"If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration." - Nikola Tesla -
Today was just another typical day at work for me. I taught a gentle yoga flow in the morning followed by a 60-minute sound healing session. I had a lovely group of people join me. I realized most of the people in the group knew what yoga and meditation were, but when I asked if they knew what a sound healing was, they were not sure as they had never experienced one before, but they were "game." Yay, I thought! Because this is what I love to share so much.
As a sound healer, I hold sound healing sessions 4-5 times a week as part of my job, most people have never heard of a sound healing, let alone had the opportunity to experience one.
So...please allow me as a sound healer to share a little about the experience and what you would encounter if you came to one of my sound healings. Then, promise me, you will give a sound healing a chance...and hopefully that will be with me.
What is a Sound healing?
The words, sound healing, sound journey, and sound bath, for the most part, mean the same thing. It really depends on the practitioner and what modality of sound they may be using. If you were joining me, I bring a number of my crystal alchemy singing bowls along with a few other instruments such as a wind chime, ocean drum, and Zafir (chimes).
There are some sound healing experiences that have many more instruments than that. Such as gongs, drums, bells, didgeridoos, etc. Remember that "more" doesn't always equate to better. I would be sure to know what your sound healing experience will entail prior to joining.
My crystal bowls harmonize and create resonance for the body, ultimately creating music that sounds beautiful, which in turn, helps you to relax, let go and transcend into a deeper experience. Sometimes, if there are a lot of instruments or bowls that don't harmonize...that can create dissonance and can turn out to be just "noise." My goal is to have you walk away with a pleasant experience that resonates on a deep level with you.
How Does Sound Healing Work?
Sound healing, also known as sound therapy, is an age-old therapy practiced to heal the body. The idea of sound therapy is based on the idea that your body creates its own vibration and that it has a specific resonance. In other words, vibrational healing is based on the idea that everything in the Universe, including your body (which is true), is in a state of vibration. Since ancient times, sound healings has been used in many cultures. This has resulted in the creation of various ancient instruments like Crystal Bowls, bells, drums, Tibetan singing bowls, didgeridoos, rattles, gongs, etc., all of which are forms that may be used in a sound healing.
At any point when your body is out of homeostasis, "dis-ease" can set in. This dis-ease is brought about by a blockage that prevents the organ being referred to from vibrating at its normal frequency. When a sound wave passes into the dis-eased area, the correct harmonic patterns are restored and that dis-eased area can heal. Sound therapy works by sending vibrations all through your body, which heals through oscillation and resonance. Think of it in terms of energy...it should flow freely through the body...sometimes it gets stuck and sound can help release and move it. Our bodies are comprised of 70% made of water and water is a wonderful conductor for sound. The vibration travels into the body and the liquids and fluids move the vibration within us.
What is used in a Sound Healing?
All types of instruments are used in a sound healing. However, singing bowls are regularly used, and since that is what I am most familiar with (along with the gong), that's what I will share with you. There are different types of singing bowls...Tibetan Singing bowls, quartz singing bowls, and crystal alchemy bowls.
My bowls, pictured above, are crystal alchemy singing bowls. They are manufactured in the USA in Utah at a company called Crystal Tones. To me, they have their own consciousness. There are a lot of sound healers, myself included, who believe that the utilization of these bowls in sound therapy has a beneficial impact on your holistic health.
The harmonic and pure tones made by the crystal alchemy singing bowls are not just heard by the ear, but by the whole body. Certain tones affect your energy centers, known as the chakras. Because your body is crystalline in structure, there can be overwhelming effects on the circulatory, metabolic and endocrine systems, as well as the organs, tissues, and cells. Research papers have shown that sounds produced from crystal bowls directly affect the mental processes, muscles, nervous system, digestive system, and circulatory system.
I personally chose the alchemy crystal bowls to work with, not only because they are beautiful, but also because they are made of quartz and are infused with crystals, gemstones, and earthly substances from all over the world. This adds another level of healing with the bowls. We know crystals have metaphysical properties, and since the bowls are infused with these stones, it adds to the sound healing experience.
