Chapter
15

Toning: Singing the Body Chakra

You are energy. You vibrate with prana, and it flows through you. Without it, you would not be alive. Prana life force energy is the spark that illuminates and animates you, and one of the main ways we feel that energy is by feeling its vibration.

Our chakras spin as prana energy moves through and around them, transforming the energy in different ways according to which chakra pulls in that energy and then moves it back out through the body. Chakras change with each passing moment and each new experience, but sometimes they get stuck. They close down to protect themselves, or they get so flooded with energy that they suck all the prana from the chakras above and below, throwing the body’s functioning out of whack. When this happens, the body’s vibrations get out of tune, but you can use your chakras to correct that imbalance. That’s what this chapter is all about.

Good Vibrations

Sound is an incredibly powerful tool for tuning up the chakras. This is called toning (rather than tuning). This sound can come from a tuning fork or instrument, but it can also come from your own voice. Toning is a technique for balancing, energizing, and strengthening the chakras that uses sound, particularly the sound of your own voice. Toning techniques may employ vowel sounds, sacred syllables associated with each chakra, or improvisational vocalizations.

If you’ve ever sung in a chorus or even with just one other person, you might know what it is like to be unsure of a note until you hear it. When someone else sings it, your voice slides right into tune alongside the other voice. The vibration of that other voice has coaxed your vibration along with it until the two voices merge. Numerous studies show that singing in a chorus enhances well-being and can contribute to spiritual health and transcendent experiences for the singers. It is known that as their voices harmonize the heartbeats of choral singers synchronize as one heartbeat, and their pulse rates rise and fall together as they sing in unison. Joining a community chorus is a great way to begin voice work with the chakras, encouraging the vibration of prana in the body.

Creating the vibration of a chakra with your voice can nudge an out-of-tune chakra back into its natural vibration. This sympathetic vibration is an excellent way to bring the chakras back into tune and help life force energy to flow more freely through them. This, in turn, leads to healing, as each chakra vibrates according to its own nature.

You can start chakra toning right now if you want to, but first, let’s talk about making sound and what that means to you. We’ve read a lot of things about toning and chanting, and we’ve tried a lot of those things for ourselves to see what works and what doesn’t. Each chakra has a sacred syllable, a vowel sound that activates it, and certain sounds that resonate within it. However, what those syllables, vowels, and sounds are varies depending on who you ask.

As far as you are concerned, we strongly suggest that you find the sounds that resonate with you. When you make any sound with your voice, you can direct that sound to any part of your body, and it can resonate there, so choose the sounds that feel most natural and right.

For example, is the vowel associated with the Root chakra the sound of uh, as in “cup,” or oh, as in “soap”? Different sources tell you different things, so try them both and see which one resonates most within your first chakra. If you can’t tell, then choose the one you like best. It doesn’t matter why you like it; just pick the sound that makes you feel good. Your intention and how you decide to use the sounds are arguably more important than what sounds you use.

Much of this chapter involves making sounds that are intuitive. What if you just started making sounds? What if you decided to join a local choral group and tone through singing? Would you be wrong? No. What comes out of your body is what your body produces, and that is what is right for your body.

However, you can learn to tone in a way that increases vibration more efficiently, so before we get into the different sounds associated with each chakra, let’s practice a little.

You remember learning the vowels in school, right? A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y? Let’s start there. Don’t worry about what these sounds do right now. Just practice making sounds.

Some people vocalize with ease, while for others, vocalizing doesn’t come easily at all. In the latter case, the problem is likely in the fifth chakra, or Throat chakra. The fifth chakra is the center of communication, speaking, listening, music, and sound. This is where you make noise. You groan, giggle, sigh, and sing from your fifth chakra. If this chakra is blocked, you may feel very uncomfortable vocalizing, especially randomly without specific directions. If this sounds like you, skip back to Chapter 11 on the Throat chakra and try the exercises for energizing, aligning, and balancing this important source of sound in your body. Then come back to this chapter and try again. You might need to spend some time finding your own voice, but almost everybody can learn to vocalize, so give yourself a chance to develop your innate vocal talents.

