Music
was never invented or discovered, but something innate in us all. It comes as
no surprise then, that for centuries, sound healing has been used as
therapy to cure many ailments.
We
use music for entertainment, expression, celebration, ceremony, leisure, and
communication. Whether we are musically inclined or not, it is the one
thing that truly connects humans from all cultures, creeds, and corners of the
earth.
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| Singing bowl therapy is one of — if not the — most popular sound healing methods because of its effective and various aspects of healing. From lowered blood pressure to relief from anxiety to the opening of the pineal gland, singing bowls can do it all. |
A History Of Sound Healing
Healing
with sound dates back as far as ancient Greece.
Apollo was the god of music and medicine. Aesculapius cured
mental disorders with songs. The philosophers Plato and Aristotle claimed that
music affected the soul and the emotions. Hippocrates played music for his
patients, too.
In Ancient Egypt, music therapy was a staple in temples.
In biblical times, instruments were used to vanquish evil
spirits from human souls.
Native American culture uses song and dance to heal the sick.
Instances
of sound healing therapy are limitless.
Fast forward a few centuries to the 1940s, when the United States military incorporated music into their
programmes for the recuperation of army personnel during World War II.
This is often described as the official dawn of music therapy.
Today it is used in all aspects of medicine and spiritual
growth. While it is still considered an alternative to modern medicine, scores
of evidence suggest that it is effective — and necessary — to our emotional and
psychological health.
Yet, it remains misunderstood.
Some people assume that those who partake in sound healing
therapy are crackpots who seek magical solutions to medical problems. However, music therapy, or sound healing, has a basis in both neurology and
psychology.
What Is Sound Healing?
Sound healing is the process in which a practitioner uses music
— including the emotional, psychological, spiritual, physical, social, mental,
and superficial — to improve the health of their patient.
Sound healing therapy improves many facets of the patient’s
life, including emotional and social development, cognitive and motor
functioning, and psychological and psychiatric health.
Healing with sound happens in a number of ways. Patients listen
or sing along, improvise musical acts, meditate, chant, and play musical
instruments. Some practitioners subject the patient to specifically crafted
sounds to induce positive brainwaves.
Almost everything we
experience in the universe is simply our perception of waves.
When sound waves reach our ears, they are converted into
electrical signals that travel up the auditory nerve into the auditory cortex, the
part of the brain that processes sound. Once
sound waves reach our brains, they trigger responses in our bodies.
This process alters our emotions, releases hormones, and
triggers certain impulses.
Although research on how music changes our brains is lacking, there is evidence to suggest that musicians have different brains
than those who are not musically inclined.
Research has shown that the brains of musicians are more symmetrical. And
that the parts of the brain responsible for motor and cognitive functioning,
coordination, and reasoning, are significantly larger. And thanks to an
enlarged corpus callosum, the two hemispheres of the
brain have better communication.
In neurological studies, it has been proven
that listening to music makes us more productive and creative. It can relieve
stress and improves our moods.
This
is because listening to music floods our brains with dopamine.
It also releases oxytocin, a natural painkiller, and hormone that allows us to
bond with others. In fact, oxytocin is most commonly found in mothers during
labor.
Music also helps language development and improves
communication.
It’s even been shown to increase our IQs, so it’s safe to say
that music makes us smarter. It improves our memory too, warding off brain
disorders such as Alzheimer’s.
Music is powerful.
It can change our brains, and so it changes our bodies.
What Are The Benefits Of Sound Healing?
When listening to upbeat or cheery music, or when listening to
deep, melancholy songs, our emotions flare and we can better process our
feelings. The difference is that we only care to listen to sad songs when we
are feeling sad because (and here’s the kicker) we know it makes us feel better.
A 2006 study done by the Journal of Advanced Nursing discovered
that those who
listen to music feel less pain and experiences less anxiety than those who
don’t.
