Throughout her life, Ruth has been entranced by the magic and beauty of the world around her, finding wonder in everything from the delicate fragrance of a rose to the sacred geometry of galaxies. Her extensive journey in the realm of voice began as a professional vocalist and later evolved into a role as a voice instructor. These experiences have provided her with a distinct viewpoint and a wealth of knowledge, enabling her to assist her clients in harnessing the healing, expanding, and spiritually connecting potential of their own voices.
Ruth’s musical talents complement her work, as she skillfully weaves the frequencies of the sonic instruments she plays to create a more therapeutic and harmonious experience. As an intuitive, she possesses a gift for discerning precisely what her clients need at the moment, whether it be relaxation, inner peace, emotional release, personal growth, or the exploration and deconstruction of old patterns and archetypes.
She considers it a great honor to raise awareness about an ancient healing art that can seamlessly integrate into one’s lifestyle, ultimately contributing to overall well-being and a more genuine expression of the self. As she sees it, our bodies are beings of vibration, and it makes perfect sense to treat them with what resonates naturally.
Ruth Ratliff’s work is centered on her belief in the potential of voice and vibration as instruments for expression, healing, and sacred connection. She employs a holistic approach that combines scientific knowledge with spirituality to empower individuals to consciously transform and lead healthy, authentic lives.
Learn more about this fascinating person in this MysticMag interview.
How can voice and sound therapy be used to promote physical healing and wellness?
Overall, sound therapy works by using different sounds and vibrations from sonic instruments, including the voice, to influence the body’s natural processes, helping to relieve stress and promote relaxation and well-being.
It’s no secret that stress and anxiety can flood your body with cortisol and adrenaline, which can compromise your immune system. When we use sound healing therapy, the body returns to a place of homeostasis, which facilitates your body’s ability to heal itself.
The benefits of sound healing therapy are many and may include:
-Increased blood circulation
-Lowering blood pressure and heart rate
-Facilitating the release of endorphins, melatonin, and nitric oxide
-Synchronizing the brain hemispheres, promoting increased cognition, focus, and creativity and restorative processes
-Triggering the relaxation response of the parasympathetic nervous system
-Improves mental clarity, and focus, and quiets mind chatter
-Reducing stress, anger, depression, and fatigue
-Increasing vagal tone for emotional resiliency
-Promoting a resting brain state where deep healing takes place
These benefits make sound therapy very effective in helping to ease the symptoms associated with anxiety, insomnia, depression, and PTSD, among others.
In what ways can voice and sound therapy contribute to emotional and mental healing?
Sound Therapy may affect emotional and mental well-being in several ways:
-Stress reduction – Listening to a sound bath or vocal toning can help promote relaxation, and ease the symptoms associated with anxiety, insomnia, depression, and PTSD.
-Emotional release – Sound Therapy, especially through the voice, can provide a non-verbal outlet for the expression of constricted emotional energy. Non-verbal sounds can activate the subconscious mind, accessing deep-seated trauma and grief.
-Mindfulness and meditation – Practices like listening to binaural beats, chanting, and mantra meditation can calm the mind and help to develop presence.
-Body-mind-voice connection – Sound therapy can help to facilitate the feeling of being “grounded” or “in your body.” Feeling embodied can engender feelings of safety and calm.
-A 2015 study by the University of California showed that traces of emotional memory are stored in the cell’s nucleus and can be released by a stimulus, which I believe can be sound and vibration. Sound acts like a tuner to facilitate a harmonic state of resonance by sending a signal of safety and calm which impacts heart rate, breathing rate, and digestion.
-Your own voice is your own sound healing instrument. The multiple overtones of your voice bathe your body in a myriad of frequencies that are custom-made just for you! When you use your voice with intention, these frequencies sync up or entrain to and balance your body’s subtle frequencies. Plus the voice is innervated by the vagus nerve, which activates the parasympathetic branch of the nervous system, taking us out of fight-flight or freeze into the restorative rest and digest state.
How can voice and sound therapy support spiritual growth and transformation?
Sound therapy can play a significant role in supporting spiritual growth and transformation by fostering a deeper connection with your inner self and the larger spiritual dimension through:
-Mindfulness and meditation – sound practices can help to develop a deeper focus on inner experiences, making it easier to access and explore spirituality.
-Healing and rejuvenation – As mentioned before, sound therapy is often used for physical and emotional healing, which can help you experience a sense of renewal and spiritual growth.
-Release and restoration – Sound practices may help to develop a more centered and grounded way of being, which can create a more conducive inner environment for spiritual exploration.
-Connection with the Divine – In my experience, sound therapy may get you into an altered state or a “higher vibration,” which can be a means to connect with a higher power or the divine. Whether through singing bowls or chanting, sound can serve as a conduit for this connection, helping you feel more spiritually attuned.
What techniques or practices are commonly employed in voice and sound therapy for achieving wholeness?
Some Sound Therapy methods include:
-Sound “baths” – these sound experiences utilize a variety of sonic instruments, including crystal and metal singing bowls, to activate the relaxation response. They can be experienced individually or in groups, in-person or virtual.
-Tuning fork therapy – helps your body respond to frequency to stimulate mental energy and heighten self-awareness.
-Binaural beats – this method involves playing two separate tones in each ear, which are perceived as a single tone by the brain to bring about a lower, meditative brainwave state.
-Vocal toning and mantra – Making soothing sounds, chanting or vocalizations can help reduce stress and promote relaxation. The rhythmic and repetitive nature of certain mantras can have a calming effect on your nervous system.
How does voice and sound therapy facilitate self-expression and personal empowerment?
As a former voice teacher and performer, my go-to instrument was my voice for years before I became a sound therapist. Your voice is a very powerful tool for healing and empowerment.
Sound therapy, especially through the voice can be helpful in several ways:
-Authentic communication – sound therapy and voice work can enhance communication skills helping to boost confidence and self-esteem.
-Emotional resilience – engaging in sound therapy regularly can build emotional resilience over time. The effects are cumulative and can provide you with coping mechanisms to better manage stress and anxiety, which can help you feel more in control of your well-being.
-Creative outlet – sound therapy and voice work may encourage you to use your voice in creative and expressive ways. Making organic or primal sounds can be affirming and help you to feel more grounded in your body, which can help you manage emotions and feel more empowered.
-Somatic (of the body) awareness – Sound therapy and voice work help to develop a deeper awareness of your inner landscape, a sense of presence, and the perceptions about yourself that are not serving you. When you use your voice in conscious organic sounding, you expand your somatic awareness in ways that ordinary communication does not. It activates your subconscious mind to express and release without the use of words.
Can voice and sound therapy be integrated with other healing modalities for a holistic approach?
-In my experience, I have collaborated with several other holistic practitioners very successfully. Sound therapy can be a wonderful companion modality for other practices, such as reiki, yoga, guided meditation, acupuncture, chiropractic, healing touch, and others.
-Combining these modalities can deepen the transformative and therapeutic effects and help make a greater impact on the outcome of the session.
