Learn the art of playing the didgeridoo. Daran teaches the "Tao of the didgeridoo" as a unique combination of breath therapy, expression, stress reduction and meditation. The deep, vibrational tones offer a unique relaxing and healing experience. If Mother earth had a voice it would be the didgeridoo!
Playing the Didgeridoo can alleviate the symptoms of SLEEP APNEA. People who snore have a 67% higher chance of having a stroke and a 34% higher chance of having a heart attack. Playing the didgeridoo is a joyful way to strengthen and tone the tissues of the throat and also provides good exercise for the cardiovascular and respiratory systems.
Daran is a teacher for the Worldwide Sleep Apnea Didgeridoo Network.
DIDGERIDOO LESSONS:
Investment is $75 for a 60 minute individual private class.
3 one hour private lessons for $200.
In person and Zoom Lessons are available.
LOCATION: Daran's Healing Sanctuary, 506 Old Greensboro Rd Chapel Hill, NC 27516
BASIC DIDGERIDOO PLAYING INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO SERIES:
THE AMERICAN SLEEP APNEA ASSOCIATION: “The first published article on the possible effect of playing a wind instrument on OSA was an investigation of playing the didgeridoo, a drone instrument traditional among Australian aborigines. Results of the study, conducted in Switzerland by Milo A. Puhan and others, were published online by the British Medical Journal in December 2005. Puhan and his colleagues worked with 25 patients with moderate obstructive sleep apnea (apnea-hypopnea indexes between 15 and 30). Fourteen were supplied four-foot-long plastic didgeridoos, given four lessons on the instrument spaced over an eight-week period, and instructed to practice at least 20 minutes a day five days a week. The 11-person control group was placed on a four-month waiting list for their own didgeridoos and lessons.
The physiological benefit of didgeridoo playing is believed to stem from an action called circular breathing, in which the player inhales through the nose while maintaining an uninterrupted outflow into the instrument through the mouth, using the cheeks as bellows. This produces a continuous note sustained far longer than would be possible with a single breath. At the conclusion of the four months, the investigators found that the didgeridoo players’ apnea-hypopnea index had dropped from an average of 21 to 11.6. (The AHI of the untreated control group decreased as well, but only to 15.4.) The didgeridoo players also showed a marked improvement in their level of daytime sleepiness. And the participants proved to be enthusiastically compliant with their instructions, honking on their instruments an average of almost six days a week although five was all that was asked for.
"Daran's playful, compassionate and masterful approach to sound healing is profoundly fun and invites endless discovery. In this class, Daran guides us through rhythms, techniques, body scans, and visualizations into deep, expansive states of awareness. The class delights and surprises. It ranges from foot stompin fun and no stops trumpeting, to vast inner states of silence. Naturally, it fosters community as folks gather to make a joyful noise together. There is no way to understand the profundity of playing the didgeridoo until you actually play it. Its full spectrum power to heal and transform gives access to our ever expanding potential. Who knew? I'm so thankful for the spontaneous moment in which I was invited to a workshop and said yes. Thank you Daran!" -Chitra Giauque
"Daran's classes are a wonderful oasis from a busy life. Learning the healing tones of the didgeridoo and linking them up to mindfulness meditation can be very centering and calming. Didge playing also helps me strengthen my respiratory system and tone my mouth, throat and abdominal muscles. It is an all-around way of keeping fit while having fun. I recommend Daran as a wonderful teacher and a peaceful presence." -Kathleen Murray, MSW, LCSW
"Gordon absolutely LOVED the lesson – and I did too. Thank you so much for your patience, enthusiasm, and expertise. You are such a gifted teacher. We look forward to playing and practicing together and more lessons from you. Hugs of appreciation!!" -Robin M. Poer, M.A.
"Daran is not only a master at playing the didjeridoo, but also an excellent instructor! His passion for helping others learn, and his positive and encouraging approach make learning the didj fun. He has an awesome ability to explain and demonstrate skills and techniques in multiple ways until you are able to grasp the concept. I highly recommend working with Daran if you want to learn to play the didjeridoo." -Kyle Kosey
"Daran is such a compassionate healer! I took his didgeridoo class (which was fabulous and I absolutely love the intentions he taught me to use while playing it) and have had personal sessions with him at one tribe. He is a great teacher with such an open mind and so many gifts. He is such a blessing I hope everyone has a chance to work with him or experience his healing sound therapy, it really is heavenly." -Jordyn Roe
Help with breathing issues such as asthma and emphysema
Help heal addictions
Increase mental focus
Promote your health and fitness
Strengthen and tone the tissues of the throat
Exercise for the cardiovascular and respiratory systems
Evoke enhanced states of consciousness
Open joyful expression and playfulness
Cultivate mindfulness
THE EFFECTS OF PLAYING THE DIDGERIDOO ON THE DIDGERIDOO PLAYER
Much of the benefits of playing the didgeridoo is probably due to circular breathing as well as simply breathing more than usual. In order to play didgeridoo one has to breathe a lot. The more you breathe the better your didgeridoo playing gets. Since most people normally breathe very shallow the extra amount of air circulating through the lungs in itself is beneficial. There is no doubt that breathing is one of the most important aspects to our health. We also use breath to control our emotions - when we are scared we breathe in but we hold that breath and do not let it out. We do the same if we experience pain or anger and do not want to show those emotions. We control our emotions by controlling and holding our breath in. This is how those emotions become locked up in our bodies and eventually lead to dis-ease. In today's society we are actually encouraged by social norms to suppress our emotions which makes the situation worse. Playing the didgeridoo forces the player to push air out of the lungs - a reversal of the un-healthy pattern described above. There is some evidence that cancer is often associated with low oxygen levels in tissue and other evidence that asthma sufferers emphasize the in-breath but do not allow the air to go back out in a relaxed way. We have heard anecdotal evidence that didge playing has vastly improved those afflictions (as well as several others) for some people. If you play the didgeridoo for longer than half an hour, you are likely to go into a trance like state. It is as if your brainwaves go into alpha state. Most people report becoming very relaxed and yet very aware, feeling at rest and yet being energized. This is very similar to the state advanced meditators describe. This relaxation, centering and energizing are obviously very beneficial for the player.
The didgeridoo is an instrument that produces a wide range of healing sound frequencies. From a low near infra-sound frequency near 0 Hertz to a high frequency sound with several harmonics going up to about 1000Hertz, we can hear and actually feel the vibrations that are bing made. Ultrasound is a therapeutic modality that has been used by physical therapists since the 1940s. The ultrasound waves pass through the skin causing a vibration of the local tissues. This vibration or cavitation can cause a deep heating locally though usually no sensation of heat will be felt by the patient. Ultrasound can produce many effects. It has been shown to cause increases in tissue relaxation, local blood flow, and scar tissue breakdown. The effect of the increase in local blood flow can be used to help reduce local swelling and chronic inflammation, and, according to some studies, promote bone fracture healing. Aboriginal elders have shared that the didgeridoo was played near sick people to help them heal.
Buying a didgeridoo? Please contact me daranwallman@gmail.com to learn which didgeridoo will best meet your needs.
