Science is evolving and finding that there are several alternative therapies that help with physical health and mental health disorders. Two of these therapies are now being offered at the Southern Ute Health Center. These new offerings are Sound Therapy and Neurodynamic Breathwork. Nenette McNamara, FNP-C offers these therapies and has certifications and extensive training in both of these modalities.
Sound Therapy uses various instruments to improve physical and emotional health and well-being by using vibration and sound and balancing the nervous system. The instruments used include tuning forks, Tibetan singing bowls and drumming. The use of music, vibration, and sound has been studied extensively by researchers as a means of inducing positive emotions and subsequent relaxation and promoting a sense of wellbeing. The Earth and Universe have a vibration, when we are in tune, or aligned with this vibration, we have better physical and mental health. Everyday interference, that includes stress and worry, all affect how our nervous system functions. This dysfunction in our nervous system can show up in other areas of our physical body such as constant stomach aches, feeling nervous, anxious, or depressed in addition to many other physical symptoms.
There is ongoing research on how sound and music can help with processing trauma-based emotions. Stress, caused by the pandemic, job loss, and everyday difficulties can cause anxiety or depression which can lead to physical symptoms. Perhaps you have experienced abuse, whether it be physical or emotional, in your past history. This abuse can lead to many physical and mental health difficulties. Often medication and counseling or therapy is used to help alleviate this stress and address the underlying causes. Sound therapy can help with this process and provides added benefits that include better sleep, helping to calm the mind of constant thoughts and obtaining a sense of wellness. Sound therapy can be used in conjunction with counseling and medications and does not have harmful side effects. Sessions are often 60-75 minutes in length.
Breathwork is the use of breath and music to help with one’s journey in inner exploration; we have our own ‘inner guiding intelligence’ that we can access. Our society and way of life today has dampened our access to this inner guiding intelligence, but we can all access it for self-healing and guidance. This is a great way to help with the processing of grief, trauma, and addiction. Trauma, regardless of the severity, can lead to not only physical symptoms but also addictions and stress on our mental health. By accessing our inner guidance intelligence, we can help process trauma, be in touch with our inner self and develop more clarity on our purpose in life.
There are some instances where we cannot do breathwork such as with certain physical illnesses. Conditions such as glaucoma, retinal disorder of the eye, schizophrenia or uncontrolled blood pressure are a couple of conditions where we would need to assess prior to undergoing the breathwork session. Controlled blood pressure is not a problem nor is diabetes a condition that would keep you from participating. In the jungles of Peru, the medicine men use ayahuasca to help one access their inner guiding intelligence, with breathwork you can do this without drugs. You will only process what you can handle. This means that whatever comes up in a session is what you can process and accept or handle at this time. Your inner guiding intelligence will not give you an emotion that you cannot handle. Unlike drugs, you can stop the breathwork process anytime you want by opening your eyes; it is that simple. All you must do is surrender to your inner guiding intelligence to help explore your inner being. The sessions take on average 1.5 to 2 hours.
At this time, appointments for sound therapy are scheduled for Thursday mornings. More appointment slots will be added as the demand increases. Breathwork appointments will be forthcoming. We will be sure to keep you informed as we roll out this service. To schedule an appointment please call Nenette McNamara at 970-563-2355 and leave a message or you can contact the Southern Ute Health Center and ask to leave a message for Nenette McNamara. We will get a call back to schedule an appointment.