Samvahan Articles

Samvahan
Vibrational Healing from India

By Kamala Thiagarajan - Massage Magazine USA

Our world is full of vibration.  From the steady thrum of the airwaves that account for the origin of even the smallest of sounds to the pulsating throb of our heartbeats, we live, work and play in a universe in which rhythm rules supreme and vibration lies at the very core of existence.  This being the case, Samvahan, an ancient Ayurvedic therapy, ensures optimal health through a process of harmonizing the rhythm in our bodies to match that of the world at large.

The basic principles of Samvahan are 5,000 years old, and have a place in the ancient Indian Vedic scriptures.  However, the first written record of its more specific healing properties appeared about 2,000 years ago, when the Ayurvedic sage Charuk stated that vibration and massage could come together to effect the treatment of many illnesses.  (Translated literally, Samvahan is a Sanskrit word that means "re-awakening of even dead tissue.”)

 Yet for centuries afterward, the revitalizing power of Samvahan was virtually unknown and unexplored, even in the land of its birth.  It wasn’t until 1940 that Samvahan was rediscovered.  When a young Indian physician bathed in a river after his ritual prayer, he was entranced by the rhythmic lapping of the waves, the music of the birds and the gentle wind rustling through the trees.

As peace swept over his being, Ram Bhosle marvelled at the way in which even the most natural of vibrations could have profound healing effects.  Having trained in chiropractic, massage and osteopathy in Vienna, Verlin and London, Bhosle had returned to his native land to study the Indian tradition of massage.  However, ho soon found that what most Ayurvedic practitioners offered was limited only to medicated-oil massages. Bhosle decided to dedicate his life to the study and practice of the therapeutic effects of vibration.

At first he began to work with subtle vibrations and developed a technique that cured ailments and offered pain relief.  Very soon he became a huge success, and his patients hailed from all corners of India and all sections of society.  Some of his more famous patients included Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru and the British aristocracy.  It was only years later that Bhosle realized that his technique was based on the age-old principles of Samvahan.

In 1995 this therapy was made available outside of India by Michael Trembath, a healer based in Sydney, Australia.  Trembath is one of 20 therapists who were trained by Bhosle himself.  Bhosle passed away in 2005, after practicing Samvahan until the age of 87.  He gave many free treatments to the people of India and ensured that his healing therapy reached even the most poverty-stricken sections of society.  Today Trembath continues Bhosle’s groundbreaking work in the field of vibration massage, and holds training session for massage practitioner in New York, Vienna, Lyon, Bali and Sydney. 

The Power of Vibration

“Our bodies were designed to work with flexibility and ease, but sometimes bad posture, intense stress and a hectic lifestyle can trigger a series of painful reactions ranging from muscle strains, stomach cramps and migraine, to ankle injuries, wrist injuries and back pain.  These types of ailments, as well as imbalances created by major illnesses, can be treated through Samvahan,” Trembath says.

“All people are unique in how they create and hold vibrations,” he says.  “Each organ, tissue and cell in our bodies is like an instrument in an orchestra.  Just as there are different frequencies, overtones and peculiarities unique to each instrument, the same applies to the body.

“Every instrument has to be tuned for optimal performance and to suit the entire orchestra’s harmony,” Trembath continues.  “”The therapist works as instrument technician and music conductor to help the client…create the best possible balance, vibrancy and long-term vitality.”

According to therapists and clients alike, Samvahan offers relief from stress, headache, fatigue, insomnia, menstrual complaints, digestive disorders, emotional imbalances and join or muscle aches.  For Cambridge, Massachusetts, teacher Holly Stoehr, the benefits have been mostly physical.  After an hour of Samvahan she can feel her whole body tingle, right down to the tips of her fingers.

“I regularly take a modern-dance class, and usually end up with some muscular and join pains,” Stoehr says.  “I’ve found that with the Samvahan, areas of soreness or tightness tend to loosen up and feel lighter.  For instance, I have gone to my dance class the day after a session and found that I can stretch my hamstrings out with less pain and achieve more flexibility.”

Samvahan also serves as a powerful key to unlock emotional trauma trapped with our subconscious.  Thoughts being vibrations, the therapy therefore offers a deeper plane of healing that involves greater emotional and mental clarity.  It provides a strong connection between the mind and body, in turn linking them in a subtle way with the environment around us.

“I think of Samvahan as a type of music in which my body is the flute and [my therapist] coaxes out sounds that have never existed before,” says client June Carolyn Erlick, an editor in Cambridge.

“When I finish [a Samvahan massage session] I sometimes feel exhausted – but when I walk out onto the street, I am so much more aware of the environment around me, "Erlick says.  “For me at least, it makes the mind-body connection better than any other type of therapy that I have experienced.”

Jennifer Westacott is program director of massage at the Center for Natural Wellness Scholl of Massage Therapy, in Albany, New York.  She says that Samvahan integrates the mind, body and spirit, and can work wonders for therapists themselves.

“We all have healing vibrations inside of us that yearn to be released,” Westacott adds.  “The Samvahan practitioner’s intention is to draw those healing vibrations forth from the client, so that he or she can truly be buzzing with life and energy.”

Sources of vibrations

There are innumerable ways of administering healing vibrations to clients.  For some therapists, this affords great scope for experimentation and creativity.  “Samvahan practitioners primarily use their hands to transmit vibrations that are directed by intention, pressure and rhythms,” says Trembath.  Voice, music, bells, Tibetan or crystal bowls, tuning forks and any other tool that holds or generates vibrations can also be used, depending on the skill of the practitioner and the response of the client. 

Often the Earth’s natural vibrations are used as a grounding source.  Meditation, sounding, chanting and eating healthy foods all add healing vibrations.  For overall well-being, these vibrations are directed at the seven primary charka centers of the body.  For pain relief, the vibrations can also be aimed directly at the site of pain or tightness.  In a typical session, the practitioner takes a brief medical history and then invites the client to lie down on a massage table.  Clothing can be kept on, as the vibrations can easily penetrate fabric.

Music is also an integral part of the treatment and serves as an important medium to carry the vibration forward.  “Some people prefer quiet, but if the client responds positively to it, I may also use may also use music that she resonates with – generally music created with a sense of spirit – classical Indian, traditional Hawaiian and Baroque works well with most folks,” says Dorea J. D’Agostino, a Samvahan practitioner in Cambridge.

