The sounds you hear throughout the day have a profound effect on your mood. The jarring noises of traffic or construction sites can leave you feeling anxious and tense while peaceful nature sounds can boost your mood and promote feelings of calm. Sound healing is an ancient practice that involves using sound frequencies to help heal at the physical and energetic levels. This can be done through a number of different techniques including Tibetan singing bowls, shamanic drums and vocal chanting. It can even be experienced through your headphones or in a group setting like a kundalini yoga class.
Scientific and spiritual communities are only now catching up to the knowledge of this arcane wisdom. However, sages and masters of all cultures have known about the power of sound for centuries. Whether through mantras and chanting as with the Hindus, the icaros (medicine melodies) of Native American tribes or Pythagoras’ use of musical intervals and frequencies, these various methods all work to bring the mind, body and spirit back into balance.
Sound healing uses vibrational frequencies to re-harmonize cells that have become imprinted with disruptive frequency patterns. This can be a result of environmental toxins, emotional traumas, pathogens or long-term exposure to noise pollution. The principle of resonance implies that these frequencies will be absorbed by the cell and re-harmonized in the form of beneficial harmonics. This restores the balance that is vital for health and wellness.
Besides the obvious physical benefits of reduced stress, chronic pain, lower blood pressure and cholesterol, sound therapy is believed to improve sleep, enhance cognitive function, and increase immune system activity. Moreover, it has been shown to reduce heart disease and even cancer. It works by balancing the chakras and clearing energy channels which encourages the body’s natural healing abilities.
There are many types of sound healing instruments, from the didgeridoo used by Australian aboriginal tribes for over 40,000 years to the Tibetan or Himalayan singing bowls used in spiritual rites and in modern gong baths. The newest instrument, the Hang, which is a cross between a harp and a keyboard, has been described as having the’sound of heaven’. It’s also calming and atmospheric which makes it the perfect tool for meditation.
The sound healing meditation begins with the lead musician welcoming participants and explaining what to expect from the session. He asks them to lie down, listen and observe any sensations in the body without judging them. He also asks them to focus on their breath and to let any thoughts pass by. The session may last from 15 minutes to several hours and can be done alone or in a group. The lead musician may speak soothingly or they may play the instruments quietly.
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