Music has always had a unique effect on people that only art can have on people. The right music can help you sleep, improve your mood, and even make working out much easier. But what if there was a certain kind of music that could promote physical healing by hacking into your brain?
That's exactly what sound therapy can do. At certain frequencies, sound can bring your brain into a state that can potentially promote physical healing. This treatment can be performed using music and certain tools such as tongs, tuning forks, meditation bowls, or drums while comfortably seated or lying down.
How Does It Work?
It is said that by using specific frequencies, you can bring your brain from a beta state (consciousness) to a theta state (relaxed consciousness) to a delta state (sleeping). Even though humans can only hear between 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz, it doesn't mean that sounds at other frequencies don't affect us at all. The tympanic membrane (eardrum) in your ear is connected to the vagus nerve, which is connected to the parasympathetic nervous system. The parasympathetic nervous system handles processes in a state of rest, such as hormone control, digestion, heart rate, glucose levels, and more.
By putting you in a state of deep relaxation, sound therapy forces your body to focus on healing. This will help ease energy blockages in your body and help your body reach a state of ease and harmony.
History of Sound Healing
In Asia, there has been a history of using meditation bowls and tuning forks by placing them on your body to use the frequencies to promote physical healing. Ancient Egyptians built sound chambers because they believed that sound can heal people when used correctly. Native Americans held similar beliefs about sound as well. In nada yoga, too, Indians believe that sound vibrations can calm the mind and relieve stress. Australian aboriginal natives also used ancient didgeridoos to promote healing.
Types of Sound Healing
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Tuning Forks: While primarily used to tune other instruments, tuning forks can also be used in sound healing therapy. They can be held to specific parts of the body to send vibrations out that ease tension and open clogged energy channels.
2. Gongs: A practitioner creates different tones and patterns using gongs to bring a person into a deep sense of relaxation. Due to the size of the instrument, it also works faster than most.
3. Singing Bowls: Tibetans have been using singing bowls for centuries in their meditative practice. These metal bowls come in different sizes and produce a sound relaxing and healing the mind. They can be used on different body parts with unique vibrations to affect healing in those areas.
4. Guided Meditation: It is an interactive experience where the audience follows a practitioner via video/audio or either in person and engages in meditation that encourages relaxation and healing. The sounds used in meditation can be from nature, gentle music, or healing instruments like bowls, bells, etc.
5. Binaural Beats: These are beats designed to induce certain brain waves by creating a frequency mismatch between them. When played on headphones, the brain interprets the difference to enter a trance-like state, eventually setting the person into a delta or deep delta state.
6. Sound Baths: A meditative experience where one is surrounded by sound played on different healing instruments. This puts us in a soothing state of mind where we focus on the instruments and vibrations around us rather than our thoughts.
Benefits of Sound Healing
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Deep Relaxation: When listening to soothing music, your body releases feel-good hormones such as serotonin, oxytocin, dopamine, etc. These happy hormones bring your body out of a flight-or-fight response. This reduces blood pressure and heart rate, which allows a state of relaxation to set in.
2. Better Sleep: Once the relaxation state sets in, the body is able to get into a state of deep meditation, which allows you to fall asleep faster and for a longer period. Since it reduces stress levels, you also wake up feeling refreshed.
3. Pain Relief: When in pain, the inflammation in our body increases. However, with sound healing, the body releases endorphins which can reduce inflammation and help relieve pain.
4. Clears Energy Blockages: The sound vibrations from deep healing music can open, balance and clear chakras to release stuck energy.
Conclusion
Considering the varied ways in which sound healing can be conducted, you have many options to choose from. With the help of a practitioner or using guided meditation audios, you can use sound to promote physical healing in a way that suits you best.