Benefits of a Sound Healing
The sounds produced from the crystal singing bowls resonate with the body better since it they are made of minerals that are similar to our own bodies, which contain water and a crystalline composition. Every bowl is tuned to a particular musical note, a frequency (Hz) and corresponds with a chakra (energy center) within your body. Think of it like a musical scale... C, D, E, F, G, A, B. These notes also relate with the seven different chakras of our body...Root chakra, Sacral chakra, Solar Plexus, Heart Chakra, Throat Chakra, Third Eye Chakra, and Crown Chakra. 🌈 The vibration of a particular sound attempts to open any blockages that someone may experience in a particular body part. Also note, that the bigger the singing bowl, usually the deeper the sound, which is more grounding. Whereas, the smaller the singing bowl, the higher the pitch, which is more accelerating.
Remember, this vibrational medicine brings healing, such as balancing the hemispheres of the brain, calms the nervous system, promotes deep sleep and relaxation, reduces stress and anxiety, and recalibrates the body, activates the parasympathetic nervous system...our rest and digest.
Our world today is very active and is in the fight or flight (sympathetic nervous system), a very go, go, go, very "yang" energy. Sound healings have the ability to recalibrate us and bring us into deep states of rest and relaxation...inviting in the "yin" energy, allowing the body to rest, reset and repair. A great way to soothe the body and relax the nervous system...a clearing the "slate."
What should you expect from a Sound Healing?
So now that you understand what a crystal alchemy bowl is, what my intentions are as a sound healer, and what a sound healing does for your body, let's dive into what do you do as a participant.
How about this...you do absolutely nothing! 🙌🏻
You simply lie down in savasana (corpse pose) and receive...allowing the vibrations of the bowls to wash over and through you...like a bath. Now, do you understand where that term came from? I like to refer to a sound healing as a massage for the soul. A session is typically 60 - 90 minutes long. Typically, you are resting on a yoga mat on the floor as you can directly hear the sounds from the bowls and even feel the vibrations that travel along the floor.
Each sound healer is different in how they hold their sound healings. If you came to one of my experiences, I would have you lie down, with a lot of comfy props placed around you, such as blankets, pillows, and use a lavender eye pillow. Since it takes some time for everyone to settle in, I usually begin with some breathing exercises...like some long, slow deep breathing to connect you to the present moment. I begin to play the singing bowls, and guide you in a short meditation that grounds you, relaxes you, and, hopefully, brings you out of your mind and into your body. I then connect you with your heart space and have you invite in an intention, known as a Sankalpa. This is your heart's deepest longing. I guide you on a bit of a journey, and then my voice drifts off and the sound bowls take over. They create the magic of the sound healing session.
What people experience in a sound healing is usually positive and uplifting, relaxing and sometimes transformational. If you allow yourself to let go, you can open yourself up to so much happening in the sound healing. The healing vibrations move through the physical, energetic, mental, emotional and spiritual bodies. If you can embody the sounds, stay out of the mind, you have the ability to drift in and out of conscious hearing.
Typically throughout our day, our brain waves shift. Beta waves (13-21 Hz) are the brainwaves we experience most often. They are related to concentration and focus. However, excessive beta wave activity is associated with anxiousness and the fight-or-flight response.When we rest and fall asleep, we experience Theta waves (4-8 Hz) during our lighter sleep, and Delta waves, which are the lowest frequency wave (1-4 Hz) are experienced when we are fully asleep. We can also enter in Alpha waves (8-12 Hz), which are associated with creativity, as well as a relaxed yet alert state of mind.
The sounds from the crystal singing bowls played have the ability to put you into the theta brain wave state, which is the state of light sleep. It's that in-between state...where you aren't completely asleep, and you are not completely awake. I refer to it as the "sweet" spot. This is where creativity evolves, inspiration and transformation begins. You may experience feelings of bliss, feel vibrations in the body, see colors or feel sensations, remember past memories, perhaps feel a shift in body temperature, maybe you transcend, receive intuitive messages, or feel as though you travel and have an out of body experience...all of this is possible. 🙏🏻
Be Open to Everything
Each experience is different, each practitioner is different, and you as an individual are different each time you come to a sound healing. I would say "be open" to receive whatever experience is meant for you that time, and know that's exactly what is supposed to unfold at that given time and space.
My hope is to see you in one of my sessions. I offer them in person and virtually. It is always such an honor to share what I love so much with others. Why? Because I know the power of sound, and its profound effects...I have seen it transform and change me.
It's truly musical medicine that activates and awakens the soul! ❤️
Namaste and blessings! - Cheryl 🙏🏻
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