Sound therapy is a noninvasive treatment that uses sound and vibration to relax the body, balance the mind and improve overall health. Sound therapy can help with many health concerns, including stress relief, insomnia and anxiety.
What is Sound Healing?
Sound healing is a holistic approach that uses specific instruments, music and other sonic vibrations to balance and heal the body, mind and spirit.
The healing mechanism of sound lies in its ability to induce an altered state of consciousness by vibrating our cells at different frequencies. This causes us to enter into a flow state where we're more relaxed and focused at the same time—a perfect combination for healing!
The human body is a complex system of energy flow, with energy centres throughout our bodies known as chakras. Each chakra has its own colour and sound frequency, associated with different physical organs and aspects of the human mind.
As we move through each day, our emotions affect the state of these chakras; if we are sad or angry or stressed out, it can cause them to spin at a faster pace than usual. In this way, music therapy can be used to help bring balance back into your life by helping slow down your spinning chakras when they're too fast or speed up one that's spinning too slowly.
Sound Therapy works because each note has its own vibration pattern: low notes vibrate slower than high ones (like how a bass drum beats slower than a snare). When played together in harmony or mixed together in dissonance (like how two pianos playing different keys at once can clash), these vibrations cancel each other out so that no one note stands out over any other notes being played at the same time! This process is called "interference."
Sound therapists often use specially designed sound frequencies from their instrument to create an atmosphere of deep rest or nervous system re-balancing. Emotional release can also be facilitated through the use of binaural beats (sounds heard by both ears in different frequencies) or toning (vibrating sounds).
3 Benefits of Sound Healing
There are many benefits of sound healing. It is a therapeutic practice in which the practitioner uses sound and music to support physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
Sound healing can help relieve stress and anxiety while also providing deep relaxation. It may also help clear energetic blockages or support your chakras by cleansing them of negative energy.
3 Types of Sound Healing Therapy
Sound therapy can take several forms. There are chants, kirtan and sound baths.
Chanting is the most ancient form of healing through sound. It's the repetition of sacred syllables in the form of mantras. Mantras can be used for prayer, meditation or simply to calm your mind.
Kirtan is another popular technique that uses singing as a way to connect with the divine energy within us all. Singing allows you to release emotions that may be stuck within you, bring joy into your life and generally feel good about yourself.
Sound baths are also known as "ear-candling" where sounds are played through speakers while people sit in total darkness listening to them until they fall asleep or experience an altered state of consciousness that brings peace.
Sound Healing Instruments
Sound healing instruments are tools that can be used to produce specific sounds, including tuning forks and Tibetan singing bowls.
Tuning forks, which often come in sets of seven different pitches, are a great way to release tension and promote relaxation. The sound of the fork hitting a surface creates vibrations that travel into your body and loosen tight muscles.
Tibetan singing bowls.
These bowls have been used as instruments for centuries in countries like Tibet, Nepal and Mongolia where monks used them during meditation ceremonies to achieve heightened states of consciousness much like we do with sound therapy today.
Crystal singing bowls produce a deeper sound than traditional Tibetan singing bowls because they are made from quartz crystal instead of brass or copper metals.
Handpans are small drums shaped like bells that produce rich tones when played by hand rather than using mallets or sticks as you might do with other percussion instruments such as bongos or timbales.
Tambura is an Indian plucked string instrument similar to a lute with sympathetic strings on top of the neck which resonate when played by fingers.
The healing power of sound is something that many people are still unaware of. While it may seem like a new age fad to some, there are many scientific studies that prove its effectiveness in treating illnesses and ailments such as depression, PTSD and chronic pain.