The resonator technology is only one component in a much larger system I am researching about, and the following descriptions are only a very tiny, but hopefully useful fraction of those resonator- related things I have experience with.

In context of modern psychedelics a resonator is an inflatable membrane structure with the main purpose of conducting, intensifying and modifying signals of bodily vibrations.

• The main type of resonators used in my yoga is made from rubber gloves those get closed with a nylon cable tie (e.g. by using 2 pliers). Gloves with a skin- sympathetic coating can be turned inside- out before doing so to make the resonator surface feel different. The end of the mounted cable tie should be cut off with small scissors or wire cutter in a way that no sharp edge remains (that otherwise could perforate the membrane or injure you).

Important is to free the resonator from potentially toxic chemical remains by washing them now carefully, but thoroughly with lukewarm water from outside before using them the first time. Sorts with a chemical smell or smeary remains of chemical protective fluids should be washed in detergent water for safety reasons. Important is not to soak latex rubber in water for long time, because long enduring humidity and especially soap water is not good for latex. (To remove possibly harmful dusts from inside, rubber gloves can also be washed from both sides before processing them, but to avoid damage of the material it is important to dry them completely before mounting the clip, which needs a bit more effort.)

The resulting resonators can be inflated afterwards by cutting a small, round hole into the tip of one of its fingers, which can be closed afterwards with a knot to keep the air inside. (Don't knot too tight, to make it possible to let the air out again later, and avoid to cut the hole in a slit like or jagged way, because this would tear out very easily.)

• Another possibility to make such resonators inflatable without knotting a finger of it is to include a small plastic pipe as an inlet into the cable tie clip. Important is here not to roll, but to fanfold the glove's opening around the pipe before closing the clip, because otherwise its membrane will tangle during inflation - resulting in a one- way- valve- like effect. As inlet pipe an empty pen ink cartridge with removed bottom is well suited. Important is to mount it with the bottom- hole outside, because though for closing it another empty ink cartridge (with bottom) can be plugged into the opening of the 1st one. All ink cartridges should be washed out under a water tap before installation to remove the ink remains as good as possible, because ink can be toxic and may cause allergies. Water should not remain inside the cartridges, because latex suffers from long exposure to humidity. To get it out of cartridges with intact bottom again, simply shake them like an old style fever thermometer. (Squeezing the cartridges works also, but easily cracks the plastic and though makes them leaky.) 

The PE of ink cartridges is a bit fragile and tends to crack when flexed too often or bent or when the plug is jammed in or cable tie is fastened with too much force. Thus to improve the reliability of all frequently used resonators, I recommend to make their inlet pipes from a piece of PU hose instead (ø6/8mm polyurethane, available e.g. as hose for PC water cooling or fish tank air supply). This material is rigid enough not to be crushed by the cable tie, but flexible enough to avoid cracking, and unlike plasticized PVC it does not attack latex over time. Also here ink cartridges work well as a plug.

If the inlet pipe diameter is a bit too small to fit tightly into the opening of a standard airbed pump hose nozzle, a few layers of adhesive film can make it fit. However some adhesive film or -tape glues seem to decompose latex over time, so I do not recommend this anymore. Adhesive films with perfectly transparent ("crystal clear") glue seem to be less aggressive than those with yellowish or brownish glue; the latter generally tend to stay stickier and leave sticky residues on surfaces when peeled off later. But adhesive film also makes trouble because it tends to loosen in the worst moment, which can disturb meditation a lot. To make the nozzle fit perfectly without it, make an adapter from a piece of rubber hose. Generally it is a good idea to make a set of adapters with several diameters (e.g. from short pieces of rubber or silicone tubing, cable insulation etc.) to snugly fit on all kinds of inlet pipes.

• repair tips

When a resonator slowly looses air, there is most likely a problem with the inlet. Inlet pipes e.g. tend to easily get leaky as well by a too loose as a too tight cable tie. While a too loose one simply doesn't seal well enough or loosens further by use, a too tight one crushes or deforms the plastic pipe or even pinches a small hole into the latex membrane and though causes leakiness. Crushing of the pipe can be prevented by inserting a round, solid stick (e.g. screw driver) of well fitting diameter into it before fastening the cable tie. How well this construction seals also depends much on the thickness and structure of the glove's material. (Thick, hard or embossed rims tend to seal worse.) To improve the sealing, it can help to roll a few layers of a strip of thin latex foil (e.g. cut out of a defective glove) around that section of the pipe where the glove rim gets folded together before fastening the cable tie over it.

