Although it is sometimes referred to as “new age wellness,” sound healing is not a new form of therapy. Music was utilized to treat mental illnesses by the ancient Greeks, and sound has been employed to help people work faster, influence others, and increase morale throughout history. Many people also believe that sound has the ability to heal the body. This is because sound therapy is a natural instinct for humans. Consider how a beloved song may brighten your day. Of course, sound therapy nowadays can take many various forms. Music and voice are still quite popular due to their intuitive nature. Many practitioners, on the other hand, prefer to employ tuning forks and gongs. This is due to the fact that these can work more quickly to generate a therapeutic effect. Here’s a little primer on sound healing.
WHAT IS SOUND HEALING?
Simply said, sound vibrations are used to calm your mind and body. “To heal is to generate sound,” explains Red Doors Studio Gong Master Martha Collard. “Sound has the ability to transform frequencies from guilt and fear to higher vibrations of love and joy. The use of sacred instruments or the voice to relieve energetic blockages and induce a sense of comfort and harmony in the body is known as sound healing.” While there are several types of sound treatment, all of them produce vibrations that modify your brain patterns.
Vibrations are very effective for mending the body, according to Malbert Lee, a Hong Kong-based Crystal Bowl and Gong Master. “Water is a tremendous conductor for sound vibration,” he points out, noting that the adult body is 75 per cent water. “Vibrations enhance circulation, energy flow, and rejuvenation when they travel through the body. The sound’s frequency synchronizes with brainwaves, triggering relaxation reactions in the body.”
Overview
The experience of sound therapy is both passive and active. By lying down and slowing your breath, you get calmer. You are preparing to become the receiver of sound by doing so. You participate by being more open and aware of each sound that enters this space of quiet. The same way a mantra helps you arrive at the still point of meditation, sound helps establish the passage to this state of calm.
Voice, percussion, tuning forks, and Himalayan singing bowls are just a few of the instruments I employ. It’s crucial to remember that awareness is crucial to our own healing. Vocal toning, in my opinion, is a highly effective technique for fine-tuning our most powerful vibrational instrument: our own bodies. To help clients achieve a greater feeling of balance in their life, I always advise them to add simple but effective breathing and vocal toning exercises into their daily routine.
Types of sound healing
There are a few different types of sound therapy, each with different benefits, though not all have been supported through research.
#1. Guided meditation
Guided meditation is a type of sound therapy in which you meditate while listening to spoken instructions, either in a session or class or through video or an app. Chanting or repeating mantras or prayers can be used as a kind of meditation.
According to research from Trusted Source, meditation has a number of health benefits, including:
- stress reduction
- decreased anxiety and depression
- improved memory
- reduced blood pressure
- pain reduction
- lower cholesterol
- decreased risk of heart disease and stroke
#2. Neurologic music therapy
Music therapy can help you relax and de-stress. It has been proven to be more helpful than prescription medicines in lowering anxiety levels before to surgery. A 2017 study indicated that after spine surgery, a 30-minute music therapy session combined with standard treatment improved pain.
A certified provider examines the individual’s needs before administering music therapy. Creating, listening, singing, and moving to music are all part of the treatment process. It use for physical rehabilitation, pain management, and brain damage, among other things.
#3. Method
The Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music (GIM), named for Helen L. Bonny, PhD, uses classical music and imagery to assist people to explore personal growth, consciousness, and transformation.
A 2017 study found promising indications that a series of GIM sessions could help persons with medical and mental health issues improve their psychological and physiological wellbeing.
#4. Nordoff-Robbins
Skilled musicians who have completed the Nordoff-Robbins 2-year master’s degree administer this sound healing method. They play the music that is familiar to patients being treated, collaborate on new music, or prepare for a performance.
The Nordoff-Robbins method is to treat children (as well as their parents) with developmental delays, mental health issues, learning difficulties, autism spectrum disorder, dementia, and other disorders.
#5. Tuning fork therapy
Tuning fork therapy applies particular vibrations to different regions of the body using calibrated metal tuning forks. This can aid in the release of stress and energy, as well as the promotion of emotional balance. It’s to work similarly to acupuncture, but instead of needles, it uses sound frequencies to stimulate points.
Tuning fork therapy has been shown to help reduce muscle and bone pain in several studies.
#6. Brainwave entrainment
This method, also known as binaural beats, uses pulsating sound to induce a specific state in the brain by encouraging your brain waves to align to the beat’s frequency. It’s to aid in the induction of focus, a hypnotic state, relaxation, and sleep. Though additional research is needed, there is some evidence that auditory brainwave entrainment decreases anxiety, pain, and premenstrual syndrome symptoms, as well as improving behavioural difficulties in children, Trusted Source.
Sound healing benefits
#1. It’s super-relaxing
One of the most important and universal advantages of sound therapy is deep relaxation. “The tones pervade our system, restoring harmony,” explains Sarhangi. So, even if you don’t get anything else out of a sound healing session, the relaxation alone is worthwhile. We could all use some chill vibes right now, with our hectic schedules and so much going on in the world.
