Explore Sound Healing and its Amazing Power

The power of sound has a great influence on our personal health and wellness. Finding the right frequencies and tones to resonate with can make us feel renewed, energized and relaxed. 

The History of Sound Healing

Even if you haven't studied religious texts like the Bible, you may know that Genesis, chapter one tells us "In the beginning was the word..." The immense power of creation itself is seated in auditory sound vibration. Ancient Egyptians, Australian Aborigines as well as the early Greeks knew a thing or two about sound healing; Aristotle wrote in De Anima, that music can purify the soul.

Later in the nineteenth century, western researchers began studying the applications of using music with medicine and healing, discovering certain sounds reduced blood pressure and heart rates while improving metabolic processes. More recently, medical folks like the late oncologist Mitchell Gaynor, clinical assistant professor at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York and director of medical oncology at the school’s Center for Integrative Medicine, advocated for sound therapy’s healing benefits.

What is a Sound Bath?

A sound bath is a private or public experience that typically invites attendees to lie down comfortably, usually with props like pillows, bolsters or blankets. Sound baths are also offered virtually in online private or group sessions. A sound bath often starts with a guided meditation and light breathing exercises to gradually ground, center and calm your mind.  The session may last for 30 to 90 minutes, depending on the practitioner. 

At many sound baths, practitioners like myself use a variety of sound healing “instruments” such as gongs, Tibetan metal bowls, tuning forks, and certain percussive instruments. My personal favorites for wellness work are the Crystal Singing Bowls. These bowls are made of pure quartz crystal (essentially 99.8% silicon quartz) with a touch of sand, spun in a mold, in a process that heats to about 4000 degrees, forming the sound healing instrument.

Our bodies have a natural affinity with quartz. Information travels efficiently on quartz silicon chips: think of our computers, phones and watches. On a molecular level, human cells contain silica, and these cells are affected by electromagnetic energies the bowls create when stuck and played. While magnifying and transmitting pure tone, crystal acts as an oscillator. You don’t just hear with your ears, your entire body becomes absorbent with sound waves, with the tones penetrating the body, altering your brainwaves.

What are Brainwaves?

Our brains have billions of neurons, and these individual neurons connect to thousands of others. Electrical currents travel along our neurons, communicating throughout enormous networks of brain circuits. When activated, neurons produce electrical pulses. These synchronized electrical activities result in a “brainwave,” such as Alpha, Beta, Delta, Gamma, or Theta. As different parts of the brain are affected, sound releases different hormones and neuro chemicals that support our wellness.

While receiving sound therapy in person may be preferred, virtual sound baths coupled with energetic healing is becoming more available online. Are you ready connect with a sound healing advisor and dive in? Discover the healing power by soaking in some sound. You just may find yourself restored and rejuvenated.