To remove a cable tie for repair, hook with a small screw driver or similar into its eye and bend the small flap upwards. (To simply cut the tie with scissors or knife is not recommended, because it would easily perforate the resonator's membrane.)

To detect small holes in resonators, their air current can be felt best with the eyeball by holding your eye close to its surface. Also dipping the slightly inflated resonator under water to search for rising bubbles may be performed, but remember that remaining humidity would be not good for latex.

Tip: For acute latex allergics (also see here) silicone swimcap resonators (described here) might be an alternative to benefit too from most of the following meditation exercises. Unfortunately at least the sorts I tried seem to emit toxic chemicals those vapours maladjust my nervous system badly and made me feel very sick.

(Remarks: To a newbie the effort of building resonators may appear strange, because he may think that ordinary cheap toy balloons from any shop around could serve the same purposes also. But as an experienced person you can trust me that the material qualities of good resonators of this kind can be very different from those of simple throwaway toy balloons and have sensually nearly nothing common with them. It is really worth this work - when treated with care, the lifetime of a good resonator can last very long. The inlet pipe construction can also well be added to (e.g. large) toy balloons to make them easily deflatable for re-usability.)

Laws of latex...  ;-)

For safe work with elastomer (rubber) resonators it is important to know that elastomers follow their own physical laws those need to be urgently regarded to avoid to destroy them. Important is especially to learn to distinguish in which range the resonator's material is operated.

The sensitivity with that the membrane of a resonator reacts on an increase of stress with an increase of strain is called the "steepness" of the membrane (due to the steepness of the material curve in the stress/ strain diagram).

The more the membrane gets stretched, the lower gets its steepness (i.e. the tighter gets the material) for a short time. The problem is that at higher operating ranges (i.e. higher given strain) the molecule chains of an elastomer begin to drift slowly apart from each other, causing the steepness to locally increase again (making the material softer) there with the time. And increasing steepness causes the less stretched areas (those steepness is still low) to draw the more stretched ones into even higher ranges. And because not stress, but strain is the limiting parameter, the membrane therefore gets endangered to get destroyed by this instability as soon the system just gets driven into a too high range and left alone without any additional load.
 

range 0:	(not in operation) The membrane is not stretched at all.
range 1:	(the safe range) The membrane is only stretched little. (ca. < 20% of  max. possible strain) Vibration transmission begins to get possible. There is no danger of damage in this range.
range 2:	(the linear range) The membrane is much stretched. (ca. 20% < 75% of  max. possible) Vibration transmission works well. Only up to this range a resonator should be stressed by body weight for a longer time.
range 3:	(the non-linear limiting range) The membrane is extremely stretched and gets feelable tighter. (ca. > 75% of max. possible) Vibration transmission is excellent, but strong drift begins =>danger of destruction when operated this way for a longer time. The lower part of the 3rd range can be suitable for a few special applications, but operating the material in the upper 3rd range without careful observation is not recommended, because the drift can easily lead it to spontaneous destruction.

Finer definitions of the operating ranges can be indicated using a dot. Though "range 2.1" describes that the material is operated somewhere at the lower end of the linear range, while "range 3.5" indicates that a resonator is driven quite high into the 3rd range and though must be treated very carefully.

hand test:
Fore surely determine whether the membrane of a resonator is operated in the 2nd or 3rd range, simply touch the membrane at its mostly stretched area with the spreaded fingers of your flat hand. Then move your fingers horizontally together (unspread them) while still touching it; if the surface easily follows this movement, than the membrane is operated in the 2nd (or lower) range. But if you feel a noticeable resistance, then it is already in the 3rd range.

Remember that an inflated structure like a resonator forms a wholeness, though for its safety it is not crucial how little stretched large other membrane areas may be, but instead only whether or not there is any small area somewhere on it which is endangered to get destroyed by operation in a too high range or by a visible material fault or anything else.

The differences in the properties of resonators made from different rubber glove sorts are enormous, though I can only recommend here to try out many different ones for getting experience. 
 

Attention: Don't use resonator sorts those emit a stingingly chemical smell that makes you feel bad!  Such antiprana is not only unpleasant, but unlike latex itself or weak remains of ammonia, most chemical smells also easily prevent success in meditation and can maladjust or even damage the nervous system. (More about this later.) Chemical smells can sometimes be removed from new rubber simply by letting it openly lie around in a room for one or few days to let the odorous substances gas out.

