What is
Sound Therapy?
Sound Therapy?
Sound baths are a combination of audible sound and felt vibration. During a sound experience we learn new ways of listening and at times our awareness is both externally and internally focused. The instruments you hear will take you on a personal journey which can be likened to any other practice such as meditation, yoga or simple relaxation.
As you settle more deeply into practice, your brain frequency moves towards a state similar to REM sleep where you become both relaxed and alert. During this meditative state we can begin to process underlying thoughts, feelings and emotions. Sometimes this can be challenging as we work through and rebalance held resonant patterns and past experiences. Sound therapy can teach you how to manage your natural stress response (which is the cause of much of our physical and mental tension) and to learn how to relax both body and mind. |
Through a carefully facilitated sound bath you will be carried from the waking state into a state of ‘non-resistance’. If we listen with an open and relaxed mind, we may enter a state of pure observation where we begin to sense and connect to the ‘stream of life’. This feeling of going with the flow and a very natural state in which you can deeply connect to your own natural resonance.
The type of instruments used in a sound bath and the way in which they are played are very important. In general, the sounds help to relax your mind and body by lowering your resonant frequency. As we listen and feel the sounds, we begin to entrain to their frequencies. This does not mean that we begin to vibrate at the same frequency as the instrument being played (humans are much more complicated than that!) but we do begin to move towards a state more natural to us. When you experience a sound bath facilitated by ‘Earth Resonance’ you will be guided towards resonating more closely with the earth’s frequencies. This is a feeling similar to having been for a walk in nature or better still, walked barefoot upon the earth! |
In sound baths we also work with natural phenomena such as the seasons, weather, lunar cycles and the position of planets.
These are all frequency based systems and sound is a wonderful way of becoming more mindfully aware of their effects upon us. Full moons are an excellent example of this and as our bodies are largely made from water, we are particularly sensitive to sound and its effects at this time. Sound is a wonderful tool for improved wellbeing and when combined with the power of nature, we can expect transformational results. |
Sound is a wonderful approach to therapy work and it's popularity has increased hugely in recent years. This is great and we now have much easier access to a variety of sound healing modalities and resources. There is however one thing we must consider... although the research into the effects of sound therapy has increased it is still early days and there is lots more work to be done before we unravel all of the secrets of sound. So here I find myself researching and exploring sound therapy in all its forms and the promises practitioners make. Although some things have been proved such as the effect sound has on the autonomic nervous system, there are still many claims that sound therapy 'heals' that are not yet backed by science, but for those who have experience sound in this way, does it matter? Considering that as human beings we are in ourselves literally made up of a symphony of sound and vibration, let us explore this together and wholeheartedly open up to sound and the wonderful effects it has to offer.
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Sound is vibrating energy, it is measured in Hertz (hz). For us to hear sound it must travel through a medium such as gas, liquid or solid and a person with good hearing will be able to hear sound within the range of 20 to 20,000 Hz . The speed at which sound travels varies depending both on the medium it travels through and temperature but at 20 °C the speed of sound in air is about 767 mph (fast but slow compared to light which travels at around 670,616,629 mph!).
In order for us to audibly perceive sound our eardrums must vibrate and this vibration is then transformed into electrochemical impulses which are sent to the brain. We can also feel sound vibration through our body although without being sensitive and mindful this may hard to notice. |
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Sound work is an excellent method of releasing both physical and emotional tension. To be immersed in relaxing and therapeutic sound allows you to be fully present within yourself and has the capacity to stimulate self-reflection and bring an awareness to your own well-being.
Sometimes when we relax ourselves on the mental level we can be drawn to areas of physical tension in the body that had been previously hidden from our awareness. It is only when we stop that we are often drawn to the imbalances in our system. Through regular sound practice this type of therapy can bring continued development to the processing of stress within the bodily system and potentially relieve relating physical symptoms. Although sound is suitable for anyone it is often not recommend during the first trimester of pregnancy or if you suffer from Audiogenic Epilepsy. Sound therapy is not a replacement for conventional medicine and if ever in doubt speak to your doctor first. |
Sound is fundamental to our very existence and from the vibrational perspective, the world is sound. It is therefore essential that we do not take this for granted and that we build a healthy relationship with it. Although there is no such thing as a ‘bad sound’ it is certain that some sounds will be more harmonious and balancing to the human system. Some sounds are obvious and can be detected easily by the ear while others require sensitivity or even exist beyond our range of hearing. Often the environments that we work within or where there are larger populations of people we generate sounds which can cause fatigue and dis-ease in our wellbeing; we can call this sound pollution. Unless we are architects we can have little influence our the built up environments in which we inhabit but we can learn to understand our relationship with them.