Since sounds come at different frequencies and we too emit our
own waves, healing with sound happens by matching frequencies to those that are
conducive to healing and relaxation.
A study in the 1970s proposed that when one tone is played to
one ear, and a different tone is played to the other, the two hemispheres of
the brain connect and create a third (internal) tone called a binaural beat.
Binaural beats synchronize the brain, providing clarity,
alertness, and greater concentration. It’s
solid evidence that our brains and bodies respond to sound in both a cognitive
and physical way.
So, let’s say you have a headache. A sound can be played that
will override the pain brainwaves.
Or, let’s say you’re in a bad mood after a poor night’s sleep.
Playing a relaxing song might lift your spirits and help you forget you’re
aggravated.
Sounds
and songs also elicit memories retrieval, and this can be used to help patients
who are traumatized or depressed.
There are a number of methods, instruments, and techniques for
using sound therapy. But at its foundation is the premise of entrainment.
Effects of sound healing
Entrainment is a method of synchronizing
our brainwaves by producing a stable, solid frequency that our brains adjust to
and then match.
Healing with sound can improve or cure many ailments including:
- Autism
- Depression
- Learning disabilities
- Anxiety disorder
- Stress
- PTSD
- Pain
It can also bring about:
- Clarity and balance
- Relaxation
- Improved memory and concentration
- Improved sleep
- A stronger immune system
- Improved creativity
- Heightened awareness, both of the self and the environment
Types Of Sound Healing Therapy
There are various and numerous types of music therapy out there.
Some are more scientific, while others are more spiritual.
However, they each share the same common ground in which sounds are the basis of healing
and development.
Mantra/Guided meditation
Of course, we can’t leave out good old meditation.
Let’s not forget that the voice is an instrument and that
if you are using your voice in your meditations, you are practicing DIY
sound therapy healing.
Meditation has many health, neurological, and psychological
benefits. Chanting as you meditate, or saying certain mantras or prayers,
improves sleep, lowers blood pressure, improves our mood, breathing and
circulation, calms the mind, and reduces stress.
The same applies to guided meditations, in which you meditate
according to voiced instruction.
Neurologic music therapy
Neurologic Music Therapy is based on neuroscience and proposes
that the enjoyment
and creation of music has a positive influence on the brain. It
uses music as a tool that alters the brain to invoke changes in the patient.
This benefits both the mood and cognitive and motor functions.
Nordoff-Robbins
The Nordoff-Robbins technique is mostly aimed at children with
developmental disabilities, such as autism, learning difficulties, mental and
psychological disorders, or emotional traumas.
This method functions under the assumption that every single one of us can find meaning (and therefore
healing) in music, and teaches patients to create music as a form of therapy.
Root frequency entrainment
Root Frequency Entrainment is a practice that comes with
the belief that our souls
have certain frequencies at which they function at full capacity,
but that the noise and chaos of the world interfere with these frequencies,
making us sick and throwing our moods out of balance. To restore that balance,
we must vibrate at our original frequencies — something that is easily achieved
with sound healing.
Singing bowl therapy
Dating back as far as the 12th century, singing bowls have been
used throughout Asia for meditation, ritual, and ceremonial purposes. The sound
produced by these metallic bowls is quite similar to a gong or a bell.
Used in sound healing therapy, singing
bowls are believed to calm and repair the mind as well as
reduce stress and anxiety, lower blood pressure, improve breathing and
circulation, alleviate aches and pains, strengthen the immune system, and
improve the mood of the patient.
Tuning fork therapy
Just as with musical instruments, tuning fork sound healing therapy
puts our body-soul dynamic back in sync using calibrated tuning forks that are
applied to specific points on the body. Picture this as being similar to
acupuncture without the pins.
These
forks will apply specific vibrations to certain areas of the body, which is
said to release tension and open blocked energy. This
type of healing with sound brings emotional balance and pain relief.
programsprogramsWhat are your thoughts on sound healing? Do you
have any stories about how healing with sound has worked for you?
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