If you’re stressed and need a moment of calm, do yourself a favor and skip through this text straight to the audio. The sounds of Mark Holland and Pati Pellerito’s Native American flute and Himalayan singing bowls will almost immediately lower your blood pressure. Just ask St. Louis on the Air contributor Steve Potter.
The two artists have recently collaborated on a new CD of such meditative music entitled “Dreamwalker.” Pellerito, a massage therapist and sound healer, plays a range of six to over 40 bowls while Holland plays the wooden flute.
It’s not just that the music sounds calming—Pelerito says that the music is specifically engineered to induce a bodily reaction of relaxation.
“Basically, we’re healing with the energy of sound, sound vibration and frequency,” Pellerito said. “It is a multi-level experience from lowering the brain wave state into a place of calm. The instruments are used in temples for meditation. And then, in the healing process, in an individual session, bowls placed on the body and around the body help ease muscular tension.”
The two began collaborating last year through Holland’s “Autumn’s Child” and realized that flute and bowls were a perfect combination to both heal ailments and heal the soul through what they call a “sound journey.”
In addition to the CD, Holland and Pellerito offer group sessions where the music is played. People bring things like a yoga mat, blanket, pillow and eye covering and lie down while the music is played. This allows them to enter a deep state of relaxation, meditation and connecting with the breath.
“There’s a piece about listening, listening deeply within yourself to see how these sounds enter your body, how they feel,” Pellerito said. “We do different things — we set up more in a meditation style and connect with the breath. Maybe we’ll do a little gentle movement. For the lie down portion, where it is primarily sound, there still is an active piece in surrendering.”
Now: Mark Holland and Pati Pellerito share the calming sounds of Himalayan singing bowls. #meditation pic.twitter.com/leaRZUT0dB — St. Louis on the Air (@STLonAir) April 7, 2016
Those experiences last an hour and a half to two hours.
“It is the opposite of a performance,” Holland said. “People are not watching you, it is not about what you’re doing, it is all about the sound and you know that you’re providing something for their relaxation and meditation.”
Yes, some people are so relaxed that they fall asleep and, occasionally, begin to snore. It is nothing to be embarrassed about. Generally, people will reach over and touch the person’s shoulder to wake up.
“Sometimes, people say they are fully aware of the sounds, the space, being there but at the same time they are off somewhere else in their own version of a dream,” Pellerito said.
"It is the opposite of a performance."
Both Holland and Pellerito said they have heard from participants in these sessions who feel their pain fade away from deep relaxation.
“People come in with pain in various parts of the body after this experience, they are surprised they get up and walk away without their pain,” Pellerito said. “I think it works through deeply relaxing but, beyond that, the frequencies. Frequencies have an impact on our entire being from our muscular level to our skeletal system. It helps to open those pain receptors and flush out tension.”
The two are performing on Saturday at a CD release concert. They also provide private sessions.
Where do you go to find calm in #STL?
— St. Louis on the Air (@STLonAir) April 7, 2016
Related Event
What: Pati Pellerito and Mark Holland "Dreamwalker" CD Release Concert
When: Saturday, April 9 at 7:00 p.m.
Where: The Chapel, 6238 Alexander Drive, St. Louis, MO 63105
More information.
St. Louis on the Air brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. St. Louis on the Air host Don Marsh and producers Mary Edwards, Alex Heuer and Kelly Moffitt give you the information you need to make informed decisions and stay in touch with our diverse and vibrant St. Louis region.
