Sound healing is a lifelong journey for Annette
Annette Kearl– a music therapist offering sound healing ceremonies for groups and individuals– is an amazing resource for Moab, Utah.
It was after a solo backpacking trip in Arches National Park in 1987 that Kearl learned of a music therapy program at Utah State University. With a background in guitar and a desire to live her life’s purpose, she switched from a career as a paralegal to pursue a degree in music therapy.
“I surrendered to nature out there in Arches and asked the question ‘what I am supposed to be doing on the planet?’” she said.
Later, Kearl had a life-changing moment while studying in France at the Academy of Sound, Color and Movement with Fabian Maman, a leading researcher of the biological effects of sounds on human cells. She was exposed to the Swiss Resonance Table, a device with 55 strings that sends vibrations through a sand pad to a patient who lies on the table, and the Columns of Sound made by Wolfgang Deinert from Germany. This table and columns are her signature tools for healing to this present day.
Kearl says that she gained compassion for the variety of illnesses that afflict humans working as a music therapist in the Expressive Arts Department at the University Neuropsychiatric Institute In Salt Lake City. On some units she included less traditional music therapy instruments (the singing bowls, gong, rain stick).
In Moab, Kearl combines all those experiences and more to offer a healing modality that is unique.
Biofeedback studies in sound healing
For her doctoral dissertation at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, CA, Kearl analyzed experimental and subjective data she collected earlier at Utah State University to measure the physiological responses to vibrational healing or “sound healing.”
Forty-four participants who did not have experience with yoga or meditation experienced the monochord vibrational table. Kearl measured physiological responses through biofeedback of subjects’ electrodermal response, breathing, heart rate, muscle tension, mood and immune system.
She found that everyone had unique experiences and many descriptions; however, most subjective descriptions suggested “transcendent” experiences such as “losing track of time.”
Weaving sound experiences from around the world
Kearl journeyed around the world in search of ancient traditions of rhythms and sounds. She found mentors and community through Taiko, a Japanese percussive practice, and studied with Deepak Chopra, MD. She studied many drumming styles, bringing the Taiko drums to Moab and most currently African drums.
She found herself in places like Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and Sedona, Arizona as a special guest on retreats, and traveling with a ceremonial musical legend, the late Leraine Horstmanshoff.
Along the way, she collected powerful experiences and stories, like being invited to play with 13 Indigenous grandmothers—a collection of women elders with a mission of praying for planetary healing.
Kearl has acquired many vibrational and Shamanic ceremonial instruments from Peru and on the Hopi Reservation. She uses sacred owl wings, didgeridoos, hung drums, ocarinas and Native American flutes. In addition, she sings icaros—ceremonial songs—and summons power animals—the owl, bear, raven, dolphin and whale—to assist in the healing process.
She learned various philosophies that she incorporates into her work. Her selection of instruments represents the Chinese medicine elements of metal, wind, water, fire, wood and Earth.
A sound hero (shero)returns home
In 1994, armed with Taiko drums and biofeedback, Kearl returned to Moab to educate children on self-regulation at Helen M. Knight Elementary School through a program made possible by a Family, Agencies, and Communities Together (FACT) grant. She incorporated Tai Chi for the teachers in the morning.
Around the turn of the millennium, she was part of a vibrant Taiko group that used a fusion of elements, incorporating movement practices such as Eurythmy (a therapeutic and artistic expression that translates speech into movement) and martial arts. In 1998 her Taiko group performed with Tibetan monks in Old City Park.
Sound healing in Moab
“I remember when there wasn’t a lot of yoga, and now there is,” Kearl said, reflecting on the nature of change in a small town. She hopes the same trajectory is true for sound healing. In addition, she aspires to offer educational opportunities for the community to learn more.
With a background in counseling and a sensitivity to trauma, Kearl brings to Moab a unique experience for anyone interested in sound as a part of their healing journey. While she is attentive and responsive to the impacts of sound on the participants, she asks them to find their inner healer and set their intentions for their journeys.
Most people report enjoying the sound bath, so she encourages people to not overthink it and simply “resonate with the experience.” She recommends taking time to integrate with nature, away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
While she’s offered her services at various locations and in different capacities in Moab over the last 20 years, she’s looking to build a consistent business, offering individual and group sound healing sessions incorporating the skills, experiences, and instruments she’s collected over her career.
Kearl is looking for clientele “interested in transformation to experience the work and carry that consciousness into everyday life; thereby making a difference in the world through their actions.”
At 71, she’s also looking for a place in Moab to house her instruments so she can offer her services consistently– moving around the instruments is a taxing activity.
For now, Kearl offers single sessions, some pro bono, at sliding scale costs or for trade work, and affordable group healing sessions with her instruments at Desert Power Yoga.
Book a session by inquiring with Kearl at (435)-260-8302. The next group healing session events are on April 20 and 27 from 7:30-8:30, continuing every Saturday in May. Minimum of three participants. Call the Desert Power Yoga Studio to book or book online.