The absorption of healing vibrations by the body is purely an instinctive reaction, according to Trembath.  “Our bodies are perfectly intelligent and capable of absorbing the correct frequencies of energy required to effect healing,” he says.  “It is the Samvahan practitioner’s job to create a range of vibrations from which the client can choose – either consciously or subconsciously – that will bring about the deepest healing.”

According to Samvahan theory, the vibration the practitioner administers interacts with the five elements that occur naturally in one’s body: Earth, water, fire, air and ether.  Each cell, tissue, organ and system of our bodies has its own chorus of vibrations and rhythms.  As the clear, healing vibrations from the practitioner pass through the client, the client’s own healthy vibrations entrain, or match the healthy vibrations from the practitioner.

As a result, healing is effected and both the client and the therapist reach a healthier state.  “Have you ever gone to the beach and just floated in the ocean?” asks D’Agostino.  “I feel a Samvahan session is a little like that – your do need to surrender and allow the vibration to move through you.”

Samvahan therapists are required to spend a great deal of time looking inward and getting in touch with their own body vibrations, so Samvahan is not just a technique, but a way of life.

“A great deal of my practice has focused on neuromuscular therapy, myofascial and deep-tissue massage,” says Westacott.  “When I took Samvahan training five years ago, I felt that on many levels I had found a missing piece in my bodywork and in my life.  I began to truly understand the concept, ‘Healer, heal thyself.”

Westacott describes the technique as very gentle, but ironically, the vibrations are still powerful enough to travel deep into the body to penetrate the very bones of a client.  “Vibrations can travel into places you could never touch with your hands, to effect a healing that would be very difficult to recreate otherwise,” she says.

Samvahan in spas

Samvahan has been successfully integrated into spa programs around the world – especially in Australia, Europe and Singapore – but is just beginning to be known in the United States.  However, due to its negligible investment costs, instant rejuvenation and significant health benefits, Samvahan has remarkable promise as a U.S. spa therapy.

Basic Essence Holistic Shop and Spa in Holland Village, Singapore, first introduced the service in early 2003.  The response has been extremely positive, with inquiries about the therapy coming in every week, according to staff.  At the Golden Door Health Retreat in Elyisa, Hunter Valley, Australia, Samvahan has been successful ever since its introduction four years ago.

Keith Lowe, the certified Samvahan practitioner at the Golden Door, has found that Samvahan is ideal for pain relief, although the number of sessions needed to achieve this varies.

“On one occasion, a client was pain-free for the first time in 10 years after a single session, but for another client it took seven sessions,” he says.   “It depends on the nature of the problem, how long it has existed and the client’s age.”

Samvahan in private practice

Due to the nature of the therapy, private practitioners find it easy to incorporate Samvahan into their regular bodywork routines.

“Samvahan is a great addition to my massage work, and I have found it very easy to incorporate in my practices,” D’Agostino says.  “It doesn’t really require any equipment beyond a massage table and linens.  It’s up to the therapist how many different tuning forks, singing bowls and CDs that he or she wants to invest in.”

Another convenient factor is that most clients, after having attending a few sessions, are able to prolong the effects independently.  Working with a singing bowl or tuning fork in the comfort of one’s own home for at least five minutes a day after a weekly Samvahan session will help extend the beneficial effects of the vibrational massage.

Samvahan keeps us tuned in to the ideal state of mind-body balance and harmony – the building blocks to perfect health and happiness.

(Kamala Thiagarajan is a freelance journalist in Madurai, South India.  She writes about health and fitness, alternative therapy and esoteric healing and has been published in six countries.)

Fine Tuning
by Kris McIntyre - Body and Soul Magazine, 2004

My body sings! So does yours.  This is the essence of a rare and ancient Indian massage technique called Samvahan.  Translating from the Sanskrit word meaning “even dead tissue can be awakened”, Samvahan was first practised between 3000 and 5000 years ago in India.

In Australia, Samvahan is a little known technique that is getting surprising results in the treatment of a range of health issues ranging from neck and back pain to breathing and digestive problems, menstrual disorders, anxiety and depression, possibly even cancer.

That said, my practitioner is adamant that the technique is not a cure for anything, but rather a support structure.  In the 12 years since he began practising Samvahan, Sydney-based Michael Trembath says chronically ill clients report that “the quality of their life improves, they have more energy and feel more in sync with what a good, healthy life is.”

Trembath has studied with Zen masters in Hawaii, not to mention the who’s who of Indian healers including Dr Ram Bhosle (Mahatma Gandhi’s doctor) and Dr Pankaj Naram (Ayurvedic physician to the H.H. Dalai Lama).  Trembath is also a psychologist and trained as a massage therapist before becoming the first Westerner trained in Samvahan and the only authorised teacher of Samvahan outside of India.

My session with Trembath begins with questions about my health history and my emotional and physical state.  Next, he reads my pulse to find out which organs and energy systems in my body might be out of balance.  With an eagle’s eye, he observes the way I sit and stand.  I don’t need to tell him that I carry tension in my upper back because he has already guessed this and explained the simple reason why.

Trembath leaves me to strip down to my underwear and lie on the massage table under warmed towels that discreetly guard my modesty during the treatment.

As he works magically down my spine, Trembath warns me “this is not just a feel good treatment.”  He explains that the huge physical and emotional releases he facilitates can be painful for some, peaceful for others, but liberating for all.  “Not everyone who comes cries, but most people are profoundly moved.  Movement at the deepest levels is the focus of the work.”

As he works tight spots in my back, I discover he’s right about the discomfort.  But after the momentary pain subsides, to my surprise I discover enormous relief and softness in previously tense areas.

Trembath shows me simple techniques to release tensions and create energy.  He approaches his work with a Zen-like focus, and apart from using his hands, he employs tuning forks (set at different frequencies to correspond with different parts of the body), classical Indian music and his voice to “tone” the vibrations of cells and organs.

He explains to me that everything in the universe, including our bodies, has a vibrational quality of its own.  “Your liver produces one vibratory chord, each nerve another, and your bones yet another.  When one of the body’s systems, organs, or tissues isn’t working properly we become ill, or out of tune at a cellular level.

