Tomatis

Development and Personal Growth

The Tomatis Method works on an emotional level by exercising the ear. It has been proven that emotional blockages prevent people from proper listening. They can become stuck emotionally at a young age, for instance the age at which they suffered the first trauma, preventing personal growth and normal emotional development. The benefits of the Tomatis program are that it relieves stress, depression and related disorders. People become more focused, self-aware and optimistic. As a result they become more confident and anxiety disappears. Well-tuned listening is therefore an essential component for promoting personal growth.

Knowing that 90% of our daily energy comes through the ear and that music is patterned energy, the use of sound and music enhances life energy and wellness.

Research has shown that music has a direct effect on people’s lives. Using this knowledge, music and sound can become a very powerful tool for healing – on the mind, body and spirit.

Dr Tomatis points out that high frequency sounds found in classical music stimulate the brain, whereas low frequency sounds found in rock music can drain energy away. The cortex requires enormous amounts of stimulation to remain dynamic, to think and to operate with vitality. The high frequency music of Mozart, particularly when filtered through the Electronic Ear, is very energising, while Gregorian Chant actually slows down the heartbeat and promotes deep relaxation. Both types of music are used in the Tomatis Listening Program to help reach one’s intellectual and physical potential. By ‘charging’ the cortex and reducing tension, the Tomatis Method not only maximises one’s capabilities, but also encourages a more balanced life which definitely increases spontaneity and creativity.

Learning Program

There is an wide array of learning difficulties, and many children (4-6%) suffer from them. They are not due to a lack of intelligence, to unfavourable socioeconomic circumstances, or to a psychoaffective problem. It has been proven that these difficulties have a neurobiological root and arise from the fact that certain areas of the brain did not develop correctly during the prenatal period. These learning difficulties include dyslexia (having do to with reading), dysgraphia (having to do with the relation of sounds to written letters), and dyspraxia (the use and coordination of learned gestures). Also included among these difficulties are dysphasia (deficiency in the generation of speech and sometimes also in its comprehension) and dyscalculia (regarding mathematical functions and numbers).

The Tomatis Method operates on the plasticity of the neural circuits involved in the decoding and analysis of sounds, as well as on those involved in motor ability, balance, and coordination. Therefore, the Tomatis Method can help children develop compensatory strategies to deal with and manage their learning difficulties and language disorders.

The Tomatis Method does not eliminate these problems altogether, but helps the person better manage them and thus effectively overcome them.

Wellness Program

Health & Aging, Senior Citizens

Adults, program your brain and senior citizens, keep it fit! The most important thing to be doing as we age is to keep stimulating brain cells. Staying engaged in mental brain activities like reading, learning and communicating with others keeps the brain cells alive and strong. I believe people need to be able to maintain community and connections and have opportunities to interact. Healty relationships contribute to building a brain that continues to grow.

In a peaceful wellness area created especially for adults, along with the sound stimulation program people can enjoy a massage chair relaxation session or other activities that boost the effect of listening sessions.

Mothers-to-be Program

What does the baby hear in the womb? Dr. Alfred Tomatis was very interested in this area of development. “The ear first appears in the third week of gestation and it becomes functional by the 16th week. The fetus begins active listening by the 24th week.”

We offer a Tomatis Pregnancy Program for mothers-to-be. Attend our centre for the full Tomatis method or use the Solisten home program in the comfort of your own home. The practitioner will discuss the preferred activities during listening with each individual client. This program is an important complement for every prospective mother, but especially for parents who have experienced difficult births before or who have an older sibling with special needs. We are very enthusiastic about having this program available for our mothers at our centre. This can only enhance their newborn’s life since sounds and music have such a profound effect on the life of the child in the womb.