GVSolutions LLC is a Minority and Woman-Owned Small Business based out of Brooklyn, NY providing integrated and high-quality Communications and Logistics Services to US Government agencies and the United Nations. We pride ourselves in our ability to offer programs spanning various fields of operation to fulfill the multiple needs of our clients.
HeartTones Sound is a GVS signature bi-lingual outreach program offering healing-centered engagement to teachers, administrators, and students in the public and private sectors. HeartTones Sound came into existence in 2017 under the direction of Alice Dow, who founded and managed a non-profit organization in South America dedicated to vulnerable teenagers for 20 years. She returned to NYC where she began working with a team of Sound Practitioners to combine Sound Therapy with healing centered, psychosocial workshops for youth, and school staff.
Who and Why?
“Adolescence is a time of enormous transition as children move through the teenage years and into adulthood. Although adolescence may appear to be a turbulent time, it's also a period of great potential as young people engage more deeply with the world around them. If parents and caring adults understand the challenges and opportunities that adolescents face today, they can provide more executive support and encouragement for the young people in their professional and personal lives." (HHS Government Office of Mental Health)
“The consequences of not addressing adolescent mental health conditions extend to adulthood, impairing both physical and psychological health, and limiting opportunities to lead fulfilling lives as adults. Mental health promotion and prevention are crucial to helping adolescents thrive.” (World Health Organization 2018)
The above quotes stand out to us even more following the critical events of the last year and a half. Focusing on strengthening the roots of wellbeing will bring our youth back into an in-person sharing environment, and will counteract the effects of isolation. In many cases habits leading to technology addiction replaced social interaction, creating a parallel, unnatural world where young people have been isolated from human contact.
What is Sound Therapy?
Sound Therapy is a gentle and powerful restorative practice where the audience relaxes in close proximity to carefully chosen acoustic instruments such as Tibetan singing bowls, crystal bowls, gongs, chimes, the voice, and percussion. The calming exect of these sounds on the brain, nervous system and heart, stimulates the immune system, soothes erratic thoughts and supports meditation. One study published in the Journal of -Based Integrative medicine found that an hour-long Sound meditation helped people reduce tension, anger, fatigue, anxiety, and depression while increasing a sense of well-being. Sound healing is founded on the principle that all matter is vibrating at specific frequencies and we can balance a misaligned body by using correct sound frequencies with healing intention to reprogram it.
By combining healing-centered group discussions with deep listening, Sound Therapy goes beyond viewing healing only from the lens of mental health, and incorporates restorative culturally grounded rituals, such as drumming, chanting and creative expression.
Some benefits are:
- Grounding with breathing and mindfulness
- Connecting with their cultural identity
- Visualizing their dreams and goals
- Listening Skills Sharing honestly/group engagement
- Discerning and discarding self-sabotaging mind-sets