When Kay Ortmans gave me my first Alignment-Through-Music massage, I had never experienced anything like it.   I had met Kay at a new ideas networking breakfast group in Madison, WI called the Omega Group back in 1989.  When this charming white-haired lady found out I was a Trager practitioner she  asked if we could do a trade.  I agreed and she came for her session with me first, thank goodness!  I thought I was helping a little old lady feel more comfortable in her 84 year old body and went to my session without any expectations.  I was in for a big surprise.

I cannot begin to describe the amazing journey this intuitive former classical pianist took me on, by moving sonatas, concertos and symphonies through my body and into an experience of time travel, past-life or ancestral memories and revelations.  I was thrust into another dimension of myself I had never experienced, from tears of frustration and grief into gratitude and bliss.  Need I say it was life changing?

Till this experience, music was just a nice background for my massages, to just softly and gently relax a person.  (Unfortunately, most massage therapists and people in general miss great benefit by being unconscious about how they use music.)  With Kay, music was a total collaborator, not just her assistant, but a dynamic thrust that catapulted me into entirely different dimensions of who I was, who I had been and even who I was to become.  I am a music lover, often moved to tears or joy or dancing by music.  I was no stranger, even then, to the power of music.   But this experience was a total immersion in the “sound current,” music’s access to realms outside of time and space with the transcendent.  Later I studied the energy inherent in music to change energy and consciousness, particularly in classical music with Kay.  When learning and practicing the Alignment-through- Music method, she asked us to connect to the body through the music, not only with the composer’s inspiration, but to connect to “the Source” from which the music came.  This is learning to ride the “carrier wave” of the transformative power of music.

Kay performed a certain magic through her deep connection to this Source, her expressive healing hands and her warm engaging presence. May those of us who have trained with her share a little of that magic with you some day.

So what is an Alignment-Through-Music?

Part of the Well-Springs Program originated by Kay Ortmans in the 1960’s, the Alignment-Through-Music is a process of body attunement in which massage and fine music are employed to unblock memory and emotion trapped in the pain and tension we carry in our tissues or our DNA, bringing insight into the real nature of our discomfort, raising consciousness and producing a new integration and resiliency of body, mind, and spirit.

An Alignment-Through-Music gives you a personal retreat / expansion experience in your 2-3 hour session with the facilitator ~ to get unstuck, to get something out of you system, off your back, out from under a situation and to get re-inspired and get back on your feet after a loss, a disillusionment, disappointment or a setback.  An Alignment is energy transformation through fine music ~ massage ~ past-life recall ~ deep work on the symbolic plane of the psyche ~ journaling ~ intuitive support and guidance. 

The work proceeds from the premise that tension is frozen memory or traumatic events of hurt, fear, shock, rejection, shame or guilt that can disable us.  When the tissue is eased and tension released alchemically with the power of music, it is often possible to recover the cause of the emotion through the memory of its origin and to transform the negative affect it has held over us.  Then the distortions and ramifications they have produced in our lives become apparent. With release comes the ability to really “let go” and shift from being triggered to deepening our wisdom and acceptance of our life experience.  The causes of our dis-ease may be rooted in the very far past or it may be relatively recent.  This process of letting the body tell its story, opening to whatever wants to surface, in the body’s own language, provides the missing link. Whether our impressions/dreams/recollections are actual or symbolic, we find that they have significance and the power to heal.

Every person’s experience is a little different – even from one of your Alignments to another. It is necessary to really go with the music, which is it’s carrier wave.  Though it often happens, it’s not necessary to experience emotion, teaching dreams, dramatic memories or huge release in order to benefit.  Sometimes during the alignment, moving and sounding may be included to help release the core distress of what triggers us and perpetuates the negativity we wish to abandon.  The Alignment-Through-Music process itself is psychically detoxing.  Many people come to this work already having released much of the emotional component of an issue, but the trigger can still be locked-in the tissues, organs, brain or bones and this must be released.

The session always brings a new sense of freedom, integration, harmony, greater insight, and often  deep peace and spiritual expansion. This process initiates a realization of long-buried causes and one’s liberation from them.  The transformation takes place through the power of the music and the nurturing energy of transpersonal love.  After the massage portion, more insight continues to reveal itself through journaling and/or drawing, and later in one’s dreams or often days after the experience when more understanding emerges.

More about what to expect:

Though a clear intention is helpful, as preparation for the alignment, come with no expectations or preconceptions of what the outcome will be. We also suggest a short walk or movement-to-music, in order to help drop off concerns and to get the circulation moving. Then there is a preliminary talk with the facilitator.

During the massage everyone’s attention is kept on the music. The facilitator’s  movements will be synchronized with the music because the music is the  dynamic factor in the process. We select music of high vibration; music that is capable of drawing out the wisdom of the body.

This is a safe, multifaceted allowing process done lying down on a massage table in a position of comfort.  It is important that the body be kept warm, comfortable and covered.  We use large towels and blankets that completely cover the body.  Attention is given to the color of the towels used for we recognize the vibration of color as part of the process as well.

After the Alignment we find that we are relating to ourselves and others in a new way, freer, more aware, alive and responsive to each new moment.

Gabrielle has been practicing the Alignment-Through-Music since 1990 when she began working with Kay Ortmans. The Well-Springs Program has been an integral part of Sound Accord, her teaching and private practice.  You are encouraged to explore the Alignment-Through Music process with her in a private session and the Well-Springs Program as an integral part of next fall’s HeartFire weekend at Sinsinawa Mound Center Nov 15-17, 2019

More coming in future about breakthrough experiences with Kay and my subsequent 8 years of mentoring and assisting her until her death shortly after her 91st birthday in 1998.

Be blessed by your relationship with music…..

More about Kay Ortmans’ Well-Springs at their website