If you have some kind of vocal impairment that makes using your voice difficult, seek the help of a licensed speech pathologist and/or vocal therapist. The act of vocalization is important to developing the vibration of prana throughout your body’s chakras. Vocal quality does not matter, so shed your vocal inhibitions and engage in the process. Whatever sound issues forth is a joyful noise unto the Heavens.

Make Noise

Are you ready to make some noise?

If you feel self-conscious, you might want to try this when you are home alone or in a room where nobody can hear you. Don’t feel silly. Making sound is one of your own body’s most joyful acts and powerful healing tools.

1. First, sit on the floor or on a chair with your spine straight. You need plenty of space inside your torso for the sound to resonate, so don’t slump against a backrest. If it’s more comfortable, you can also stand. If you do find yourself slumping (or even if you don’t), this exercise can help.
2. Exhale as you tuck your chin and curl your chest forward. On the inhalation, roll up slowly stacking each vertebra one upon the other as your back straightens. Feel your lungs fill with air. Lift up your heart and bring your head to float balanced upon your aligned neck and spine. Now your breathing apparatus—your voice box and vocal cords, your lungs and diaphragm muscles—is in the proper orientation to maximize your voice. Use this exercise anytime you need to center yourself before speaking or singing. Okay, you are ready to vocalize.
3. Now, say the letter A, as in “say.” Just say it once. Hear your voice. Notice the pitch. Say it again and hold it longer. Try to feel it vibrating inside your body. You will feel it in your throat, but where else do you feel it? Does the vibration want to settle somewhere?
4. Try saying the letter at a lower pitch, or a higher pitch. Move it around. Don’t worry if it doesn’t sound diva-worthy. You aren’t trying out for the Metropolitan Opera. Just make the sound. Get used to the feel of your own voice making that sound: AAAAAAAYYYYYY. Notice what the vibration of that sound does inside your body.
5. As you practice, notice how you can make the sound in a pinched, tight way that doesn’t vibrate very much or in a deep, resonant way that vibrates more. The more resonant the sound is, the better. The more you practice, the more you will get the hang of making a deep, vibrating sound. Don’t be intimidated or shy. Try to just let it loose. Open up and relax your throat. Put more breath behind the sound. Try it louder or softer. Be silly. Make wavy sounds or zig-zag sounds. Just make sounds. Most importantly, feel which sounds seem most right, true, and resonant within you.

Fun with Vowels

After you’ve moved your AY sound around and tried it in lots of different ways, go to the next vowel: E. Try that sound: EEEEEE. Experiment with different pitches, volume, and vibrations. Notice where you feel this sound in your body. Is it different than when you said AAAYYY?

After you’ve played around with EE for a while, move on to the rest of the vowels: I (EYE), O (OH), and U (YOU).

Keep practicing, and if you feel compelled to make other noises—whether vowels or consonants or suddenly breaking into that song you hear everywhere on social media—go ahead! The point is to set your voice free.

The other point is to determine what sounds make sense to your body and your chakras. Because your chakras are unique to you and your voice and vibrations are unique to you, too, different sounds will work better for you than others.

However, you have to tune in to your voice and the way your body feels to determine this, so if you still feel unsure about the sounds that resonate with you, don’t let it hold you back. Keep practicing and using your intuition and your feelings, and your toning skills will quickly improve.

Speaking Chakra

Traditionally, each of the seven primary chakras has a seed sound associated with it. Sometimes, you will see this sound written as (to use the first chakra as an example) LAM. In other places, you will see it written as LANG, which is the Tibetan version. Because your chakras, voice, and vibrations are unique to you, you might prefer one or the other. It’s up to you.

Now that you have warmed up, you can start experimenting with these seed sounds for each chakra. We’ve listed all the seed sounds in the following chart for easy reference. All sounds rhyme with “mom” or “song,” except OM, which rhymes more closely with “home,” and the seventh chakra, or Crown chakra, which has no rhyme.

