頌缽助癌症患者放鬆 (芝加哥論壇報新聞, 17.Feb.2014 )
Singing bowls help cancer patients relax
February 17, 2014 | By Janice Neumann |
Listening to the Tibetan Singing Bowls transports Ed
Susralski to a peaceful place, far from the terminal cancer that might
otherwise cloud his thoughts.
As Jayne Hayes played the rims of 17 different Tibetan
Singing Bowls with a mallet during a recent class, the vibrations seem to help
relax the bodies and minds of cancer survivors like Susralski and his wife,
Leslie, who often take the class.
That's the purpose of the "South Bath," according
to Hayes, who is a Reiki (Japanese stress reduction technique) master and
practitioner and leads the singing bowl class monthly at the Cancer Support
Center in Mokena. "I believe the bowls help people with pain because as
the harmonic vibrations calm down the nervous system, it sends messages that
also interrupt the body's pain reflex," said Hayes. Studies have shown the
sounds of the bowls produce harmony and a place for healing to occur in cells,
she added.
Joint pain, a side effect of chemotherapy, has been reduced
or eliminated for a few days, Hayes said participants tell her. Others have
felt increased energy, peacefulness and even serenity after the class, she
said. Ed Susralski said he decided early on that he wouldn't let
cancer control his life. So he sought out alternative healing to help him
relax. "If you just sit around and dwell on these things, it
will eat you alive," said Susralski, who lives in Orland Park with his
wife. "I just enjoy it so much that I can go and do this and feel these
things I've never felt before. It's just awesome."
For relaxation at home, the Susralskis often sit in their
sun room holding hands as they listen to mind-body meditation CDs. "Our deal is we go to the mountains in our mind,"
said Susralski, who had prostate cancer, which metastasized to his bones. After Joyce Bakotic's husband died of lung cancer in
November 2013, she was overwhelmed by grief. So she tried the singing bowl
class and found it helped her deal with the loss. "It helped me to relax and let go of some of the stuff
I couldn't let go of," said Bakotic, who lives in Orland Park. "It
just gives you an all-over sense of wellness and that I was okay. "I felt very strong when I got up this morning,"
said Bakotic, after the recent class. Dr. Nadine Kelly, a yoga instructor and retired pathologist,
said she tried the class just to pamper herself. She felt calmer and more
focused afterwards.
"She (Hayes) actually placed a bowl on my abdomen and
one on my chest and in so doing, that sensation of being weighted down really
helped me feel more grounded, secure, safe and comfortable," said Kelly,
who lives in Flossmoor . "She then rang them and so I could feel the
vibrations of the sounds moving through my body…it felt cleansing,
healing."
The Cancer Support Center offers a variety of healing
classes, including gentle yoga, meditation, a knit and crochet group for
survivors, journaling and art classes. "A lot of studies show one might not be able to speak
about what's going on in life, but the mindfulness of just creating a piece of
art really does help relax a person," said Allison Smith, communications
and marketing coordinator for the Cancer Support Center.
