, have the person hum a sound with their mouth closed. Let the sound go for about 6 seconds, relax, inhale and hum again. Toning is very similar except you verbalize a tone such as “Oammm.” (For detailed instructions on toning, see: Anziani & Peper (2021)). […]