Madam Lichtenstein's Cosmic World

Ring Tone Therapy

Ring tone therapy is becoming all the rage in Japan which is on the cutting edge of cell phone usage. A company called Japan Ringing Tone Laboratory claims that they are developing a series of ring tones that will help hay fever sufferers and even those who are overweight.

The Japan Ringing Tone Laboratory is led by Matsumi Suzuki, an expert in voiceprint technology. To use these so-called "therapeutic" ring tones all you have to do is to wait for a call from your mobile phone. For hay fever sufferers, the sound of the ring tone is supposed to dislodge pollen if the user holds the handset up to their nose. Another therapeutic ring tone is for those trying to lose weight.

While this is all very interesting, it is not totally proven out. However just for fun, I like Lab's  astrological rings tones. The Lab offers a range specially tailored for the needs of people with different astrology star signs, such as one for Taurus, the bull, complete with mooing.

As for me, I will try my luck with all sorts of ring tones to see what works for what.

Wanderlust - Combining Yoga with Indie Rock

I am not sure that I like to exercise while I attend a concert but evidently I am alone in that thought. According to an article in the New York Times there is a new festival that enables audiences to stretch while they listen.

The funk-soul band the Dap-Kings and other bands are providing the background music for powerhouse yoga sessions at a new festival called Wanderlust. Wanderlust blends indie rock and yoga. From Friday to Sunday, visitors could study self-massage and meditation early each morning and hear groups like Broken Social Scene, Girl Talk and Spoon at night.

The setting — the verdant hills of Squaw Valley, a ski resort, usually empty off-season — provided an almost surreally beautiful natural backdrop. All of the concerts and many of the yoga classes were held outdoors; the main stage for music was 8,200 feet up a mountain, reachable only by gondola. 

More than 4,000 people showed up, paying $25 to $165 for tickets to the music or the yoga. About 1,500 of those bought $170 passes that entitled them to experience both.

For those who don't have Wanderlust to travel, try this yoga DVD:

Mood Music

They say music soothes the soul of the beast and now there is a place where you can freely download music that will soothe your soul, enhance your mood or make you more relaxed. As reported in Hadassah Magazine by Dina Kraft, Keinan Goichman is an Israeli internet entrepreneur, who works with music. He has developed a web site, www.i-dose.us, where users—for free—can listen to mood-altering or enhancing tracks of binaural beats.

Binaural beats work with the brain and provides rhythms for an energy boost or relaxation or stimulation of creative juices. Some beats seem to offer relief from pain. Each “dose” lasts for 15 minutes, the maximum amount of time it takes for the brain to adjust to the sound, and listeners are advised to wear earphones.

Here is an example of how the beats sound. Do they work for you?

“Even insomniacs put on their earphones and listen and within half an hour or even 20 minutes they are sleeping,” Goichman said. “I’m getting feedback from people all over the world, and everyone is skeptical at first but it works.”

Read more about how music can help you in all its wonderous forms by reading: Music and Altered States: Consciousness, Transcendence, Therapy and Addictions