Tip: Very plain and cheap no-name latex rubber gloves tend to smell much better than expensive brand products, because no-name ones are typically of much purer natural latex rubber, while expensive ones rather include costly chemical surface coatings etc. those emit chemical odours.

After releasing the stress from a stretched elastomer that was operated in a high range and/ or for a long time, due to drift phenomenons the material usually can not entirely contract to its original size anymore; this phenomenon is called hysteresis. E.g. the material of ordinary toy balloons has an extremely high hysteresis (which gets obvious after deflating them). The hysteresis of good rubber glove sorts in comparison to this is often by magnitudes lower. There are short term and long term hysteresis phenomenons. 

Tip: Unwanted long enduring hysteresis can sometimes be decreased by carefully supplying mild warmth and motion to the material (e.g. by gently massaging it with warm hands); to gain best results this should be performed as soon as possible.

For many applications resonators work nicely already in the 1st operating range, which makes them last almost forever when treated correctly. As sufficiently large resonators for this inflatable latex cushions work great; also shoulder long latex gloves and stockings make nice resonators. Such accessories are available as rubberist supply - watch out that the prices vary extremely among manufacturers and shops - many are expensive, but some reasonably priced sources and tips are on the links page. Also giant balloons of latex make great long lasting resonators for 1st range operation. Especially the really big ones (fully inflated size 2m or larger) and large figure balloons are interesting, but always check their uninflated size first, because some types can be disappointingly small. Also here the prices vary, but eBay tends to be a good source for them.

Latex care

It is important to understand that latex gets easily damaged when treated wrongly. The material must not get in contact with any oil- or fat- like substances, and it also reacts sensitive to heat, UV radiation (direct sunlight) and to air pollution like e.g. ozone. (Therefore put that smelly laser printer better elsewhere...) The material reacts especially sensitive while it is stretched, and also a small amount of drift is always present already in the 2nd operating range, though don't keep resonators inflated higher than in the 1st range for a long time without having a reason to do so. Some sorts of natural latex rubber even already react on simple contact with warm water with getting discoloured brownish (especially while driven in 2nd or 3rd range), though the material must be treated very carefully. Long exposure to humidity in general is not very good for natural latex objects, though it should be avoided to inflate them by mouth to prevent that humidity gets enclosed in their air chambers for long time. 

Important: When a latex resonator got in contact with body fluids (e.g. tear drops, sweat stains), they should be washed off very soon (by hand under a water tap) to prevent damage. Oils and acids and possibly also germs and enzymes in body fluids can destroy it. Whenever latex gets in contact with anything oily or fatty (essential oils, foods etc.), it must be washed off immediately with detergent water; otherwise it will dissolve. The washing water must not be hotter than hand warm, the soap must be washed off again and after wash the latex must be quickly dried completely (e.g. using a towel). Soaps for cleaning latex must be mild, free of "re-moisturizing" (i.e. re-fatting) skin care substances and not be perfumed, because fats and many fragrances decompose latex, and fragrance smells last extremely long in the material and though easily disturb meditation. Best is ordinary cheap dishwashing detergent; soap bars and most body soaps harm latex. Latex must not be washed in strongly stretched state and never during contraction from it, because there it would get much stronger attacked and damaged by contact with water and especially soap. Humidity must not get into air chambers (where it can't get out again), though always close the inlet of resonators before washing.

When not in use, resonators should be stored best uninflated in closed plastic bags at a dry, not too warm place and away from UV light. Light with UV very easily decolours certain dyed latex sorts and also damages the material. Closed plastic bags especially serve the purpose of protecting the resonators from continuous contact with ozone from circulating air, which otherwise attacks the latex (and though e.g. would make it smell bitter soon). Also avoid to store nice smelling latex objects together with bad smelling things (including such rubber sorts) because latex easily picks up bad smells. Do not store latex together with soft PVC; plasticizers in PVC decompose it. Also contact with metals containing copper or silver (especially combined with humidity) damages latex. Never store moist latex or anything moist together with it in air tight containers like plastic bags - much like paper, latex will otherwise soon rot and decompose into a brown crumbly mess when exposed to humidity for longer.

Hints like these may appear exaggerated to newbies, but it is important to understand that latex rubber is a chemically very vulnerable material, which in many ways can be rather compared with a living organism than with those durable solid materials most nowadays technical goods are commonly made of.

