VASTA Conference 1998

San Antonio

The 12th Annual VASTA Conference will be held at the University of Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas August 8-11, 1998. The topic is VOICE AND HEALING. There will be three main workshop topics, which tentatively are:

IS YOUR VOICE BEING HELD CAPTIVE? THE VOICE, THROAT, AND BODY FROM THE RADIX PERSPECTIVE, with Elizabeth Pond, LPC, MFT, RT.

Making sounds, unobstructed breathing, saying whatever one needs to say, making ourselves heard, singing these are the things that make up your life and livelihood. In this workshop we will look at how your voice is effected by what Reich called body-armoring. We will explore how your entire body eyes, ears even unremembered history effects the quality of your voice. Radix is a process in personal growth that promotes the integration of body, speech and mind helping us to experience ourselves more genuinely. The Radix process combines elements from the fields of psychology, teaching, physical therapy, and body awareness, which together faciltitate personal insight and growth. In regard to the voice: it is a matter of connecting with oneself and others through unfettered sound.

Elizabeth Pond is a psychotherapist specializing in restoring the integrity of body, speech, and mind. She has lectured and conducted workshops in cities across the country and is in private practice in San Antonio, Texas and currently serves on the Circle of Management Team for the Radix® Institute.

OPENING AND RELEASING THE VOICE THROUGH TONING, with Joy Gardner-Gordon

Toning is one of the most effective forms of emotional release for physical and emotional health. The goal is to be able to open the mouth and allow the fullness of one's being to come through. You'll have the opportunity to make vibratory sounds for healing, for changing your moods, for entering meditation, and for the sheer joy of self-expression. Toning is the closest thing we have to a universal telepathic language. Joy will demonstrate and teach a new technique for rapidly releasing old emotional holding patterns through vocal sounding. Suggested reading: THE HEALING VOICE by Joy Gardner-Gordon.

Joy Gardner-Gordon is the author of seven books and the director of the Vibrational Healing

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Program on the Big Island of Hawaii. Having studied with Elisabeth Kubler-Ross and various American Indians, she combines shamanistic sounds with powerful emotional release techniques. Her book, THE HEALING VOICE - TRADITIONAL AND CONTEMPORARY TONING, CHANTING, AND SINGING, was selected by the Book-of-the-Month Club.

HARNESSING THE ENERGIES OF THE VOICE, with Julie Barkmeier, Ph.D., CCC-SLP.

This workshop will provide a brief background in the concepts and applications of various forms of energy work available. Participants will then learn techniques that utilize energy work in various forms to facilitate the release and movement of energies affecting the voice. The format of this workshop is broken into two parts. The first part will consist of a combination of lecture and experiential activities. The second part will focus primarily on learning techniques for manipulating energies affecting the voice.

Julie Barkmeier has studied and worked with individuals with voice problems over the past ten years. She became interested in the use of energy techniques such as healing touch, therapeutic touch and Reiki while at The University of Iowa. After beginning her post-doctoral work at the National Institutes of Health in 1994, Dr. Barkmeier began studying Reiki, advancing to the level of Reiki Master in 1996. Since that time, Dr. Barkmeier has worked toward integrating the use of energy work into her clinical work with the voice.

This conference is designed to bring information from the world of complimentary ("alternative") healing modalities to the realm of voice training. The presenters were chosen for their work in the healing field, and their work is clearly applicable to voice training. Brochures, with more detailed information and registration forms, will be mailed in March or April. Contact Kate DeVore with questions at (617) 713-2026, or Email <kdevore@bidmc.harvard.edu>

VASTA Bibliography

The VASTA Bibliography Committee would like input on new books, tapes, etc. which members have discovered. Please include titles for two new sections of the bibliography - one on "Creativity & Process" (such books as The ARTIST'S WAY or FREE PLAY - IMPROVISATION IN LIFE & ART) and one on "Voice and Technology ." Contact Lucinda Holshue, Email address: <lholshue@mailer.fsu.edu > or Diane Gaary Email address: < DGaary@aol.com >. The VASTA Bibliography Committee needs your help!