Tibetan Bowl Sound Baths

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Sound baths are a lower-tech therapy, often used to cope with the stresses of modern life. Sound baths have become a communal practice growing in popularity the world over. Sound baths provide an opportunity to relax and emotionally rebalance to the deep resonance of acoustic instruments by entraining brainwave patterns for self healing, as the brain naturally aligns with the frequencies.

In many sound bath events, attendees find a space to lie on the floor and close their eyes while listening to instrumentalists. Often, the effects reported are spiritual in nature, and participants emerge feeling a heightened state of awareness and “more alive,” as well as deeply relaxed and rejuvenated. Some also report out-of-body experiences.  I've had reports of seeing colors, body tingling and visions.

Countless new and innovative sound therapies have emerged in recent years, bringing comfort to those afflicted with physical and/or emotional maladies. As modern medicine further merges sound healing with prescriptive therapies, patients may find themselves with a healing methodology free of side effects that not only rebalances their bodies physically, but also harmonizes them with the outside world. Ironically, as researchers improve their ultra-modern methodologies and instrumentation, they continue to discover the secrets of the world’s most ancient healing modalities involving sound and vibrational healing 

 The ancient art of sound healing spans cross-cultural traditions and history. From shamans to Benedictine monks, sound healing practitioners have long relied upon particular musical notes, vocal techniques, and instruments to affect the emotional, spiritual, and physical conditions of those around them. 

Those ancient healers were in tune with the power of vibrational frequencies — but it is only within the last 100 years that modern science has been able to validate sonic healing modalities through technology, finding that particular frequencies are indeed responsible for triggering healing responses in mind and body. 

Myriad styles of music and sounds that were thought to influence healing have been revisited and examined with leading-edge instrumentation, to determine why they so affect the human condition. For instance, classical music has long been regarded as relaxing and revitalizing, even stimulating growth in plants, and, in 2016, a German study found that recorded music composed by either W.A. Mozart or J. Strauss Jr. markedly lowered the blood pressure and heart rate of subjects compared to subjects who either sat in silence or listened to pop group ABBA. 

Scientists have also discovered the profound healing benefits that Gregorian chants have on those who perform them. Among researchers’ findings, performers experience the lowest heart rates and blood pressure while singing, and their fatigue and depression is reportedly lifted. The therapeutic properties of Gregorian chants also extends to those who listen to them, with some entering trance states that alleviate disease symptoms and chronic pain. 

How does it work? 

It is fundamental to understand that a “pitch” is a sound wave that vibrates at a particular frequency. The faster a frequency vibrates, the higher the pitch; the slower the frequency vibrates, the lower. Brain waves work much the same way: The more they are sped up, the more alert and tuned into fight or flight the mental state becomes, and the slower the brain waves, the more relaxed one becomes. 

Scientists discovered that the frequency of sound a person hears influences his/her brain waves, which actively work to align, or “entrain,” themselves with the sound frequency. Research has shown that because there is a cranial nerve connecting the eardrum to every bodily organ (except the spleen), sound frequencies affect not only mental states but also physical ones. 

Around the 1930s, researchers began experimenting with sound frequencies outside the range of normal human hearing, using ultrasound to image, diagnose, and treat numerous conditions. Since then, sonic science has picked up steam. Numerous modern sound-healing methods have been incorporated into alternative and western medical practices, often blending technology with ancient practices to address specific physical and mental ailments in both clinical and informal settings.