So by using tuning forks, voice toning, and rhythmic pulsing, he can create a tuning note to which the body can adjust its own vibrations.  Being on the receiving end of the cellular retuning is like being in a hypnotic state.  I feel like a baby again, being rocked reassuringly back into health.

Afterwards I feel taller and straighter physically, and more soft and serene emotionally.  I move through the rest of the day in a blissful meditative state.  This has been the most amazing bodywork I have ever experience (and I’m a tough audience).

Amazing Grace
By Rebecca Sommerville - Nova Magazine

Now that I understand what the healing art of Samvahan is, it seems I entered Michael Trembath’s practice in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs playing a discordant jazz improvisation and left in a state of “Amazing Grace.”

I had understood from my encounter with Ayurvedic medicine and yoga that sound related to the element of ether (air without movement) – the most subtle component of matter according to those traditions.  I had also read that quantum physics viewed the human condition as a field of vibration and space.  So it was exciting that I was on my way to experience a healing practice based on this wisdom – Samvahan was both as timeless as the Vedic texts of ancient India and as progressive in terms of modern scientific theory as it could get.   

A welcoming smile from Michael ushered me into his healing space with its tangible air of peace.  A short dialogue ensued, which I gathered was taking place at a more subtle level than just words. Michael detected the ‘scattering’ going on in my pulse in about half a minute and questions the unusual level of chaos in my life.  Apart from that there was too much digestive heat, general fatigue and a lot more besides which rang true.  He analysed my posture with as much finesse and efficiency as he read my pulse – there was nothing more to do but sink into the soft warm towels while the maestro conducted my being back into harmony.

The therapy was gentle, loving, considerate and very focused.  It presented like a fluid, playful exchange – a conversation that Michael was having with my body as if he was saying, “Remember this fantastic old tune you used to play.  Don’t you think it’s a bit nicer than the one you’re playing now?  How about giving me a few of those chords instead, that’s right, beautiful.”  And my body responded with “oh yes, now I remember” and started to subtly move and open and soften until I experienced much deeper breathing and moments of utter silence and meditation – amazing grace.

Later, I learned from Michael Trembath that grace was indeed at the heart of Samvahan therapy – in the way his mentor, Dr Ram K. Bhosle, had become one of India’s most revered healers, in the way Michael had met him and in the way the technique is delivered..

“An enormous piece of Samvahan is the acceptance and welcoming and delight, in the grace in this teaching.  It only happens through grace – for me it is my whole life,” explains Michael.  Before each session three questions must be clear in his mind: am I willing to serve: Am I willing to be in the presence of healing? Am I willing to be in the presence of love?  “If I am willing to do these three, mindset is clear, I don’t have to protect myself from my thoughts, other people’s energy or protect them from my energy.”  Finally, before the session begins, he invites grace to be present.  “When grace is flowing the results are greater than any individual can conjure themselves – that’s not to deny the skill and master of a specific person.”

In Michael’s case this grace is bolstered by an extraordinary lineage.  The man who encouraged Dr Bhosle on his path of healing was Bhagavan Nityananda, the renowned South Indian avadhut (ecstatic saint) whose miraculous and unconventional behaviour is remembered in households throughout India.  It was Maha Avatar Babaji, the creator of Kriya Yoga, who instructed Cr Bhosle when he retreated to the Himalayas at the time of Independence, and told him that what he had been intuitively developing was an ancient technique called ‘Samvahan’.   It was Saibji Maharaj (the ‘Dalai Lama’ of the Jain religion) to whom Michael was sent by his teacher, to receive specific mantras for healing and service to others.  It was Dr Bhosle’s good friend Maharaj Gagangiri, another highly respected spiritual teacher, who instructed Michael about the conductors of subtle vibration in the body referred to as ‘nadis’.  Michael fondly remembers one of Maharaj Gagangiri’s favourite descriptions of Dr Bhosle: “He turns the nadis into naris [dancing girls] and teaches them to dance.”

Dr Bhosle’s approach to massage was as if the body was a musical instrument.  Skin was a tabla, the spinal column was the strings of the sitar.  He would literally look for the melodies inherent in the body that would bring health,” says Michael.

It’s easy to accept Michael’s description of his teacher as “an intellectual genius.”  He could speak 18 languages and mastered the tabla, mrudangam (drum) and sitar (which he learned from Ravi Shankar’s teacher) and was frequently called upon for musical instruction.  He was an accomplished astrologer, which by Indian standards requires an apprenticeship of at least 12 years.  And with all these gifts, he was charming, funny, brilliant and very humble.  “That man showed us how to love, that was how he lived his life.  When you start off with that kind of character, then pour into it 65 years of practicing, you have a pretty amazing kind of integrity and spiritual commitment.”

Dr Bhosle’s interest in healing was piqued as a young orphan cleaning a medical clinic.  At age 13, when access to further study was denied because he couldn’t pay matriculation fees, he became suicidal and headed for the Bombay hills to be eaten by tigers.  Instead of meeting that fate, he encountered Nityananda who told him he would become a famous doctor.  Dr Bhosle took Nityananda to hot springs that later became the site of the Ganeshpuri Ashram build in the wandering Saint’s honour.  Dr Bhosle returned to Bombay and soon gained work as a ward boy in a hospital.  By 1935, at age 17, he had saved enough money to travel to Vienna to study osteopathy and physiotherapy at The Institute of Physical Medicine.  Then to Berlin to become a Doctor of Chiropractic Medicine, Paris for six months to study beauty and hydrotherapy under the tutelage of Madame Pompidou and on to London where he apprenticed to the genius healer, Sir Herbert Barker, who was the King’s osteopath.

Dr Bhosle returned to India with the aim of adding more local knowledge to his repertoire.  Inspired by the sound of birds, the ripple of water, the movement of wind, he drew away from deep tissue manipulation to more gentle techniques that reflected the soothing effects of nature’s vibrations and the results were remarkable.  He then began a study of Vedic texts and the Sanskrit language for more references to the healing power of sound.  “Everything he read he applied to his work.  He would say ‘nada Brahma’ a lot, meaning creation is vibration and sound is divine.  He often repeated ‘yatha brahmande, tata pinde’ meaning everything in the universe is also within the body,” Michael remembers.  There was one phrase from the Artha Veda that Michael thought aptly summed up his teacher’s attitude to the work: “This hand of mind is indeed God himself.  Hence no wonder how fortunate it is, this hand of mine oh so medicinally healing, its touch sheer bliss and welfare so beneficial.”

