Celebrating donkeys throughout the month of May

Mijas-based Donkey Dreamland charity and training centre organised a walk to the beach for their donkeys. This Saturday 21 May, they are hosting a sound healing session among the animals, in the tranquil setting of the centre.

Sound therapy has been practised for thousands of years to realign vibrations in the human body, improving mental health and emotional wellbeing.

Different forms of sound healing exist in every culture worldwide and throughout history. For example, in Ancient Greece, music was hugely popular to treat or even cure mental disorders. The ancient Egyptians designed their pyramids in specific ways to create sound chambers. About 40,000 years ago, people in Australia used ancient didgeridoos in healing rituals.

In recent years, sound and music healing therapy has become increasingly popular, and not just to help human beings. At the Animal Energy World Conference in England a few years ago, Debbie Walker (a former National Health Service nurse in the UK, with a first class honours degree in Tissue Viability) told remarkable stories of healing animals with sound therapy.

Using tuning forks, Walker devised a system that she claims has potential to enhance quality of life and health, as well as the wellbeing of animals and the environment. She directs sound to where there she senses an energetic imbalance, restoring an equilibrium in the animal. Walker says that the sound vibrations made by tuning forks can also be used for healing the plant kingdom.

Leonie Schuurman, a Dutch specialist living on the Costa del Sol, uses metallic bowls to create vibrations. She has led unique sound healing sessions at Donkey Dreamland, and the next one is on 21 May at 12:00 (15 euro donation for participants). On 28 May, celebrations at Donkey Dreamland will mark the arrival of summer and help raise funds for rehabilitation of the animals.