Welcome to Joya
A 21st Century approach to improving the way we live, learn and listen.
Listening Training uses music and sound to influence and eventually strengthen our brain function with specific and repeated stimulation.read more
In a way we all could benefit, yet Listening Training is especially effective for those “on the spectrum” children and adults alike.read more
The natural development of the human brain begins with an auditory nerve. Our ears are the first to be fully developed while in the womb.read more
Joya is a residential centre dedicated to Listening Training, a gentle yet profound method of auditory stimulation. Based close to the heart of sunny Nelson, this residential facility offers a unique therapeutic intervention in a holiday setting.
Music and sound are powerful forces, something we have more or less accepted and used intuitively in our rituals and celebrations throughout time and in all cultures. Only over the last few decades our understanding about the therapeutic value has grown and become more scientific, especially now that we are able to use ‘real time’ brain scans.
One of the pioneers in this area was Prof. Dr. Alfred Tomatis, (1920-2001) a French physician who laid the groundwork for a multi-disciplinary science called Audio-Psycho-Phonologie. Another important contributor to a better understanding of the value of music in a therapeutic setting is Dr. Stephen Porges whose poly-vagal theory has revolutionized the approach to trauma recovery. There are various centres across the world similar to Joya; centres directed by specialists from the fields of education, psychology, medicine, theatre and music. However, unlike the European or US based clinics the Nelson centre offers accommodation and free sessions for siblings and parents so that the whole family can reap the benefits, not just the primary client.
Listening Training has benefited children and adults with concentration, memorisation and learning problems. It has helped those who want to boost their creative and listening skills as musicians and performers; as well as those who simply want to improve their general sense of wellbeing.
Listening Training is about thinking more clearly, learning more easily, and enhancing the quality of your life in ways that right now you might not consider possible.