Sonic Massage heals body, reduces stress at the Memphis Drum Shop
By Amanda Ivory/MicroMemphis Reporter
April 15,2014
The Memphis Drum Shop features a one-of-a-kind experience every month called the Sonic Massage that is designed to heal the body and relax the mind.
The Sonic Massage uses sounds as a stress reliever, and people who have used it said it has worked for them.
“The purpose is to relax the body so that it can heal itself, or just for stress reduction,” said Faye Henry, who regularly comes to use the Sonic Massage. “I think all of us in today’s world need to stop every once in a while to let go and be stress free. It’s a totally relaxing, rejuvenating, revitalizing experience.”
Located on 878 Cooper St., the shop has a gong chamber, which holds a number of gongs and gong accessories, including a 7-foot gong. The gong chamber is private and can be viewed by appointment.
The next Sonic Massage session takes place at 1 p.m. April 26, at a cost of $60. Henry has been playing the instruments for four years. She bought her first gong in November of 2009. She mentioned how little she knew about the instrument before she decided to play it herself.
“I had only heard the gongs being played one time before I bought mine,” she said. “They were being played for about an hour. The sound itself and what the gongs do to your body is just so amazing.”
Although the Sonic Massage takes place in a music shop, Henry does not consider what she does to necessarily be music. Instead of a song and a certain musical pattern, the gongs are played freely, and the vibrations of the instruments are more therapeutic than entertaining.
And because of the numerous gongs of various sizes, instead of being just a few, the sounds and vibrations are much more filling and effective.
Clanton Blaylock, an employee of the Memphis Drum Shop, has not experienced it himself, but he wants to, and he said that many customers come in and ask about what it is.
“You’re allowed to go into the gong chamber and meditate a bit with the vibrations,” he said. “It’s kind of a new age healing; a lot of people with ailments go in there so it can help them.”
The sounds of the gongs are therapeutic according to Henry, who said the vibrations make the body automatically go into healing mode. She also mentioned how, since she has started playing, it has changed her life.
“I was going through what had been the most stressful period of my entire life,” she said, and mentioned her elderly parents who she cared for everyday, and now plays for them as well. “I think it has changed my life tremendously. I have been more relaxed than I have ever felt.”
For more information about the gong chamber, visit this website. For more information about the Memphis Drum Shop, visit the webpage or the Facebook page.
April 15,2014
The Memphis Drum Shop features a one-of-a-kind experience every month called the Sonic Massage that is designed to heal the body and relax the mind.
The Sonic Massage uses sounds as a stress reliever, and people who have used it said it has worked for them.
“The purpose is to relax the body so that it can heal itself, or just for stress reduction,” said Faye Henry, who regularly comes to use the Sonic Massage. “I think all of us in today’s world need to stop every once in a while to let go and be stress free. It’s a totally relaxing, rejuvenating, revitalizing experience.”
Located on 878 Cooper St., the shop has a gong chamber, which holds a number of gongs and gong accessories, including a 7-foot gong. The gong chamber is private and can be viewed by appointment.
The next Sonic Massage session takes place at 1 p.m. April 26, at a cost of $60. Henry has been playing the instruments for four years. She bought her first gong in November of 2009. She mentioned how little she knew about the instrument before she decided to play it herself.
“I had only heard the gongs being played one time before I bought mine,” she said. “They were being played for about an hour. The sound itself and what the gongs do to your body is just so amazing.”
Although the Sonic Massage takes place in a music shop, Henry does not consider what she does to necessarily be music. Instead of a song and a certain musical pattern, the gongs are played freely, and the vibrations of the instruments are more therapeutic than entertaining.
And because of the numerous gongs of various sizes, instead of being just a few, the sounds and vibrations are much more filling and effective.
Clanton Blaylock, an employee of the Memphis Drum Shop, has not experienced it himself, but he wants to, and he said that many customers come in and ask about what it is.
“You’re allowed to go into the gong chamber and meditate a bit with the vibrations,” he said. “It’s kind of a new age healing; a lot of people with ailments go in there so it can help them.”
The sounds of the gongs are therapeutic according to Henry, who said the vibrations make the body automatically go into healing mode. She also mentioned how, since she has started playing, it has changed her life.
“I was going through what had been the most stressful period of my entire life,” she said, and mentioned her elderly parents who she cared for everyday, and now plays for them as well. “I think it has changed my life tremendously. I have been more relaxed than I have ever felt.”
For more information about the gong chamber, visit this website. For more information about the Memphis Drum Shop, visit the webpage or the Facebook page.