To practice using these sounds, try this exercise. We use the first seed sound listed in the previous chart (such as LAM or VAM) instead of the second (such as LANG or VANG), but you can use either one:

1. Sit on the floor on the edge of a folded blanket. Sit up straight to make room inside your chest.
2. Bring your attention to your Root chakra. Visualize a red wheel turning slowly at the base of your spine. Take a deep breath, then say LAM, holding the vowel for as long as you can; leave enough breath to let the final consonant vibrate.
3. Inhale as you bring your attention to your Sacral chakra. Visualize an orange wheel turning slowly in your abdomen just behind your navel. Say VAM, holding the vowel for as long as you can; leave enough breath to let the final consonant vibrate.
4. Inhale as you bring your attention to your Solar Plexus chakra. Visualize a yellow wheel turning slowly just beneath your rib cage at your solar plexus. Say RAM, holding the vowel for as long as you can; leave enough breath to let the final consonant vibrate.
5. Inhale as you bring your attention to your Heart chakra. Visualize a green wheel turning slowly around your heart. Say YAM, holding the vowel for as long as you can; leave enough breath to let the final consonant vibrate.
6. Inhale as you bring your attention to your Throat chakra. Visualize a blue wheel turning slowly just above your collarbone in your throat. Say HAM, holding the vowel for as long as you can; leave enough breath to let the final consonant vibrate.
7. Inhale as you bring your attention to your Third Eye chakra. Visualize an indigo or purple wheel turning slowly in the middle of your forehead. Say OM, holding the vowel for as long as you can; leave enough breath to let the final consonant vibrate.
8. Inhale as you bring your attention to your Crown chakra. Visualize a purple or white wheel turning slowly just above the crown of your head. Say NNG (like the final two consonants in the word sing), holding the sound for as long as you can; leave enough breath to let the final consonant vibrate. Or you can just listen during this breath. The seed sound of this chakra is traditionally the Universe vibrating with the sound of OM with no sound coming from you at all.

The Sanskrit symbol for OM, the seed sound of the sixth chakra, or Third Eye chakra.

When vocalizing sounds or vowels for each chakra, the usual technique is to start with a low voice when focusing on the first chakra and gradually raise the pitch so that the vocalization for the seventh chakra is the highest pitch of all. This might not work well for you, but try it to see if it makes sense and resonates with your chakras.

The Power of the Vowel

Although any sound can resonate inside the body, vowels seem to have a particular vibration that easily energizes the chakras. In his book Healing Sounds, author Jonathan Goldman says one of the reasons he likes to use vowels for chakra healing is that they are not words in other languages that people might find unfamiliar or that might make people uncomfortable, especially if they practice a particular religion and don’t want to chant words they feel are associated with a different religion. Motivation aside, vowels do resonate particularly well within the body and are an excellent way to tone the chakras.

However, as we mentioned in the beginning of this chapter, there are different systems that apply different vowel sounds to each chakra. In this book, we show you one of the more common systems, but if other vowels work better for activating your own chakras, you can certainly use those.

To tone your chakras with vowel sounds, practice the same way you practiced speaking the seed sounds in the previous section, but use these vowels as you focus on each chakra, one at a time.

As in the previous exercise, start by doing one vowel sound per breath for each chakra. Or concentrate on a single chakra that you think needs some work, and repeat that vowel sound over and over as you keep your attention focused on the appropriate chakra. When you do this, your vowel sound becomes a sort of mantra. Mantra is the Sanskrit word for a sacred syllable or phrase that is spoken repeatedly during meditation to aid in concentration and focus.

The following chart contains some of the sounds you can use. These are common vowel sounds associated with each chakra, and they’re also the ones that resonate best with us.

Chakra Singing (and Playing)

With regular practice, you will soon become familiar with speaking seed sounds and toning vowels to tone your chakras and get your prana energy flowing, but you can go even further. Try vocalizing according to your intuition. Make sounds—any sounds—that don’t necessarily involve the formation of words.

