Sound Frequency Therapy

                          What Sound Healing Is and How it Can Benefit You?

What does sound have to do with it?

This may be the first time you have heard anything about sound healing. Some of you may have been to a sound meditation session following a yoga class and have experienced its benefits firsthand. Regardless of your experience with a sound or gong bath, you most likely have experienced how a certain song can change your mood or comfort you when you are feeling down. How is it that music can impact your mood or change your mental or emotional state? My youngest daughter used to come home from school and play a musical instrument. Usually, it was the piano. It was her way of releasing her day and realigning with her core- self after a long day at school. Some of you may choose to create a similar experience for yourself by taking a shower or bath.

     I’m sure you have heard about the association between harmful emotions such as repressed anger and fear, and their impact on your physical health and mental well-being. You may also be aware of some treatment options that offer temporary relief from these states, but don’t necessarily get to the root of the imbalances and create longstanding change in your system. Alternative therapies can help your nervous system to go into a rest and relax response, so your body is able to begin healing itself. Some of the alternative approaches to helping you cope with stress, anxiety, and depression are massage therapy, acupuncture, meditation, movement, mindfulness exercises, yoga, bellydance (my personal favorite), improving your sleep quality, eating approximately 70% plant-based foods, and you guessed it, sound bowl immersion therapy! When you implement these approaches into your life, consistently, over time, they become sustainable lifestyle habits that improve your overall well-being. I don’t know about you, but people who are healthy and happy, infuse their environment with a sense of peace, joy, and hope, which has the affect of uplifting everyone they meet. Who doesn’t want more of these qualities in their life?

     If you are curious to learn more about why sound has such a powerful impact on your state of mind, emotional well-being, and physical health and vitality then continue reading. Having a greater understanding of the benefits of sound therapy and what it is can help you can decide whether you’d like to have a first- hand experience in a personalized session or in a group setting.

What are sound bowls?

    Sound bowls can be crystal; made from silica, or metal, frequently made by monks using 3-7 types of metals. Both silica and the metals used in the bowls are found in our bodies. When the bowls are struck or sung, they vibrate and your cells vibrate in response.  Each bowl plays a note and sometimes more than one note. When you play them together they create cords. When these cords are played for a period of time, your body can return to homeostasis which is the state your body needs to be in the begin to heal itself.

  Sound bowls are one approach to recalibrating your cells, so they are functioning at optimum capacity. Sound therapy also impacts your brain waves and creates a Theta state that is known to be conducive to healing. The Theta brain waves create a deeply relaxed state that is deeper than thought. When you receive Hypnotherapy or take Hypnobirthing childbirth classes the Theta brain waves activation that you experience enables you to release longstanding negative thoughts, fears, and emotions that can create stress for you and or your baby. You are then able to replace these thoughts and emotions with thoughts that are more empowering and supportive for your well-being.

 How does sound therapy work?

Matter, which appears solid, is energy in a state of vibration. Every form carries a vibration, for example thought; loving or fearful.  Thought charged with emotion, sends out a frequency, which, in turn, creates a physiological response in your body. Have you ever had a fearful thought and noticed that your heart began to race, or you began to sweat? This is just one example of how your thoughts affect your body and how patterns of negative thinking and reacting can eventually lead to physical and mental imbalances and dis-ease in your body. Crystal and metal bowls used in soundbowl therapy cause your cells to resonate with the sound frequencies of the bowls when they are played. When your cells reverberate in response to different frequencies, long standing, stuck emotions can be released. When these long-standing, heavier emotions are released, you begin to experience a greater sense of peace, ease, love, lightness and wellbeing.

History

     Sound healing, according to Goldsby(2017), “has been used for centuries and been utilized in various forms by cultures the world over,…. such as the didgeridoo and Tibetan singing bowls.”

    According to Goldsby(2017), “participants in a sound healing study reported experiencing significantly less tension, anger, fatigue, and depressed mood ….Feeling of spiritual well-being significantly increased across all participants…”following the sound bath session.. ..Meditation, including systems such as mindfulness-based meditations, has shown promise in inducing the relaxation response and helping alleviate anxiety and improve well-being. The relaxation response is the body’s physiological response in relaxation, including lowered blood pressure to counter the fight-or-flight response and activation of the parasympathetic nervous system.”

  Are you familiar with Dr. Emoto’s work? He is a scientist known for his research on how your thoughts and emotions are capable of changing the molecules in water. The reason this is so important is because your body, is made up of 70-80% water. If your body contains such a high percentage of water and your thoughts have the power to change the molecules in the water, then what you think and feel can ultimately change the molecules in your body from a diseased state to a beautiful, healthy state of operating.  This is a very simple concept, but not as easy as it sounds. It is something that takes commitment and intention over time to create the results you want. When you combine sound therapy and intention, you are able to amplify your body’s healing process. This is why I love using sound frequency therapy as a healing tool. It is sometimes offered at the end of a yoga class, as part of a Cacao ceremony(more on this in another blog), or stand alone in a private or group session. I have found it to be helpful as an adjunct to other healing modalities in any area of a person’s life that is needing support, such as:

- harmonizing a relationship(combine a couple’s sound session with a couple’s massage class)

-releasing trauma

-improving sleep

-reducing stress

-reducing anxiety

- increasing vitality

- improving mood

- balancing hormones

- releasing stuck emotions

- pain reduction

- improving fertility

-preparing for and easing the transition into and through labor

- during postpartum transition

      I offer sound bowl therapy as part of my Nervous System Reset Treatment, which can help with all of the above. I also offer it as part of my health coaching sessions and during monthly soundbowl meditations.

What You May Experience During a Session

A sound healing meditation can include a gong, sound bowls, crystal, metal or both, along with other healing instruments, which are designed to help facilitate your mind and body through a healing process. Your body will heal itself, if given the right support.

  Every session is different. It is important that you drink plenty of water prior to and for the next 24 hours following your sound treatment to support an optimal experience.  You will begin by finding a comfortable position. You may want a blanket or to be propped up by pillows. Some people like to place an eye pillow over their eyes to facilitate going with in. It is suggested that you take several deep breaths to begin to settle your mind and body and move into a more receptive state. You may be asked to either set an intention for this session or allow it to come to you naturally. You will then be guided through a short meditation prior to the beginning of the bowls being sung or the gong being played. Your sound healing is a personal experience. Some sessions can bring up emotions that are ready to be released and this is perfectly normal. The reason this happens is that the higher frequency notes cause emotions like anger and fear to be released from the cells, in order to vibrate with higher notes that evoke feelings of peace, love, and joy. You may have read that chronic states of anger and fear can cause all sorts of imbalances in your mind and body. Allow yourself to move through this experience, even though it may temporarily feel uncomfortable. This may or may not be part of your experience. You may feel a deep sense of peace, love, or joy.  By the end of the sound meditation, which can last from 30-75 minutes, you will have had the opportunity to come to a deep state of peace. You will be guided gently back into your body and into the room. Do not plan anything else for the rest of the evening except to rest, drink a lot of water, and nurture yourself to allow time and space to integrate and absorb the changes that are occurring at a cellular level.  If you have any questions or would like to set up a personalized session with me to see if this modality is a good fit for where you are and what you are needing, you can find me at Mother-touch.com.

Source:

   Goldsby, T. Goldsby, M., Mills, P(2017).  Effects of singing bowl sound meditation on mood, tension, and well-being: An observational study. J Evid Based Complementary Altern Med., 22(3), 401-406. Doi:10.1177/2156587216668109