Despite there being so many treatments and therapy options, sound healing’s popularity is increasing. Indeed, who would imagine that healing of say, Parkinson’s disease can come from the human voice or objects that resonate? But it’s happening! So in this article, I will discuss what sound healing and sound therapy are all about. I will look at its origin and how it works. And finally, elaborate on audio therapy options available for you today.
What Is Sound Healing Therapy?
When I mention sound healing therapy, I am referring to the practice of combining sound, instruments, and songs for therapeutic purposes. In other words, sound therapy is the use of music, sounds of nature, and musical instruments to cure both physical (for example pain, injuries and high blood pressure) and mental (for example post-traumatic stress learning disabilities and stuck emotions) disorders.
The concept behind sound healing is the scientific fact that everything vibrates at specific frequencies. Sound healing harnesses the power of these vibrations in promoting wellness in the human system. If you or your loved one have ever struggled with stress, depression, anxiety, chronic pain, or even insomnia, then you know how vital it is to find the right remedy.
Why Music?
Have you ever woken up one day and all you do is rhyming the lyrics of the last song you heard playing on the radio? I certainly do. And sometimes I hum in low tones too. Music is food for the soul. A wedding or a ceremony without music is boring. Music identifies human beings with their culture, creed, and religion. It is also used to show love and portrays emotions in boredom and dance when elated to have fun.
A Little History
The use of sound to cure both physical and mental health issues is as old as the history of humankind. Pythagoras, the father of mathematics, made a connection between mathematical progressions and tones and harmonics. He believed that order and harmony revolved around musical intervals and that mathematics’ inspiration came from spiritual creation. In short, he discovered that vibrations have healing power.
Ancient cultures too have linked sound healing to the creation of the universe. In the year 200 B.C., a Greek traveler called Demetrius is recorded in history to have used vowel sound chants for healing. The Greeks, in general, used musical instruments in their healing chapels and sanatoriums.
Tibetan monks used the singing bowls which they just rang or used together with chants or sacred mantras.
In the Biblical context, David played an instrument (the harp) to restore mental stability in King Saul. Singing and praises were also used in the biblical times to relieve physical bondage.
The South Americans too used ‘Icaros’ sound healing through songs and chants to dispel illnesses.
During the World War II in 1940, the United States military used music in the therapeutic and restoring of health to its army members. That period is considered to be the birth of music therapy.
It is these old sound therapy practices that we have adopted today to provide physical and mental healing.
How Sound Therapy Works
In a nutshell, the human cells are in a coherently aligned structure similar to that of an orchestra. But when a person undergoes any physical or mental stress, the cells pull out of their alignment.
So what happens if the pressure persists?
A minor distortion will have ripple effects on the entire body and mind causing a complex web of disharmonies to the rest of the body. So from the outside, your out-of-tune body will start to show symptoms of physical pain, insomnia, and allergies among other adverse effects.
To correct this, sound therapy takes advantage of the fact that our bodies are 70% water which is an excellent conductor of sound waves to bring back the harmony. Sound travels as vibrations throughout the human body and helps to shift the brainwave state to a stable frequency that the brainwave can attune to (entrainment).
Have you ever heard of sonic toothbrushes?
They use the concept of sound healing therapy to give relief to people living with a constant ear ringing sensation.
Sound healing therapy is in two categories namely:
- Music and sound for meditation, relaxation, learning, productivity and spiritual development.
- Sound healing for medical uses.
Different Kinds of Sound Therapy
With an endless list of sound therapy techniques, below are some of the methods commonly used today:
- Chants of Mantras – Examples include the Sanskrit and Tibetan mantras. We mainly use chanting in meditation and relaxation.
- Drumming – For example, shamanic drumming which alters your state of consciousness and moves energy.
- Chimes – These are bells or metal bars that we tune and strike to produce melodies. They hung in large numbers on temples, shrines, and pagodas.
- Bowls – For example the Himalayan singing bowls used in yoga, personal rituals and as signals of the beginning and end of Buddhist silent meditation cycles.
- Vocal Toning – These give you the ability to fine-tune your body.
- Tuning forks – A therapist taps the forks to instantly alter a person’s biochemistry and align the muscle tone, organs, and nervous system into balance. They have specific healing frequencies and harmonics.
- Vibroacoustic – It uses sound to produce vibrations that are then applied to the body to facilitate healing.
- Cymatics – We apply sound waves to physical matter to bring healing.
- Ultrasound – Uses sound waves above the range of human hearing to treat medical problems like a muscle injury.
- Binaural beat frequencies – These frequencies entrain people into particular states of consciousness.
- Altering brainwave states – Help people with disorders and facilitate creative expression.
Importance Of Sound Therapy For Spiritual Development And Meditation
We achieve spiritual growth by shedding our negative and unreal thoughts and notions and replacing them with a more conscious being. Similarly, we can use sound therapy to alter our spiritual bodies positively. Yoga music, a form of sound healing, sets an emotional tone that soothes your senses while practicing.
Through sound meditation, you can achieve serenity and self-acceptance because when you listen to your root frequency, you reach a more centered and grounded awareness in life. We also use tuning forks to enhance massage, acupressure, and meditation.
Other advantages of using sound therapy include:
- It helps in achieving a state of relaxation.
- Resonating frequencies remove blockages and toxins in the body. Consequently, they help treat various stress-related illnesses including asthma, ADHD, insomnia, and high blood pressure.
- Disintegrating chronic diseases like cancer.
- It reduces stress.
- By utilizing the resonant frequency state of body organs, sound healing cures body organs.
- It improves sleep.
- Stimulating circulation.
- It helps in recovery from trauma.
- Cleansing negative energy and emotions.
- It enhances your attention span.
- Reduces irritability.
- It makes you less sensitive to contrary sounds in your surroundings.
In Conclusion
Sound healing therapy still remains a mystery to many. However, I can attest to the positive impact sound therapy offers. Furthermore, music was neither discovered nor invented; it is within us all. Even though we still needed more research, the current reviews are enough evidence that it is quite sufficient for your emotional, physiological, neurological, and physical well-being. Consider it an alternative to failed medical therapies. Visit a sound therapist today.