Let your feelings flow from your voice and communicate themselves through vibration rather than a logical linguistic sense. Having a strong, balanced, and open Throat chakra helps, but even if you are having problems with your own personal communication skills, you can still try this. It might be enough to open that Throat chakra right up. Have fun with this. It doesn’t have to be serious. Make sounds that fill you with joy.

Random vocalization can be difficult. You might be wondering what the heck you are supposed to be saying. Don’t worry about that. We’ve heard beautiful solos by vocalists who just made sounds according to their intuition at the moment. That’s what jazz scat singing is. But you don’t have to sound like Ella Fitzgerald or Aretha Franklin. Just make sound. Start with an AHH or an OHH or an OOH or an EEE. See where it goes.

Vocalizing according to your intuition can free up your inner voice. Pay attention to what noise you want to make and honor it. Let yourself sing, and your chakras will respond. Nobody has to hear it but you.

Remember, too, that each chakra is also associated with a musical note. Eve loves to vocalize, and when she isn’t writing books, she is sometimes singing with her father’s jazz band. Occasionally, they play at a nearby casino, and Eve’s dad likes to joke that all the slot machines are ringing in the key of C. Actually, musical notes are associated with each chakra, and it’s ironic that the slot machines would play C because C is associated with the Root chakra, which is the chakra associated with financial security. Maybe that constant C sound influences people to believe that playing those slots will ensure wealth. If only it were so! Here’s a reminder of the notes for each chakra.

• First chakra, or Root chakra                  C
• Second chakra, or Sacral chakra           D
• Third chakra, or Solar Plexus chakra    E
• Fourth chakra, or Heart chakra             F
• Fifth chakra, or Throat chakra              G
• Sixth chakra, or Third Eye chakra        A
• Seventh chakra, or Crown chakra         B

Whether you join the harmony of a community chorus, belt out the sacred music at worship, or just sing in the shower, the creation of sound through the human body is a wonderful way to activate the resonant healing power of the chakras. You can also get a similar benefit if you play a musical instrument. Do you ever notice how the great musicians always seem to be at one with their instruments? How you can seem to read the musicians’ emotions in their faces, hands, and bodies? Sound vibrates in instruments, and that vibration is transferred to the human body when the instrument is played. Musicians feel (literally) the music they make and experience this resonance through their chakras.

By extension, when audience members hear great singers or musicians, they are moved collectively—causing a shared experience of chakra activation that creates a shared benefit, a fellow feeling among them. There is a great body of scientific study into the effects of music upon listeners (whether listening to live or recorded music) and how those beneficial effects can help calm and restore, as well as boost productivity. Researchers have identified “power songs”—songs that are paced at 121 bpm that generate energy and jump-start metabolism through tempo. (You can search it online and find songs to try.)

Chanting and Mantra Meditation

One of the most common ways to use sound and vocalization as it relates to the chakras is through chanting and mantra meditation. We left this section for the end because we wanted to focus on more basic techniques first. Even if you don’t like toning, you might enjoy meditating using mantras.

Mantra meditation is a form of meditation that involves chanting a mantra repeatedly as an anchor or focus for meditation. This keeps the mind centered on one point, and the vibration from the chanting can also alter the course of the meditation in interesting ways. To practice mantra meditation, you can use any of the seed sounds or vowel sounds in this chapter. Sit quietly and repeat the sounds either out loud for maximum vibration power or just in your mind; let these sounds anchor your awareness.

You can also chant when you aren’t meditating. Many yoga classes begin with particular chants, like prayers, to set the right intention and mood. When people get together to chant, it is called kirtan in India. Musicians typically play and sing chants, and the people participating in the kirtan repeat the chants in a call-and-response format. Some people chant at home as part of a daily ritual.

So, make some sound, whether you are meditating, chanting, working with a particular chakra, or you are just celebrating a beautiful day. Make some sound, whether you are a natural born singer with perfect pitch or someone who can’t really carry a note. Let your body vibrate with sound from its very core. You have a sacred instrument within you that has the power to tune up your chakras and get your prana life force energy flowing again. Discover how to use that instrument that is uniquely your own to have healthier chakras and a more joyful life. Bring your chakras to life through your one true voice.