• elastAyama

The membrane of a new elastomer resonator stays quite inelastic (steepness stays low) until it has been stretched for the 1st time. Due to geometrical force distribution reasons it is not possible to equally stretch the membrane of a (non- round) resonator by simply inflating it freely. Though to avoid damaging it by those instability effects explained above, the membrane can be stretched more equally by carefully inflating it while using the own body weight in a skilled way to squeeze the resonator into a shape where no area of its membrane will reach the 3rd range much sooner than the other ones. The process of doing so is called "elastAyama". 

Important is especially in elastAyama never to use raw force against the material. Latex always needs to be treated with respect and awareness - otherwise it will get soon destroyed.

If you intend to expand a precious latex inflatable to modify its shape or steepness permanently, better drive it repeatedly only into the 2nd range and deflate it again, which is much safer than 3rd range operation. Stretching too far can even make latex decompose; for the same reason also strictly avoid contact with sweat (or any body fluids) during elastAyama if you want to make the inflatable last long.

The yogic use of resonators

As the term suggests, the main purpose of resonators is to intensify and modify vibrations - especially the vibrations of the human body in the yoga.

It would be far beyond the scope of this text to introduce in the basics of yoga, and I also can not detailedly describe all the various exercises featuring resonators here, though I only will give a tiny overview of which sorts of things can be done.

When applied correctly, the feelings of resonator based psychedelics can be absolutely fantastic.

Important is that the methodologies I use are very effective and though have strong consequences, therefore they must be used carefully to avoid harming yourself/ feeling worse afterwards. Generally in yoga any hectical body movements should be avoided and no yoga exercise should be performed by force for a longer time/ with a higher intensity than it stays feeling pleasant.

Remember - the dynamics range of our nervous system is limited, therefore too strong signals will maladjust it. Though when any yogic exercise feels unpleasant, it is much more likely that this happened due to too high intensity than to too low one. Generally never do anything (no matter what) which causes a complete, total bodily exhaustion, because this state is always harmful and will maladjust and easily damage the nervous system. Though always recognize your body as your friend - not as your slave.

• resonassanas (yogic body postures with resonator)

A typical way of applying resonators is e.g. to sit in the lotus seat (i.e. with crossed legs) on the floor and gently press the resonator with in certain ways crossed arms and/ or clasped hands against the chest and/ or the lap while concentrating the awareness at ones pulse, breathing etc. The vibrations of these body signals get intensified and conducted to other body areas by the resonator's membrane, which synchronizes various brain areas* with each other by the synchronous perception.

(* Synchronizing various brain areas with each other to a common, low frequency (alpha waves, theta waves, delta waves) is in general the most important, central main principle of meditation; it enables the brain (beside others) to process previously blocked information jams and though to work more efficiently again. The application of special body postures as a key element to create altered states of mind by intensifying/ guiding bodily vibrations, controlling blood flow etc. is already known since the earliest shamen cultures and it lead finally to the meditation assanas of the yoga. By the use of resonators in assanas, many of these positive effects now got achievable much easier to people from today than to the generations before us.)

The effect of such assanas can be intensified by carefully bending your trunk forward, though making a fraction of the body weight rest on the resonator. (Very important is here not to cover a too large area of the membrane with your body, because otherwise the vibration signals will get damped too much for working properly.) For such meditation assanas in the lotus seat also latex swimcap resonators are well suited. Placing such a quite big resonator horizontally on ones lap and resting the crossed arms upon it creates a very good sync and can feel really great.

Tip: Holding a rubber glove resonator in a way that its glove fingers touch shiatsu points in the face creates interesting sensual effects.

Another useful meditation assana (lanternBoato_assana) is simply to lie flatly on the back on a hard ground and hold a resonator with both hands at its sides gently against your chest/ abdomen and keep the elbows resting left and right on the ground - concentrating the awareness at the resonator's vibrations.

There is also an assana group with sitting on a resonator (in the lotus seat), which leads to a completely decoupled state (and also stimulates the muladhara chakra, which eases to achieve enlightenment), but the technical problem is that it is very difficult to get resonator sorts strong enough to bear the body weight for a longer time.

