The art of hypnotic sacred lamentation

Incorporating music and singing into healing processes

Lament, the ritualised vocal expression of grief, appears in some form in nearly every traditional culture in the world.

For centuries, it has been a sacred act:

• a way to shape grief, carry sorrow,
• to call to those who have gone,
• of giving voice to what the heart cannot hold in silence,
• speak what words cannot,
• and connect the living to – what they perceived as – the realm of the dead.

Yet, in contemporary times, this practice of gathering together and giving voice to our deepest feelings is all but lost.

Fortunately, I dedicated my professional interest to researching the matter further, and I’d be honoured to present some historical background but mostly useful techniques that embody voice practices, focusing on the healing and expressive capacities of voice and body, especially in the context of grieving.

I will guide attendees through voice-opening practices to explore the textures of crying, calling, and wailing, with technical approaches to screams, cries, and extended vocal sounds, integrating breath, body, and emotion.
The techniques can be used both for 1:1 sessions and as an auto-hypnotic, powerful contemporary personal practice.

No vocal training is needed — only the willingness to listen deeply, sound honestly, and stand in the presence of raw truth. Let’s help people to open their voices to hold sorrow, longing, love and memory. From whisper to wail, from the trembling breath of song to a full-bodied holy scream.

A published neurodivergent psychologist with additional MA in English Studies (major in Applied Linguistics and teaching), NVC practitioner & board certified hypnotherapist, who meditates, dances, sings, laments, travels the world, meeting natives.