Last Updated on February 7, 2023
Have you ever found yourself feeling relaxed and energized after listening to a specific type of music? There’s more to it than simply enjoying a good tune.
Sound healing is a traditional technique that can help restore a sense of balance in your life. It is an ancient practice involving sound vibrations to bring about physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual healing.
Sound healing therapy works because it considers that vibrational and sound frequencies are everywhere — impacting how you feel. That’s why you should be selective of all the things you hear.
In this article, let’s talk about the subject. Let’s explore what sound healing is, how it works, and more.
This way, you will equip with everything that you need to know. With this article as a guide, you can also get started with the process of sound healing.
What is sound healing?
Sound healing is an ancient practice used for centuries to promote physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. It dates back to 40,000 years ago when Australian indigents used wind instruments.
It uses instruments and vocal toning to promote emotional, physical, and mental health healing. The sound waves have a calming effect on the nervous system, allowing it to reach a state of relaxation and well-being.
Sound healing can be particularly beneficial in how to open the heart chakra and connect with your inner self.
Prana energy healing and violet flame healing are also associated with sound healing. They are also used to cleanse and purify negative fields and attract positive energies with their vibrational frequencies to promote spiritual, mental, and emotional well-being.
Sound chambers
A known historical example of sound healing is the sound chambers inside the pyramids designed by ancient Egyptians. Familiar with how carefully built they are?
That’s because they were designed to absorb the reflections of sound fully. They’re also isolated, so sound waves — or even the smallest sound vibrations — cannot enter their premises.
Didgeridoos
Didgeridoos were among the first instruments used for sound healing. The Australian wind instrument is made from a hollowed-out tree branch and is traditionally played by Indigenous Australians for ceremonial purposes.
Other times spelled as “didjeridus,” these conical instruments produced a continuous drone. And to create this sound, you had to play it continuously with vibrating lips.
It produces low-frequency vibrations known as “didgeridoo,” which have been found to have powerful healing properties. These vibrations can reduce anxiety, stress, and depression while increasing positive states such as relaxation and contentment.
The didgeridoo also improves respiratory function and boosts the immune system by stimulating lymphatic drainage in the body.
Deep breathing
All deep breathing techniques work.
Notably, there’s a deep breathing technique named circular breathing. And it’s one of the most effective ways to use for sound healing.
It works because all the while you’re busy doing the fundamental aspect of breathing, it allows your muscles to relax and take in everything that goes on in your environment.
Deep breathing helps bring oxygen into our bodies at an increased rate which helps relieve tension, reduce stress levels, and boost our overall sense of well-being. It helps improve concentration and focus because it can regulate our heart rate and blood pressure levels, which are both important factors for cognitive clarity.
4 benefits of sound healing therapy
Sound therapy has a lot of health benefits in overall wellness. Its most common benefits are the ones below.
1. Improvement in emotional and mental health
Sound healing is good for your mind because it brings emotional balance. Sound frequencies relieve your brain waves of the negative effects of depression, anxiety, stress, and other illnesses in your mind. And it can cure mental disorders.
If you feel suicidal or your anxiety is getting the best, sound therapy is a way to refresh your perspective. It can remind you of how awesome your life is — and you’re bigger than any roadblock.
2. Clears energetic blockages
Think of it as a deep-tissue massage. It’s a way of tapping into your deep tissues — to open, clear, and balance — and releasing stuck energy.
It can help you if you want to open your crown, heart, throat, and other major chakras. And as it happens, it’s not rare to experience physical pain or other sensations (like a tingling feeling). In case of experiencing sensations, don’t panic. It’s a sign the healing process is in the works.
3. Promotes Relaxation And Stress Relief
A universal benefit of sound therapy is an immense level of relaxation. It makes you feel so good — you long to be relaxed and stress-free for extended periods.
Studies have shown that regular exposure to certain sounds can reduce cortisol levels in the body and decrease feelings of anxiety and depression. It helps to restore balance within the mind-body connection and promotes physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
It is because sounds enter your system, and the healing vibrations make the pieces work harmoniously.
4. Improves Sleep Quality
Sound healing therapy can also help improve sleep quality. Research has found that listening to calming sounds before bed can improve sleep quality and duration by reducing stress hormones such as cortisol, adrenaline, and norepinephrine.
Listening to calming music or nature sounds can help you relax before bedtime, leading to better sleep cycles.
Types of sound therapy
Each type of sound therapy works. And it’s best to choose the type you’re perfectly comfortable with so you can maximize its healing energy.
Sound bath
A sound bath is a group healing session headed by a sound healer or therapist.
If you don’t know anyone who’d like to take advantage of sound healing’s therapeutic effects, you can attend sound baths. You’ll meet like-minded folks who want to bathe in all the sound-healing vibrations there.
Sound baths are a type of sonic meditation; you listen to soothing sounds from instruments such as gongs or singing bowls for relaxation. During this form of sound healing, practitioners typically lay down on yoga mats while listening to calming music for 30 minutes or so.