Michael met his teacher in 1994.  Etched in his mind is the memory of a huge photograph of Nityananda on Dr Bhosle’s wall as he walked in and an overwhelming energy in the home that reminded him of some of the most divine holy site4s he had visited during his pilgrimage in India.  “This chubby, buddhaesque man with big feet and hands hopped into the room and I burst into tears.  My instinct was to ask him if I could be of service and he said, ’Oh no, you’ve come to study with me.’

Michael studied with Dr Bhosle every day for two years, the only Westerner among the dozen apprentices.  He continued to visit India after his apprenticeship for eight more years, learning at every opportunity.  Encouraged to learn music and astrology as an adjunct to Samvahan, he took up the tabla.

My level of expertise is nowhere near where his was.  I accept my level.  I don’t know one per cent of one percent of what he knew,” says Michael, although he is carrying on the legacy of his teacher with the same humility and commitment to excellence.  His practice is enriched with a background in psychology and 15 years of meditation.  He studied pulse for six months with the Dalai Lama’s Ayurvedic physician, Dr Pankaj Naram, and learned deep tissue body work for four years from William Leigh, a Zen teacher in Hawaii.

Michael has learned many models of healing and says Samvahan happily draws on science and on creativity, but he insists that maps of models can never convey what the heart, hand and heightened consciousness can feel.  “I practise Samvahan Vidya – the understanding that everything is vibration and at some level everything is One.”

He insists that Samvahan is a simple technique: a communication process that goes back and forth between hands and heart, calming, softening and most importantly, restoring movement.  “It’s very intuitive, very playful, very musical.”  He describes feeling fibroids disintegrate in seconds, the rapid relief of menstrual cramps, remission from terminal cancer, the relief of chronic pain, restored confidence and replenished energy as just some of the remarkable results that have taken place.  I note myself that this month was free of menstrual pain and remember enjoying my revitalised state after leaving the session.

“Even the most diseased person is mostly well.  My experience is that the body is desperate for health, even if the mind might resist it – the body wants harmony.  If we create a possibility for harmony, the body will lean towards it.  The role of the healer is to invite change and create opportunities for change.  The greater the skill of the practitioner at having a beautiful invitation, the better the result.

Vibrational Healing & Samvahan Massage
By Michael Trembath

Excerpts from WellBeing Magazine No. 64

She asked me to call her ‘Ayi’, the word for ‘mother’ in her native language, even though we had just met. Her kind eyes and warm, brown face tried to veil the illness that meant she could walk only with assistance from her husband and was in constant pain. Her feet were grossly swollen, her ankles black. Emotionally she was overcome with feelings of worthlessness.

Sixty days later her feet were normal, she was free of pain, and was looking forward to being an active grandmother. Ayi’s recovery was found not in a miracle drug, but in the vibrating hands of a master healer.

Vibration heals. It soothes muscles, stimulates nerves, generates energy, and in Ayi’s case, it reversed an ‘incurable’ disease. Ayi was healed with an ancient vibration healing method called ‘Samvahan’.

How can a vibration affect you? Dr Valerie Hunt, a neurophysiologist and psychologist from Columbia University and the University of California at Los Angeles, has been researching human vibrations for over 20 years. She states, "At the deepest level, all things are composed of vibrations organised into fields that permeate the entire structure." Vibrations affect you by mingling with and changing your own internal vibrations.

Within you is a veritable symphony of vibrations. Your liver produces one vibratory ‘chord’, each nerve another, and your bones yet another. Indeed each cell is playing a particular note that contributes to overall harmony. For thousands of years, vibrational healing has worked to direct this symphony, and even allopathic physicians are now using vibration to treat many diseases. What you may need when you are ill is not surgery or chemical stimulation, but a ‘tune-up’ from the health restoring vibration of a healer.

Vibration is everywhere
You live in a vibrating world. Everything you see, everything inside of you, and every particle beyond the limits of your sight vibrates. Some vibrations are obvious, and you are accustomed to feeling them. Think of the throbbing bass you feel when your stereo is playing, or of the steady hum that comes from your personal computer or television. You might even feel the vibration of a train crossing a distant bridge, or of an aeroplane flying high over your home.

You may have learned to recognise finer vibrations, like a small rattle in your car that tells you it is out of tune, or the unique sound of your child’s voice in a crowd. Can you feel that your partner or boss is angry or depressed, before anything is said? Do you sense the rain before it falls? You may not have thought about these things as vibrations, but at the most basic level, that is what they are.

There are millions of vibrations so slight that you never recognise them, although they affect you every day. In 1803 Thomas Young showed that light travels in waves of vibrating energy. Sound, too, is vibratory. Strike a tuning fork, listen to a perfectly sung high C, or ring a bell, and you can both hear and feel the vibration of sound.

The ancient Greeks, including Plato, theorised about vibration. Pythagoras, the famed mathematician, wrote formulas to describe vibrations. He said, "each celestial body, in fact each and every atom, produces a particular sound on account of its movement, it’s rhythm or vibration."

Are vibrations scientific? Modern physics is replete with descriptions of the universe as a compilation of vibrations. Einstein’s unified field theory states that all matter is organised energy. Energy is the electromagnetic expression of vibration. Quantum physics researchers have revealed that atoms, the building blocks of all form, consist of a vibrating neutron surrounded by particles that vibrate and spin wildly around it. The atom itself is not solid, it is space vibrating at predictable levels. As Frijtof Capra, author of The Tao of Physics, puts it, "Subatomic particles, and all matter made therefrom, including our cells, tissues, and bodies, are in fact patterns of activity rather than things."

The major electromagnetic vibrations in your body can be easily detected in any modern hospital. Your heart produces a vibration, as do you other muscles. In 1924, Hans Berger identified two types of electrical waves vibrating in the brain: beta waves, which adults generate 90 per cent of the time, and alpha waves, which are found more often in small children. Beta waves are considered to be rational thought, and alpha waves creative thought. Theta waves and delta waves, that occur in your sleep, were discovered much later.

Are thoughts, then, also vibrations? Dr Valerie Hunt, characterises thoughts as "Structured vibrations – some fleeting and others which are recorded and become permanent". Imagine how easily your thoughts influence your state of health, when they, traveling as vibrations, interact with the cells in your body.

