The Ancient Science of Sound Healing
By: Hannah Chrome, 200 E-RYT, Sound Healing Practitioner
For thousands of years, civilizations around the world have been utilizing the ancient science of Sound Healing to ease tension, reduce stress, and restore energetic balances in the body. As we move through each day, we may internalize stress due to fast-paced and hectic lives. It’s natural for your body, organs, energy systems, and cells themselves to become unbalanced, pick up energetic blockages, ease out of alignment, or start to vibrate out of tune non-harmoniously. By harnessing the transformative properties of sound wave vibrations, this holistic wellness practice naturally relaxes and grounds you, inviting the mind to enter deep meditative states that open the door for the body’s natural healing processes to take place.
Everything in our universe is made up of energy, tiny vibrating particles that have their own resonant frequency or unique vibratory state. Sound healing therapy uses this principle and the additional benefit of sound waves traveling faster through water (which makes up 70-80% of our body) to resonate with each and every cell in your body and energetic field to alter and raise the rate of vibration, creating a resonance that entrains the part that is out of balance back to its natural frequency. No matter the modality-brainwave entrainment through binaural beats, group sound baths, vibroacoustic (whole-body vibration) therapies, vocal chanting, toning, or humming-through both frequency and intention, the opportunity for deep healing will arise. This opportunity can provide a multitude of possible benefits, including enhanced mood, reduced stress and anxiety, lower heart rate and blood pressure, relieving feelings of anger, fatigue, depression, and even boosting the immune system. Some also report feelings of pain relief due to increased nitric oxide and lessened stress hormone levels, which can lower overall pain levels, headaches, insomnia, and arthritis pain.
With all of these amazing benefits available from sound, it’s nice to know that there are also a variety of modalities and instruments available to provide these benefits. Evolving since ancient times, Greek lyres and flutes, Egyptian harps, Indian mantras, Tibetan singing bowls, Indigenous drums have used sound in a variety of formats such as chanting, rhythmic beats, and harmonious melodies. Even if you do not consider yourself musically inclined, there are still ways you can use the benefits of sound healing from home! Studies have shown that bringing a regular daily humming or chanting routine of 15-20 minutes a day can help quiet the body’s fight or flight system, increase nitric oxide levels, enhance lung function, and lower heart rate. Using instruments that you may already possess, listening to recordings of Om chanting or earth frequencies, or attending group sound baths are other great options.
Today, a wide variety of sound healing techniques are becoming more available and recognized as healing modalities, with Tibetan singing bowls emerging as one of the most powerful and transformational healing and meditative tools. Placed both on and around the physical body, the bowls are made up of a powerful energetic mix of metals like copper (which vibrates at the frequency of love) and tin (vibrating at the frequency of wisdom), and produce the sound of universal harmony between forces of yin and yang, perfect for balancing energy systems. When the bowls are struck, they produce a calming sound, emitting harmonic tones and vibrations that can penetrate deeply into the body and impact the energy system. During healing and meditation sessions, the soothing sounds may also serve as a focal point, aiding individuals in anchoring their attention to the present moment and increasing their awareness.
As we move forward into the emerging spring energy of renewal, consider inviting the healing and transformative vibrations of sound to release what is no longer serving you, meeting whatever the new season may bring, grounded in the present with a sense of balance, self-renewal, and clarity. If sound healing resonates and you feel called to experience a sound bath, watch the website for group sound healing workshops in the future, or try out an individualized hour-long Tibetan Sound Bowl healing session with Hannah, who looks forward to working with you on your healing journey.