#2. It helps clears energetic blockages
As the sound vibrations open, clear, and balance their chakras and release blocked energy, some patients experience deep healing during sound therapy. It’s an “energetic deep tissue massage,” according to Schieffelin, that leaves you feeling balanced and rejuvenated.
“You may also feel bodily sensations like tingling in your hands or a sense of being hot or chilly when [a healing] occurs,” Schieffelin says. “Breathe in the feelings without identifying or categorizing them. Instead, concentrate on your breath as it passes.”
#3. It boosts your health
That’s correct, it isn’t entirely woo-woo. According to Schieffelin, “research has already proved that sound healing may be tremendously effective when working with [a range of] patients.” Also, its improved sleep, less chronic pain and blood pressure, lower cholesterol, and a lower risk of heart disease are all possible benefits. (However, if you require professional assistance with these issues, please consult a licensed medical practitioner.)
#4. It supports mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being
On a mental and emotional level, it also heals. According to Schieffelin, “sound healing helps alleviate tension, anxiety, and depression.” “It brings a revitalized sense of purpose, well-being, peace, and enjoyment to the mind.”
Sound healing fequencies
While sound and frequencies are to impact human health in several ways, there are specific frequencies that are in alternative medicine to be particularly healing to the human body. Here is a list of those frequencies that are generally considered to have healing properties:
#1. 40Hz
Flickering lights and sounds at 40 hertz have been used in Alzheimer’s therapy studies to stimulate an increased neural response and fight symptoms of dementia. In addition, sound at 40 hertz has been linked to gamma brain waves and the stimulation of memory.
#2. 174Hz
174 hertz is one of the Solfeggio frequencies, a series of tones used in sacred music that is believed in alternative medicine to have different positive effects on human health. 174 hertz is with the reduction of both pain and stress.
#3. 285Hz
285 hertz is also one of the Solfeggio frequencies and is instrumental in the healing of cuts, burns, and other physical wounds. 285 hertz sound frequencies are suppose to activate the body into cellular regeneration, encouraging it to heal itself in the event of an injury.
#4. 396Hz
This sound frequency is with the removal of fear and other negative feelings. As one of the Solfeggio frequencies, the 396-hertz tone aids in the removal of the feeling of guilt, making it an effective addition to spiritual music. 396-hertz frequencies balance the root chakra while simultaneously transforming negative emotions such as grief into positive, joyful ones.
#5. 417Hz
Instead of a focus on physical ailments, healing sound therapy involving 417 Hz (another of the Solfeggio frequencies) focuses on the removal of negative energy such as the energy surrounding a past trauma or negative energies in the ambient environment. 417-hertz therapy is to dissolve emotional blockages and activate the sacral chakra.
#6. 432Hz
432-hertz therapy is aim at the heart chakra and listening to a 432-hertz frequency is suppose to lead to greater levels of mental and emotional clarity. A 432-hertz tuning is optimal for tuning opera singers and is associate with a higher level of spiritual development.
Sound healing techniques
#1. a sound bath
Attending a sound bath is an excellent opportunity to get the advantages of the practice while in the company of others. “During a sound bath, which is similar to a prolonged savasana in yoga class,” Schieffelin explains, “you lie down and relax comfortably while being soak in healing vibrations of sound.”
#2. a private session
If groups aren’t your thing and you prefer one-on-one attention, you can also book a private sound healing session with a trained practitioner who will play instruments such as Tibetan singing bowls or tuning forms and so you can “bathe” in the sounds.
#3. A solo session
Sound healing is accessible to everyone and free to practice of your own will, which is a significant (and probably even cool) reality. Humming, chanting, and singing are all good ways to do this. “Try humming to yourself for two minutes and see how your mood changes,” Schieffelin recommends. “You can also use various humming frequencies to clear and balance specific energy centres in your body.”
Another simple method to experience it is to listen to pre-recorded sessions. Sarhangi recommends investing in instruments and performing them for yourself to really take your practice to the next level.
Conclusion
Given that everything has a vibrational frequency, including ourselves, it makes sense that sound frequencies impact how we feel. That’s why particular songs and types of music often bring about specific types of emotions from us. Sound healing, which is an ancient healing technique thus uses tonal frequencies to bring the body into a state of vibrational balance and harmony, plays upon this as well.
FAQ
Does sound healing works?
Sound healing can help you clear energetic blockages and thus facilitate healing on a physical and mental level. Some of the benefits of sound therapy include: lower stress levels. fewer mood swings.
How much does sound healing cost?
How Much Does a Sound Bath Cost? Sherrill notes that the cost of an individual sound experience can “vary widely depending on technique and experience,” and that he’s seen anywhere from $80 to $500 for a 1-hour session.
How do you feel after a sound bath?
Participants have said their experience changes each time they attend a session. Many participants have said they leave a sound bath feeling balanced, relaxed, refreshed, creative, and more self-aware.