Dr Hunt’s book, Infinite Mind, records her research on extremely subtle electromagnetic vibrations in the body. Using the physics laboratories at UCLA, she was able to identify vibrational changes in the body at a cellular level. According to Dr Hunt, there are two types of energetic vibration in the body, neural and cellular. Neural energy, which triggers muscles and brain activity, turns on and off as needed. Cellular energy is continuous, and although smaller in amplitude it is much higher in frequency. Dr Hunt traced this cellular energy and found that it travels throughout the body in the connective tissue that holds muscles, organs, bones, glands and everything else together.

Scientists in many fields write about vibrations. Dr William T Thomson, Professor Emeritus of the Department of Mechanical and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara, writes: "All systems possessing mass and elasticity are capable of free vibration, or vibration which takes place in the absence of external excitation."

The notion of vibration as the essential nature of our bodies and the surrounding world is a fairly recent realisation in western science. In Indian medical and spiritual traditions, vibration has always been considered the primary state of reality. Vedic philosophy explains that the whole universe, which appears to be solid and diverse, is, in actuality, one sound reverberating at different vibrations and frequencies. For Vedantins, the Supreme Being, or Consciousness, manifests as vibration, in the form of sound, in the form of light, and in the form of matter – you and me. The Hindu god Shiva is often depicted dancing, his dance a metaphor for the vibration that is within all that is.

Why is it relevant that vibration is happening everywhere? Because vibrations travel. They can pass through almost anything, and as they travel, they resonate with, or repel, other vibrations. The vibrations of the various tissues, fluids, nutrients and toxins in your body ‘speak’ to each other in a constant dialogue, trying to help you find a state of balanced health.

Vibration in your body
Your skin is fairly waterproof, but it is not in the least vibration-proof. Vibrations produced outside your body easily penetrate your skin and move through your entire system. At the same time, all the elements of your body are producing their own vibrations.

Once a vibrational wave is moving in the body it is passed from one cell on to others. This communication is not strictly linear, from one cell to the next, but rather multidimensional. It is more like thousands of people shouting messages through megaphones, than like people talking on the telephone. The message is heard by many cells at once.

Dr. James Oschman and Nora Oschman of Nature’s Own Research Association in the USA, write, "The organs, tissues, cells, organelles, including the nucleus, and the strands of genetic material, DNA, can be reviewed as a continuous and unbroken fabric: a matrix within a matrix within a matrix. Every process taking place anywhere in the organism produces a characteristic pattern of vibrations that travels throughout the living matrix. A vibration introduced at one point is quickly conducted throughout the entire system."

When one of your body’s systems, or organs, or tissues functions improperly you become ill, or cellularly ‘out-of-tune’. According to the Oschmans, "Disease, disorder and pain arise within portions of the vibratory continuum where information flows are restricted. Restrictions occur locally because infections, physical injury, and emotional trauma alter properties of the fabric." Clearing such vibrational restrictions requires only the appropriate corrective vibration.

Samvahan massage
Practised today by Dr Ram Bhosle, Samvahan is a Sanskrit word meaning ‘even the dead can be awakened’. Enlivening ‘dead’ tissue is precisely what Dr Bhosle did in the case of Ayi and in numerous other cases.

Dr Bhosle is a master healer of the highest order. During the 1930s, he studied medicine in Europe, and later spent six years in Tibet, two years in China and two years in Africa refining his technique. His patients have included Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, Dwight Eisenhower, George Bernard Shaw and Marilyn Munroe.

Ayi came to Dr Bhosle after being diagnosed as ‘untreatable’ by doctors in a leading hospital in New York City. For months she had been suffering from unbearable pain in her legs. While visiting her son in the United States, her condition worsened, and doctors diagnosed her with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuritis. As in multiple sclerosis, the insulating myelin sheath surround her nerves was degenerating. Her New York doctors concluded that improvement was impossible, and prescribed heavy dloses of cortisone to ease the pain. Their advice was to learn to live with her ‘disability’.

Dr Bhosle accepted her as a patient and treated Ayi daily for 30 days. During this time she progressed enough to walk freely, and their pain reduced enough to stop the cortisone medication. Ayi continued receiving Samvahan, and 30 days later she was 98 per cent recovered, and leading a comfortable, happy life.

In doing Samvahan the practitioner reads the subtle vibrations of the body. The hand senses the state of harmony or imbalance in the nerves, muscles, organs, glands, or other tissues, and they create a gentle, yet tactically noticeable counter-vibration. This healing vibration travels through the patient’s body to the point of illness and corrects the inharmonious vibration. In effect, the practitioner creates a tuning note to which the patient’s body can adjust its own vibration, just as the musicians in an orchestra tune to the piano’s clear pitch.

To access this healing vibration, you allow it to arise naturally from the floor of the pelvis, the home of the muladhara chakra. Each chakra, or energy centre, in the body has it own vibration, hence its own colour and its own sound. The first chakra produces the lowest vibration. It is considered to generate the most subtle state of sound, the vibration that animates the body.

This palpable vibration is by its nature therapeutic, and creates the molecular beginning of healing wherever it reaches. You can direct the vibration with slight pressure to specific parts of the body. Particular attention is paid to the spine and spinal nerves. Energy channels called ‘nadis’, similar to the meridians followed in acupuncture, receive and distribute the vibration.

Dr Bhosle also occasionally uses electronic massagers, acupuncture needles, hydrotherapy treatments, minute applications of scented oils, and smooth wooden ‘healing sticks’ when stronger or more subtle vibrations are needed. He discovered healing sticks in Africa, where he studied with the Maasai tribe, and found that the vibration from wood of some types of African trees are particularly useful in healing.

Samvahan massage also uses classical Indian music to carry vibrations deeper into the body. The myriad uses of music in healing are beyond the scope of this article, yet music’s ability to create and relay vibration is vital. In Dr Bhosle’s clinic, the hypnotic melodies and intricate rhythms of Indian ragas help both the therapist and patient to relax and let the vibrations flow. Classical western music, jazz, and blues can be used in the same way.