The vibrations from the instruments create an environment where people can completely relax and let go of their worries—which can often lead to improved mental health outcomes.
Private sessions
This is a one-on-one private sound healing session headed by a sound therapist.
Like many other sound therapy clients, you can request sessions with trained practitioners with tuning forks, gongs, Tibetan singing bowls, and other sound healing instruments.
Solo sessions
Having a trained practitioner or professional sound therapist offer guidance is good. But it’s okay if you’re not comfortable with the arrangement or already familiar with the process.
You can engage in a solo session of sound healing therapy at home or anywhere you feel most comfortable.
Music Therapy
This sound therapy uses music to address physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs. In music therapy sessions, therapists use instruments, including guitars, keyboards, drums, and vocals, to facilitate healing through musical activities such as improvisation exercises, composition tasks, singing, and songwriting.
Music therapy has been shown to reduce stress levels and increase feelings of calmness.
Binaural Beats
Binaural beats involve playing two different tones simultaneously through headphones at specific frequencies to induce various states in the listener’s body, such as relaxation or alertness.
The theory behind binaural beats is that when two tones are played together at specific frequencies, the brainwaves synchronize with the beat creating an entrainment effect that can benefit the body.
Vocal chanting: Is it a more effective sound healing therapy?
Vocal chanting effectively carries out the positive health effects of sound healing. But it’s impossible to say whether it’s the more effective approach. Its effectiveness depends on an individual’s response to it.
The argument about this subject? It revolves around the explicit vocalization and loudness of a chant.
It follows that if a person chants more explicitly and louder, the mind, body, and spirit hear the chant better. And because they’re heard better, their healing power is better and, therefore, more effective in regulating a person’s mood.
Instruments
The most common sound healing instruments used for sound therapy are the ones below.
Tuning forks
Tuning forks are small metal devices that produce specific tones when struck against a hard surface. They can be used alone or with other instruments, like chimes, drums, and rattles, to create an ambient sonic environment that promotes relaxation and balance within the body.
Tuning forks are particularly useful for restoring energy balance and promoting deeper states of meditation.
Gongs
Gongs are large discs made from various metals, including bronze, brass, copper, iron, nickel-silver, and even steel alloys. When struck with specialized mallets—called “tam-tams”—gongs produce powerful vibrational sounds that can induce various states of awareness ranging from relaxation to heightened creativity.
The resonance created by gongs has been known to heal physical ailments such as headaches or joint pain and emotional issues such as anxiety or depression.
During a sound therapy session, they help release tension. And they stimulate the brain waves in the nervous system and glandular areas.
If you have a big day coming up and you could use loosening up, using gongs can make it happen.
Tibetan singing bowls
Tibetan singing bowls are the most popular sound healing instrument of all tools.
Tibetan singing bowls are hand-crafted bowls made from copper and brass alloys that produce beautiful tones when struck with a mallet or rubbed along the rim with a felt pad.
A sound healing practitioner uses this instrument in a sound therapy treatment upon knowing there are toxins in your body — and they want to get rid of them.
The vibrations created by these bowls can restore energy balance, reduce stress, and induce a deep sense of relaxation in the body. Tibetan singing bowls also help to improve mental clarity, allowing you to make better decisions throughout your day.
How does it work?
At its core, the benefit of sound healing works by sending vibrations through your body which interact with your vibrational frequency to create balance within your system.
Since we are made up of millions of cells that all have their vibrational frequency, when these frequencies become disrupted due to stress or illness, they can cause disharmony throughout our bodies leading to emotional and physical health problems.
When using sound therapy, these frequencies are balanced, allowing us to feel more connected with ourselves and at ease mentally and physically.
The power of sound healing lies in its ability to access our energetic and physical bodies. When we listen to sound vibrations—whether they come from singing bowls, tuning forks, drums, or other instruments—these vibrations uniquely interact with our cells.
This interaction helps us to restore balance in our body by unblocking stagnant energy and promoting an overall sense of well-being.
What to expect
What you can expect from your session depends on your therapist. Some sound therapists use chants, others use instruments, others use a combination of chants and instruments, and others don’t use anything except the sound that’ll heal you.
The benefits of sound healing can vary widely depending on the individual.
Some people may experience physical relaxation and relief from chronic pain, while others may feel a more spiritual or emotional connection to the sounds.
Whatever the outcome, sound healing can provide an opportunity for self-reflection and healing.
Conclusion
Sound healing is an ancient practice that utilizes rhythmical vibrations from various instruments to promote healing of physical and emotional well-being in individuals seeking balance within themselves or recovering from illness, chronic pain, or injury.
Sending resonant frequencies throughout our bodies helps us reconnect with our inner selves while improving overall physical and mental health.
With everything happening in the world today, it’s not a mystery why there’s an increase in the number of people interested in health and wellness. And with the chaos, disorganization, and multiple distractions, relaxation is music to everyone’s ears.
So if you want to take a breather, find an easy way to relax and unwind, or want something new to try and wonder how sound healing therapy works for you, this article should have you covered.
