Sharon Parker from Te Puna loves to play and work with her own voice – singing, sounding and toning, especially with groups.  As a child she had always wanted to have a strong voice, and only discovered a few years ago that she could expand the power, range and richness of her own voice through training and regular practise.

Sharon’s journey into her own voice began in 2000, when a friend told her about a voice workshop she had attended in the Hawkes Bay with Mikal Nielsen, a full-time voice and singing  facilitator.  “I kept on nagging my friend about when Mikal would come to Tauranga, until finally she got fed up with me, and asked Mikal to send me his organisers’ information.

“I organised my first workshop for Mikal in October 2000.  It was called “Healing with the Voice”.  Since then I have organised two other voice workshops for Mikal, tending more to the singing end of the spectrum, because I love to sing.

“This eventually led me to attend Mikal’s facilitator training workshop in July 2004, and I began facilitating voice and singing groups in Tauranga later that year.  In conjunction with a friend I have also organised several local drumming events.  However, I decided to pull back from all of that because I was starting to burn out, but I have kept in touch through e-mail with a network of people who are interested in similar activities.

“It was a bit of a surprise when Karina called me out of the blue in December to ask if I would organise a workshop for her in Tauranga.  Someone had given her my name and contact number.  At first I was reluctant, because I have become very careful about overcommitting myself, and because I had never met Karina before and didn’t feel comfortable recommending her to others.  However, when Karina described her background, and the kind of work she does, I knew I wanted “The Soul Voice” to happen in Tauranga.  Since then, I have spent several hours with Karina and as a result I find myself exuberantly recommending her workshop.”
Karina Schelde is an internationally acclaimed master sound healer, lecturer and workshop leader. Since 1985 she has been pioneering and researching the cutting edge modality of Voice & Sound Healing, initially in Europe and America, and now in New Zealand. She has a professional background as a voice-therapist, body worker, rebirther, counsellor, shamanic healer and actress, and she is the founder of "The Professional Certified Voice & Sound Healer Training", which grew out of her research in sound healing medicine.
As Karina explains, she had yearned to find a method that would free humans from their mental controller, a method where our natural expression is honoured and the freedom we had as children is regained.
"There is a longing in human beings today to fully open up the throat chakra," says Karina, "to communicate the truth and come into mastery of self-expression. There is a cry, a call deep within our hearts that wants to be heard. There is a longing for the liberation of the voice and soul – in this way re-discovering the grandeur of who we truly are – a force of the highest vibration and creation."
"When I sound," says Karina, "it brings me immediately out of my head and into the core of my being, releasing emotions, even the most suppressed ones. My gut feelings are activated and my voice starts to vibrate and speak from what I call the truth, from my belly, the chi centre where our subconscious, and also our soul essence, dwells.  This is a method where our voice is not put in a box and where you, if you don't sing on key, are not a failure – a method that honours our feelings and works with unravelling the many layers into the core.
Says Sharon: “Karina is a very special woman.  She has an air of quiet excitement about her, and a deep rich voice, coloured by her Danish accent.  I observed her facilitate a small group expertly and strongly, yet unobtrusively.  I experienced her demonstrating her own voice, and was awed by how she put her whole being into it, to the point where at times it almost seemed that the outline of her body became less defined.

“Karina has put her heart and soul into her voice work, and is passionate about passing on her knowledge to as many people as she can.  With the global extent of her workshops, and many years of voice and healing work, I think she must be doing a pretty good job!”

Sharon Parker is a Healer, Dancer, Facilitator and Mother of 3.