Samvahan massage can help relieve common ailments like chronic tension, fatigue, digestive disorders, premenstrual tension, and muscular pain. I have seen it restore movement in chronically rigid joints and in previously paralysed limbs. One suffering patient, a university student, had been diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, a painful spinal inflammation that results in fused vertebrae. Regular treatments of Samvahan eradicated the pain and enabled the locked vertebrae to move again.

In most cases, physical pain and disease have an emotional component, and it, too, is vibrational. Dr Manfred Clynes of the Research Centre at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music has conducted research showing that emotions exist in their own right as potential patterns in the nervous system and can be triggered by music. Healing practitioners in most vibrational fields have witnessed the trembling, crying, or involuntary twitching that can accompany the liberation of emotions. Following deep tissue therapy, patients can rapidly vibrate for several minutes as their bodies release the energy bound by emotions. Samvahan massage reaches and soothes the emotional, as well as the physical, imbalances.

Vibration and health
Samvahan is a rare and unusual type of treatment that is only recently available outside of India, but vibrational healing is available in many forms. Homoeopathic medicine functions at a vibrational level as do flower and shell essences. Music therapy obviously uses vibrations to reach and sooth the deepest layers of illness. Practitioners of ‘sounding’ intone vocal vibrations into parts of the body. Physically rocking techniques such as the Trager method, polarity, Tibetan pulse and holistic pulsing also create vibrations at gross levels that reverberate throughout the body. Cranio-sacral therapists follow and manipulate the vibrations and waves in cerebral spinal fluid as they pass through the body.

Aromatherapy is a type of vibrational healing. Dr Valerie Hunt calls odour "a pattern of vibrations that the mind can decode." Energetic healing systems such as acupuncture, reiki, shiatsu, and qui gong also operate vibrationally by impeding, directing or enhancing the flow of vibrations through the meridians. Even pyschic healing functions through vibrations.

Many allopathic doctors around the world now recognise the value of vibration in healing. Diagnosis from ultrasound is commonplace. Laser or sound induced high energy shock waves are being used to treat kidney stones, cataracts and tumours. Medical journals have published hundreds of articles during the last few years on the use of vibration in diagnosis and treatment.

In one study, Orthopaedist Robert Becker found that low frequency vibrations encourage repair cells to redifferentiate and grow. By introducing energy with a frequency of eight cycles per second into fractures and injuries, Becker observed more rapid healing. Interestingly, eight cycles per second is within the frequency range of alpha brain waves and of the earth itself.

Vibrations in your life
Just as vibrations can heal, they can also destroy. In the United States, studies have shown that women who worked at video terminals, which put out high frequency vibrations similar to televisions, produced deformed babies twice as often as other women. Miscarriages were three times greater, and still births six times more prevalent.

Microwave ovens, high voltage power lines, X-rays, and ultrasound equipment emanate vibrations at millions of cycles per second. The effect these vibrations have on people is hotly contested. Little has been recorded about the vibrations from nuclear and chemical pollution, or from pharmaceutical and nuclear medicine for that matter. The high rate of cancer, chronic fatigue and other systematic illnesses may indicate that the vibrational threats to your health are significant indeed.

Maintaining health in an environment that is plagued with destructive vibrations is not impossible. It does, however, require the discipline to continually generate ‘clean’ vibrations. Regular vibrational bodywork is helpful, as is practising martial arts such as aikido, hojo, kendo and tai chi. Hatha yoga can also encourage a positive vibration, and laughter is perhaps the most natural source of healthy vibrations.

Regular meditation is the highest recommendation of many disciplines for producing and sustaining your natural healthy vibrations. An overactive mind, which is racing about and worrying constantly, creates vibrations that can overpower and scatter healing vibrations. At John Hopkins University in the USA Dr Richter found that brain cells vibrating in beta waves fire haphazardly, whereas cells in the lower alpha waves fire in synchronicity. Meditation brings your mind’s vibrational activity down to these levels that are more conducive to healing.

Your thoughts, your cells, and the energy that pulses within you are in constant vibrational interaction with the world around you. A friend once told me, your skin does not separate you from the world … It connects you to it. Vibrational healing brings the hope that it is possible to manage your interaction with the rest of the world, and that you can address and correct your health problems at a cellular level.

References
- Capra, F. The Turning Point, London, Winword House, 1982.
- Cunningham, D, Astrology and Vibrationa Healing, Cassandra Press, 1988
- Halpern, S with Savary, L, Sound Health, Sydney, Harper & Row, 1985
- Heilbloem, PH, Alpha Mind Power Training, Heilbloem, Nambour, Qld 1990
- Hunt, Valerie V, Infinite Mind, Malibu Publishing Co, Ca, 1995
- Oschman, JL, Phd and Oschman, N "Somatic Recall", Massage Therapy Journal, Summer 1995
- Swami Samatananda, The Secret of Mantra, Siddha Path, Gurudev Siddha Peeth, India, 1982
- Stewart, RJ, Music, Power, Harmony, London, Blandford Press, 1990
- Thomson, WT, Theory of Vibration, with Applications, Prentice Hall, MJ, 1988
- Watson, A, and Drury, N, Healing Music, Nature & Health Books, 1987

The Healing Power of Samvahan
By Jan Purser

Excepts from Nature & Health Magazine, January 2000

Einstein knew it, and Deepak Chopra bases his quantum physics philosophy on it: All living matter is vibrating all the time. Interest in the ancient healing art of Samvahan Vibrational Massage is now being reawakened.

Samvahan vibrational massage was first practised 3,000 years ago in India. Knowledge of Samvahan was lost for centuries, due in part to the Mogul invasion, and also because it was originally practised by mystics who led austere and isolated lives.

Samvahan was revitalised early this century by Dr Ram K. Bhosle. During the 1930s, Bhosle came across writings on Samvahan massage and vibrational work, and the way that certain vibrations can enhance health. He went on to develop the use of these vibrations into a precise and creative art form where he could induce specific vibrations that improved the health of patients in his Bombay practice.

Bhosle’s technique came not only from his clinical experimentation, but also through guidance from spiritual masters in the Himalayas, Tibet, northern India and Nepal. He has taught Samvahan to about 20 people over the course of the years, including Michael Trembath who is based in Rose Bay, Sydney. Michael started his training with Bhosle in 1994 in Bombay.

