I’m always interested in vibrational healing methods, but confess I haven’t used much sound healing in my work, so when a friend told me that singer Julie Felix was coming to Hereford, England, my nearest city, it was an opportunity I couldn’t miss.

You may remember Julie Felix from her heyday in the sixties and seventies. It’s good to know that some of those icons are still going strong and Julie’s voice is still beautiful. She is a striking, vibrant woman, with a strong Native American looks and long black hair. She certainly doesn’t look her age!

Julie opened the workshop with drumming as the participants settled down. Her methods are very much in the Native American Shamanic tradition. We opened the circle by singing to the elements of the four directions and of the Heavens and the Earth and welcoming them into the circle.

Then came the first challenge- to introduce ourselves around the large circle by individually singing our names and our interests. My name is Julie, I am a singer, I am a mother, my soul will never die! So my introduction went ‘My name is Lauren, I am a healer, also a writer, my Soul will never die!’ It was fun to decide what to put in those couple of lines- there were so many options, it made me realise how rich my life is.

Now then, I have a very strong speaking voice & can tone & chant with the best of them…but my singing voice…let’s just say I was once asked to mime in the school staff choir and leave it at that! However everyone else was doing it- some beautifully in tune, some a bit flat, some almost in whispers, some stumbling and forgetting their lines- it didn’t matter. Everyone was greeted enthusiastically by the group in unison with ‘Welcome ****, your soul will never die!’ This got us over the hurdle of starting to sing in the group and once everyone felt accepted it was much easier to sing out through the rest of the workshop.

Julie followed this up by passing a sacred goddess carving around the circle, asking us to say why we had decided to come to the workshop. I’m not sure whether it was the carving, the energy of the group, or Julie’s own healing energy, but as soon as the carving was passed round I experienced beautiful healing energy pouring into my heart and also to my throat. I’d had a cold that left me with an irritating cough and raspy voice and I had been wondering whether I’d be able to attend, so this was lovely and ‘spot on’ where I needed it.

The next couple of hours were great fun, we sang chants to the Goddess in the round, walked about the room singing to each other and generally enjoyed ourselves and shook off some inhibitions.

After a tea break we were invited to lie on the floor with our heads to the centre of the room. It was a bit ‘intimate’, as there were so many people. It made me smile as it felt like we were teenagers playing sardines! We were invited to make various hums, tones and to release any noises that needed to come out. There were some interesting whoops around the room, but I felt a little disconcerted with someone who was releasing her inner ‘Wicked Witch of the West’- cackling laughter. Amazing what some people have been holding in! I was rather enjoying making deep noises that I could feel reverberating right through my body.

Following this we got into healing groups and this for me was the highlight of the evening. A blanket was spread on the floor in the centre of each group & one member lay in the middle. We gathered around and lay our hands lightly on them whilst we sang a beautiful healing song to them. Each of us took turns to be healed and the healing was as beautiful to give as it was to receive. I could have lain in that circle for several more verses!

We finished by standing in a large circle, turning to face each other in pairs, looking into each other’s eyes, singing to our partners that we loved them & sharing a hug before moving on to the next person. If Julie had announced that we would be hugging half the people in the room & telling them we loved them at the start of the evening I suspect some of the participants would have slipped quietly away, but by the end it felt completely natural & beautiful to do this.

So, would I recommend a workshop with Julie Felix? Emphatically yes, whether you think you can sing or not!