| Date | Location | Title | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20260724 2026 July 24-29 | In-Person, Hollyhock  BC, Canada |
Family Constellations 5 Day | Register  |
| 20261003 2026 October 3-4 | ONLINE | Healing Voice Workshop | Register |
| 20261123 2026 Nov 23-29 | In-Person, Non-res  London, UK |
Family Constellations Autumn Week | Register |
| 20260911 2026 Sept 11-13 | ONLINE | Family Constellations | Register |
In these workshops, I combine overtone chanting, breathwork, mantra, vocal yoga, and dreamwork to heal the spirit, mind, and body. This synthesis rests on a diverse lineage: from studying biophysics under Nobel laureate Maurice Wilkins and collaborating with composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, to learning Dzogchen with Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche and overtone chanting with the Gyutö Monk Tenpa Gyaltsen. My work is further deepened by the scientific insights of my husband, Rupert Sheldrake. Over decades of teaching, I have woven these influences into a single coherent practice dedicated to healing in all its senses, including achieving presence and ultimately transformation.
People of all ages and backgrounds come together in these workshops, from children and those who believe they "can't" sing, to musicians, voice experts, and professional therapists. The results are often profound. Participants frequently report miraculous healing experiences: chronic pain may suddenly vanish, and long-held emotional burdens can lift. Others report feeling a surge of confidence and power. Overtone chanting can even facilitate deep visionary experiences.
Underlying all my work is the premise that the voice is the key to spiritual transformation. Because the sound of the voice is directly linked through the breath to the activities of the mind, through working with the voice we learn to enter the state the Tibetans call rigpa, an awareness that combines emptiness with clarity, leading ultimately to illumination.
Jill in India, March 2015
How Does Chanting Heal?
Chanting has several medically relevant effects on the body. To start, it activates the vagus nerve, which helps regulate various involuntary bodily functions, such as digestion, heart rate, and mood, promoting a relaxation response and reducing stress. It stimulates the production of nitric oxide, which widens and relaxes the blood vessels, improving blood flow and lowering blood pressure. It also releases dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins. We so often externalize the means of stimulating these "happy chemicals", but chanting increases them directly, and anchors us in the moment in a reliable, repeatable way.
Mindfulness meditation, backed by extensive scientific study, works primarily by anchoring you in the present moment rather than letting you dwell on the past or worry about the future. Chanting offers a powerful tool for this: by focusing on the sound of your own voice, you create a closed circuit of attention. You are actively listening to the sensory input at the exact moment you generate it. In my experience, this is the most accessible method for sustaining focus. Is it any wonder, then, that shamans and spiritual teachers across cultures and history have relied so heavily on chant and mantra?
Beyond simple focus, you can also direct the vibrations of your voice to specific parts of the body, a practice that can be profoundly transformative. Think of it as ringing the bell of your being. This induces vibrational coherence, connecting you to the greater chain of resonance that permeates both the physical and spiritual realms. It allows you to perceive the sonorous reality of your own structure. Through this dual action—literally sending sound waves through your tissues—chanting realigns your internal geometry, helping to shake loose and release disruptive trauma held within the body.
Jill teaching in Japan
Jill chanting with Rosie,
John Lilly's dolphin, May 1984
What is Overtone Chanting?
I learned the ancient Tibetan and Mongolian technique of overtone chanting from the chant master of the Gyutö Tibetan Monastery, Tenpa Gyaltsen, and the Mongolian Khöömii master, Yavgaan. By modulating your breath and the shape of your mouth, you allow a single continuous note to refract into a prism of sound. This reveals high, bell-like tones that float above. These overtones are the component parts of the fundamental note being chanted; normally inaudible, throat singing makes them louder than the note itself.
I then brought this practice back to the West, into universities, schools, and hospitals to explore its therapeutic potential. This has included work with women in childbirth; patients suffering from Alzheimer's at the Maudsley Hospital in London; those with mental disabilities at the Royal Free Hospital; children with physical disabilities at Hawthorn School; and individuals suffering from ME/CFS.
The Importance of Re-enchanting Our Lives
There is a pervasive sense of disenchantment in the world today. I mean this quite literally: there is a complete lack of chant in our modern lives. The communal spaces where traditional cultures once came together to chant have been eroded, leaving us disempowered in a desacralized world. My life's work has been to re-enchant the world—to restore its magic through the act of people chanting together again. Healing Voice workshops give us an increasingly rare opportunity to directly experience life in a community that is, literally, enchanted.
I sincerely invite you to join us.
Examples of Overtone Chanting
My two albums – Overtone Chanting Meditations and The Healing Voice – are now available for download. These include both solo and group overtone chanting. I still have a few physical CDs and cassette tapes as well, which you can order by calling or emailing me.