How does it work?
Samvahan is the application of natural vibrations by the practitioner to harmonise and internal rhythms and vibrations of the client. It is based on the old Indian Vedic philosophy that everything in the universe is vibrating. It is tactile as opposed to simply energetic. It is both subtle and quite profound and, while it feels light and soothing, it has far-reaching spiritual effects.

Michael says: "If everything in the universe is vibrating, including us, then inducing a vibration in a person’s body is a way of changing that person’s own vibrations. Samvahan operates on the principle of ‘entertainment’. This is a simple law of physics discovered in the 1600s by physicist Christiaan Huygons. He sat some clocks with swinging pendulums in the same room. Eventually the pendulums all began to match. One pendulum (a driver) drove the other pendulums (receivers) into a matching or harmonious rhythm".

Entrainment balances vibrations in the same way. According to Vedic philosophy, disease is due to vibrations that are out of balance. For example, if a person’s liver is unhealthy, it is not vibrating at the rate of a healthy liver.

Samvahan massage induces a pure balanced vibration in the body part, or body as a whole, so that it will begin to oscillate at the more harmonic vibration. The more harmonic vibrations that can be induced, the more likely the body is to be healthy.

What can it help?
Says Michael: "From simply feeling a little more light, clear and relaxed to feeling more balanced emotionally, to feeling more at peace in the nervous system, to feeling a difference within the digestive system, the glands, or the menstrual system – right through to having a dramatic change in a physical state. For instance, I have seen Samvahan create a reduction in blood pressure, blood sugar levels and other physical symptoms associated with chronic diseases."

He adds: "A client’s body responds with delight because it wants so desperately to be well. No one who comes to me feels that their life is in perfect order. People come because they want balance, whether it’s emotionally, physically, with relationships, or spiritually. When balanced vibrations are induced, there is almost a joy that arises, a silent cry ‘Ah, that’s it!’ It’s much like a child wandering around in a shopping centre knowing that Mum’s around somewhere but they’re a little panicky because she’s not right there. And, then suddenly they see Mum and there’s a sense of ‘Ah, everything’s OK’. That happens in the body with Samvahan. People feel more grounded, more open emotionally, more at peace – and more comfortable in their body in ways that they can’t really describe."

What is used in the treatment?
Apart from his hands, Michael uses a set of German tuning forks set at different frequencies to which different parts of the body respond. He has found the forks very effective and studied their use both with Dr Bhosle and through his own clinical experience. Michael also uses toning – the making of specific notes with his voice – create a desired healing vibration.

What to expect
Michael talks to the patient about their health history and why they came to see him. Everything from their emotional and physical state to what is going on in their life and work is discussed. He takes time to do this to gain the full picture of the person. He then uses Ayurvedic pulse diagnosis to determine which of the constitutional types within the body are in or out of balance.

The client then undresses to their underwear and lies on the massage table. They are draped in such a fashion to make them feel completely comfortable. Michael begins by working along the spine, which he says is the most expressive of body imbalances. If there is congestion or tension around a spot in the spine, then there is likely to be disharmony within the corresponding organs, as related to the autonomic nervous system. After working with the spine he moves to other areas where the vibrational work is needed. The sensations the client would feel include rhythmic pulsing, which complements the body’s inherent musical rhythm and creates harmony. Michael applies the tuning forks to different areas of the body during the treatment and, with this, a soft humming vibration can be felt.

How long does it take?
Benefits of some kind are usually felt immediately. At the very least the person feels a greater sense of peace. I found after my first treatment that I was unusually calm and still deep within. It was as though the edges of my body were not there, somehow – my body was so ‘in tune’ that I couldn’t feel where it stopped and where the space around it began. It was an exquisite feeling which stayed with me for days.

Michael stresses that the effects of Samvahan are cumulative; repeated treatments are required to make long-term changes, especially if the problem is chronic. Michael also encourages his clients to work with other modalities. This may include nutrition, meditation, psychotherapy or whatever is necessary to change the lifestyle that crated the imbalance in the first place.

"Being well is everyone’s natural state," says Michael. "It is what everyone’s body wants – it is what every cell wants. Experiencing Samvahan lets you body hear the ‘tune’ of its own wellness. You can then carry that tune and refer to it, and know it is possible experience true harmony."

Good Vibes For Your Health and the Universe
by Michael Trembath

Excerpts from a presentation to the 1998 World Conference on Alternative Medicine in Mumbai, India

"There are no miracles in healing. Healing is science. Only those who do not understand the science behind the cure call it a miracle." These words were spoken by my Indian teacher, Dr Ram Bhosle, whom many people believe is a "miracle" healer.

Dr Bhosle has used vibrational massage to cure illnesses of all kinds for 60 years, and insists that there is no "magic" in what he does.

How, then, does vibration heal? How do treatments like homeopathy, flower remedies, bush essences, crystals, music, pulsing and vibrational massage improve your health? It is not a secret. The Indian scriptures described this science 5,000 years ago, and modern science is beginning to understand it, too.

The Indian sages proclaimed in the Vedic scriptures Naada Tmakam Gagat, "The whole universe is nothing but sound," and as you know, sound is nothing but vibration. If you wonder if this is relevant to you, consider that the Indian sages also wrote, Je Bramandi Tatha Pinde, "All that is in the universe is also within you".

Vibration is all there is.

The paper in your hands, your body, the thoughts in your head, everything visible and invisible is vibration. Vibration is the ground principle of health, healing and life.

What the Vedantins have understood for millennia, scientists around the world have been verifying since the 1960’s. Dr Valerie Hunt, a neurophysiologist from Columbia University in New York, has been researching human vibration for over 20 years. She writes, "At the deepest level all things are composed of vibrations, organised into fields that permeate the entire structure."

According to Dr William Tiller, the Chairman of the Department of Materials Science at Stanford University, "Each atom and molecule, cell and gland in our body has a characteristic frequency at which it will both absorb and emit radiation."

It is important that we understand what Dr. Tiller means. He is saying that your liver has a particular vibrational frequency that is different from the vibration of your brain, your bones, and your glands. Each physiological system, every organ, and all the cells within your body have unique frequencies at which they absorb (receive) vibrations and at which they emit (send) vibrations.

These minute vibrational frequencies do not come from somewhere outside of you. They are generated by the cells, the tissues, the fluids, and the organs themselves.

