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What is Sound Healing Therapy?
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Oh the amazing, beautiful and unique journey of Sound Healing – my favourite training course that I’ve ever done in my life.
Have you ever asked yourself how does sound healing work? I know I have for a very long time, especially since becoming a spiritual healer during the time of Ascension on our planet Earth.
What I used to hear from the spiritual community and the open public was that sound frequency healing is one of the top wellness trends that will keep on growing and growing as time goes by. And little did I know how much needed this therapy will be in the present moment.
Therapy with sound has been practised for thousands of years to realign the body’s vibration, improve mental health issues and emotional wellbeing, and to even ward away negative energies and entities. However, it is much more than that!
In this article, I am going to explain what is sound healing therapy, followed by my personal insights and experiences after finishing my course.
History of sound healing
Healing with sound is believed to date back to ancient Greece, when different sounds and frequencies were used in an attempt to cure mental disorders. Throughout history, healing sounds have been used to boost morale in military troops, help people work more efficiently and productively, and even ward off evil spirits by chanting (I told you that’s what the general public thinks about sound therapy).
However…Integral Sound Healing uses sound, frequencies, vibrations, and healing instruments played in therapeutic ways, combined with deep self-reflection and relaxation techniques to improve our multidimensional health and wellbeing.
The science of sound healing
Integral sound healing is a non-invasive therapy that helps with many conditions such as muscle tensions, chronic pain, emotional and mental health challenges, and so much more.
It is very effective at triggering the relaxation response, which counters the many symptoms of chronic stress, including heart, endocrine and digestive disorders. Did you know that chronic stress is one of the most common issues people tend to have when looking for natural and alternative/holistic therapies?
Some of the main benefits caused by the healing power of sound include:
- lowers stress
- decreases mood swings
- teaches pain management
- lowers blood pressure
- lowers cholesterol levels
- lowers risk for coronary artery disease and stroke
- improves sleep
- triggers the relaxation response
Sound healing instruments can be applied both on-the-body and off-the-body, using a variety of easy-to-play instruments and voice. Some of the most common examples of instruments are:
- Tibetan singing bowls
- Tuning forks
- Crystal singing bowls
- Hand held/Shamanic drum
- Gongs
- Koshi/Zaphire chimes
- Shakers
- Ocean drums
- Rain sticks
- … and many others
These instruments can be applied by anyone with some sort of training for self-care, and for working with family and friends at home. However, for best results, integral sound healing should be practiced mainly by certified practitioners with professional accreditations.
I am currently doing my course at the Sound Healing Academy – and I defiantly recommend them, as they’re the number 1 place to study this type of therapy in the UK!
Many fields have been positively impacted by sound therapy, such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech, language therapy, and naturopathy.
How does sound healing work?
The sound vibrations produced by the sound healing instruments penetrate deep into the human tissue. As a result, blood circulation and metabolism gets improved, whilst muscle tension becomes much more regulated. Furthermore, regeneration and repair mechanisms are stimulated, which makes sound frequency healing both activating and relaxing – the perfect duo, depending on the need of each person.
A sound therapy session may involve sitting or lying down while listening to the beautiful sounds produced by an instrument, or having vibrations applied using a special tool, such as a tuning fork.
Depending on the method, you may be encouraged to participate in the practice by doing deep breathing, singing, moving, or you may just feel the need to remain still and quiet to let the healing sounds do their magic – either way is divine.
In the picture above, you’ll see me (Laura) having a healing experience with crystal singing bowls, facilitated by Becky during my training in Birmingham, UK. You can find out more about Becky and her amazing services on her website, Grounded Peace.
And now let’s get down to the science part. According to Sound Healing Academy (2017):
“The frequency of sound waves is measured in Hertz with 1 wave oscillation per second being 1 Hertz (Hz).
Sound waves are divided into 3 groups:
- Infrasound: less than 20 Hz (too low to be heard)
- Intrasound: between 20 Hz and 20,000 Hz (can be heard)
- Ultrasound: above 20,000 Hz (too high to be heard)
Intrasound is the range of sound frequencies which humans can hear. Sound instruments and sound healing with voice use a specific part of the intrasound range which has the optimum frequency to create the ideal resonance in human tissue.
When these vibrational frequency waves reach molecules (which make up the cells of our tissue), each molecule absorbs a small amount of energy and then passes the wave on to the next molecule – it is pretty much a snowball effect of healing).
This ripple healing effect continues until all the waves’ energy has been absorbed. Healing instruments generate sound waves which create this resonance effect across a wide spectrum of body tissue, the reason why Integral Sound Healing is so unique and effective.”
What is a healing sound bath?
Now that we’ve covered what is sound healing therapy, I’d like to briefly talk about sound baths.
Sound baths are seen as a “new age concept”, however, the practice of healing through sound is actually thousands of years old with deep roots in cultures across the planet. This kind of healing therapy varies according to place and culture, but it usually is a one hour-long experience in a dedicated space with a professional sound practitioner.
To put it simply, a sound bath is a meditative and relaxing experience where participants get “bathed” in healing sound waves. These waves are produced by various sources, such as instruments and even the human voice itself – one of the most powerful ways of facilitating healing with sounds.
To note is that the sounds and the melody produced during a sound healing bath won’t be your typical catchy song or rhythm that you’d normally experience at a concert or in the club. Instead, it is a carefully selected wash of instrument and voice with notable resonance and overtones, that will do wonders for your mind, body, and soul.
From my own experience at my very first sound bath, I can say that the intention behind the session is to change and balance the energies that we hold within. During a sound bath, you don’t want to hook into a melody to distract your mind from the present moment, but the other way around.
What I wanted was to release and let go all that no longer served me, so I can feel refreshed, lighter, and more in sync with the Universal flow of energy.
During the sound bath, participants lie on their backs, sometimes referred to as the Savasana position in yoga for the entire experience. As a general rule of thumb, the sound healing practitioner facilitates the session, and sometimes the whole group participates by chanting oms and various other healing mantras, usually right at the beginning of the practice, or at the end for a little bit of much needed grounding.