In another class of assanas (the subtena_danurAssana group) you can lie on the floor with your chest/ abdomen resting on a resonator. Dependant on the steepness of the resonator's membrane (and the degree of inflation) it is possible to make it bear a fraction or even the entire weight of the body by carefully lifting the legs into the air in certain positions (e.g. lotus seat), which has strong effects on breath and blood flow and can feel very refreshing when done correctly.

Important for positive and pleasant effects of especially this sort of assanas (but also others) is not to perform them with a full stomach and to completely empty your bowels on toilet before beginning them. For supplying energy to the body (despite keeping the stomach empty) dextrose bars are very recommended. Also don't practise yoga in a too warm room; the effect would be neither pleasant for your body nor very good for the resonators (because it increases the drift in their material).

Important to know is that the membrane of a resonator will never forget what you ever have done to it. Like your body the elastomer will not tolerate repeated overload, and though it will get destroyed soon when you disregard the laws of the latex.

• electrical methodology (applications of static electricity)

By rubbing a resonator against e.g. a hairy part of the own body, the membrane can be charged electrically. By letting the electric force fields influence the skin nervous system by holding the resonator close to it, very strong manipulations of the body's signal processing are possible. (E.g. the charged resonator can be moved slowly upward a few cm distant from the front of the body, moving from the genital area up to over the head for influencing all the the chakras.) The effect of this can be very pleasant and energizing when done carefully.

The electrical activity of different resonator sorts varies a lot. Sorts with a very smooth surface usually have a high activity. The chargeability is also dependant from the actual air humidity.

Warning: This is already part of the higher methodology - I only mention it here because some people might otherwise re-discover it without me and carelessly make nonsense with it. Electrical methodology is a very powerful tool and no toy! It can seriously maladjust the nervous system when used with too high intensity, though it should only be applied for maximum a few minutes. If a kind of weak burning is felt on the skin, then it is already a symptom of an overcharge of the nervous system, which must be recognized as an alarm signal to immediately stop. Also be careful not to damage microelectronic devices (e.g. mindmachine) by touching unprotected contacts of them while being charged electrically.

• resonaKampaña (the resonator as a sound instrument)

Resonators intensify and modify vibrations, though by carefully drumming with the fingers on the membrane of a resonator (in a tabla- like way), a great variety of interesting sounds can be generated those are useful for creating altered states of mind. (The perception of sounds and vibrations is an important key element in the meditation systems of yoga. Also remember the drumming of shamens... ResonaKampaña can also be applied well in music therapy.)

This methodology is one of my favourite ones! - I really love to work and play with quiet sounds in many subtle ways.

A secret is that most of the interesting sounds in resonaKampaña normally can only be perceived in the near- field of the resonator, because the complex, revolving wave forms cancel out each other already in a distance of few centimeters. Though the resonator needs to be held close to the ear to listen to them. (Don't worry, a resonator will never explode at your ears without having a serious reason to do so; though so long you won't operate it recklessly in the upper 3rd range and keep pointed and sharp objects away from it, nothing harmful can happen.) By holding the resonator in one hand in a way that it can vibrate freely (e.g. on its glove fingers) and slowly changing the relative position of the resonator to your ear and moving the drumming hand over its surface, very interesting, morphing sounds can be generated, those can be only compared with the ones of electronic synthesizers. (For recording them, a special kind of in-ear microphone is needed.) Other sounds* are creatable by gently rubbing on various areas of the membrane with your fingers.

(* Many of these sounds are a kind of dolphin- like. From brain research it is well known that the perception of dolphin sounds (the sonar staccato etc.) influences the autonomous nervous system and synchronizes the brain waves in a way that can create altered states of mind with strongly harmonizing (and seemingly even seriously healing) effects. Though creating such sounds for psychedelics purposes should make a lot of sense.)

On singing at the membrane a resonator will responds with vocoder- like reverberation sounds.

By squeezing the resonator partly against the body while drumming on it with the fingers, the response will change to more typical drum sounds those can be varied in many ways by placing your other fingers at different locations on the membrane. Gently pressing the membrane near the space between 2 glove fingers causes interesting buzzing noises when it makes them loosely touch each other. Also by knocking against the glove fingers, the membrane area near the clip etc. many very different sounds can be produced (and felt in the entire body for meditation).

The sonic characteristics of resonators made from different rubber glove sorts etc. are extremely different (from dull drum sounds up to nearly bell- like tones), and also the operating range has an influence (usually the higher, the more spectral tones get audible), though this is a very wide field for interesting experimentation.

(More details about yoga with resonators can be found in the pictures section.)