Scholars across many cultures have used this fact in medicine and in spirituality. The Brahmin priests in India chant particular sounds and mantras that resonate with specific body parts to purify the body, induce health, and advance their spiritual state. Tibetan monks do the same things, as did Gregorian Monks 800 years ago.

Vibration affects all things

Scientists in Denver, Colorado conducted an experiment on plants in the 1970’s. The biologists played radio music for identical plants, and they found that plants grew better when classical music was played than when rock music was played. To determine the magnitude of the effect that music vibrations have on plants, additional research was conducted. One group of plants received no music. One group was played only Bach’s classical baroque pieces, and one group had only the classical Indian music of sitarist Ravi Shankar.

The plants that received Bach’s music grew taller and thicker than the plants that had no music at all. In addition, Bach’s plants were drawn toward the speakers in the same way as some plants grow toward the sun, some leaning over 35 degrees from vertical.

These definitive results paled in comparison to the plants that received the Indian classical music. They were the healthiest plants of all, and leaned over almost horizontally to reach toward the source of the music. There can be no doubt that biological organisms are positively influenced by some vibrations more than others.

While there are billions of possible vibrational frequencies that could permeate our universe, only 1,600 patterns are found. The patterns are not random, but are organised harmonically. All the vibrations of the entire universe relate to each other according to simple mathematical laws, laws that were recorded by scientists throughout the ages, including the ancient Greeks, the Egyptians, and the Indians.

A fascinating example was given by Swiss astronomer Johannes Kelper in the seventeenth century. Kelper recorded relationships between the planets of our solar system. Kelper measured the fastest speed that each planet traveled in its orbit of the sun and the slowest speed each planet traveled. He then made a ratio for each planet of highest speed to lowest speed and aligned the ratios chronologically.

To Kepler’s surprise, the ratios of the planets were aligned in a perfect musical overtone scale. The planets’ orbits were harmonically determined. Kepler was so accurate that his descriptions were used centuries later to predict the orbit and then locate the planet Uranus.

The universe is organised mathematically in harmonics of octaves.

The musical scale is the acoustic representation of this structure, yet the law of octaves applies to all things. The seven basic notes of the musical scale and their overtones occur in al things. The notes of the scale, "Do…RE…Mi…Fa…So…La…Ti," repeat again and again at higher and lower frequencies. Each repetition from "Do" is exactly twice the frequency of the first, and a third "Do" is twice the frequency of the second. Although they sound different, the second and third frequencies are in perfect harmony with the original. The frequencies are in complete balance, in perfect resonance with each other.

A modern Swiss mathematician and musician named Hans Cousto has written extensively on the connection between music, astronomy, mathematics and healing. Cousto documents that the vibrational frequencies of astronomical phenomena have mathematical equivalents to the vibrations of musical notes and to the vibrations of our bodies. Cousto’s work is a modern treatise on themes and formulas written by Greek scientists Plato and Pythagorus.

Hans Cousto gives an example to illustrate the vibrational relationships of the cosmos.

The earth takes 365.24 days to orbit the sun. That is 31,556,925.98 seconds. The basic, balancing frequency of Earth’s winter, spring, summer and autumn is 1 over 31,556,9225.98. It is the mathematical expression of the pulse that brings new life to our planet.

This frequency is, obviously, not in the audible range of the human ear. To find an acoustic equivalent of the Earth’s orbit, we must determine which frequency within the range of our ears that is in perfect harmony with the Earth’s orbit.

When the original frequency is doubled, like an octave going from low "Do" to the next higher "Do", we have a new frequency that is in perfect resonance, even though they are octaves apart.

Therefore, when we double the frequency of the Earth’s orbit around the sun 32 times, we reach an audible frequency of 136.10 Hertz. This is the musical note "C#". It is not a particularly significant note in the western musical scale, but in the classical Indian scale "C#", which they call "Sa", is the most common tuning note for the whole musical system. "Sa" is the note to which the sitar and tamboura are tuned. It is the note that every Indian singer must learn to sing perfectly before any other. It is the central note for most ragas (songs), and it is the most frequently used note for singing the ancient mantra "OM".

Why does that matter? Because this note, the frequency that balances the Earth, also balances the human body. The Vedas say "Je Bramande Tatha Pinde", all that is in the universe is also within you. When a sitar or a tamboura play "Sa" it penetrates our bodies and creates an energising balance, awakening our natural healing ability and soothing whatever discomfort we may be feeling. It relaxes tissues, clams the heart, and induces meditation, just as it balances and regenerates the earth on its annual pilgrimage around the sun.

Mathematics, physics, astronomy, music and your body are all related vibrationally

Here is another example: The earth takes 24 hours or 86,400 seconds to spin once on its axis. One day has a vibrational frequency of 1 over 86,400. This is a frequency that you do feel at a very subtle level, even though you cannot hear it. If you have ever taken a long airplane flight you have felt how out of balance you are when you change the length of your day by crossing time zones. It takes a couple of days for you to get back in tune with the frequency of the Earth.

To make the frequency of the earth day audible we simply double the frequency until it is within our acoustic range, each time increasing the frequency by one octave, keeping the frequency in perfect harmony with the original tone. After doubling the frequency 24 times, we reach the audible frequency of 194.18 Hertz. This frequency is perfectly in tune with our most basic time unit, the sequence that balances night and day, rest and activity. It is the frequency of daily renewal.

It is also the frequency of the western musical note "G" and the Indian musical note "Pa". Pa is the note of stimulation, and as it sings the renewal of the earth each day, it also energises and strengthens the cells and tissues in the human body.

What are these two examples relevant to your health?

Because they are two vibrations among many that occur naturally in a healthy body. "Pa" is generated constantly at the floor of your pelvis and "Sa" vibrates spontaneously in your heart region. Breathing deeply into the floor of your pelvis or singing long, steady notes that resonate in your chest help balance your entire system at the deepest possible levels.

Inducing these vibrations into an organ or gland that is out of balance can help bring the disease back into harmony, back to health. Vibrational massage, music, light waves, homeopathy, flower remedies and other vibrational medicine do just that.

Every part of you is vibrating and harmonising with every other part of you. It is like a choir of a million voices singing the rhythms that keep you functioning. If you change the vibrations within you then your health must change to follow the harmony. It is a science that you can use to keep tuned to perfect health.