So what can you do? Often the best thing is to accept things as they are and observe your relationship with the soundscape with which you are presented but you may also like to actively engage in some things that might help such as changing your work or home environment as best you can. In the practice of sound therapy we begin to learn how to notice sounds and their influence over our mental and emotional states. When experiencing a sound bath or 121 treatment we would advise you to see this as a very ‘personal practice’. Treating sound therapy as a reflective practice will allow you to build a greater understanding of your own wellbeing and can reveal deep seated fears or underlying problems that could later cause more serious physical issues. We will discuss how such problems may be released towards the end of this article. |
The concept of entrainment was first noted in 1665 by a Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens when he observed how two pendulums swung side by side but at different positions they would gradually move into a harmonious and synchronised swing. This can also be observed when people walk side by side and on a deeper level within our own brains. Brainwave entrainment and change of frequency can occur through physical activity or when we are exposed to external stimulus such as sound. This does not work with two tuning forks of different notes but does in the human system which has a greater range of resonant potential. Humans are rhythmic beings be this the pulse of our heart or the vibration of our cells at the molecular level. When we expose ourselves to sounds that are strong and close enough to us we can be affected physically and emotionally. We must build a healthy relationship to sound and ensure we connect with our natural pulse and rhythm, taking care to avoid load and less complimentary sounds.
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Everything vibrates. The air you breathe, your body and even the earth itself vibrate and whether you can hear it or not, it’s still there.
Resonance can be defined as the frequency at which an object most naturally vibrates. If you have a tuning fork that is tuned to 136 Hz when it is struck it will vibrate at this frequency. When you have two tuning forks that are of the same resonant frequency an interesting phenomenon occurs. When one of the tuning forks is struck in close proximity to the other the second ‘unstruck’ fork will also begin to vibrate; this is known as sympathetic resonance. If you attempt to do this with two different forks you will not be able to create the same result. |
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Psychoacoustics is the study of the perception of sound. Music and sound is powerful stuff and we experience it all of the time. It can affect us emotionally, physically and it even plugs directly into our nervous system. Whilst a baby is growing inside the mother’s womb there is an essentially important process taking place between its brain and the sound waves they are exposed to. The sound of the mother’s voice, her heartbeat and blood flow all create a symphony of sound that helps the baby’s brain to develop healthily. Once a child is born it begins a lifelong relationship with sound. Sound feeds electrical impulses that charge the neocortex of the brain and if we have a healthy relationship with sound then we stand a greater chance of maintaining our own well-being.
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Now let us consider sound on the atomic level. Science states that everything in the material world is made up of vibrating particles. Where there is movement there must be frequency and subsequently we have sound (although at times this may be outside our range of hearing). Sound frequencies can have an effect on one another; we call this ‘sympathetic resonance’. An example of this is when two people walk next to each other for a period of time and gradually their steps become ‘entrained’ with one another. Through the study of Psychoacoustics it has been found that brain waves can be influenced by sound and music (vibration). To put this into context think of how peaceful music can make your heart slow, your mind clear and your body relax before you sleep at night. We would benefit greatly if we became more aware of the power of sound in our daily lives. The world we live in is full of sounds which often affect us in a negative way. Imagine spending your day surrounded by noisy crowds of people, the hustle and bustle of traffic, aeroplanes passing overhead and the constant busyness of the city (these sounds have the power to discharge our system). The environment we live in is shaped by the way we live so think how wonderful it would be to live in a more harmonious soundscape? Through sound therapy people are provided with the opportunity to find peace and allow sound waves to tune them into a more harmonious state of being.
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Of course this was not “hearing,” but I do know that the tones and harmonies conveyed to me moods of great beauty and majesty. I also sense, or thought I did, the tender sounds of nature that sing into my hand-swaying reeds and winds and the murmur of streams. I have never been so enraptured before by a multitude of tone-vibrations.
As I listened, with darkness and melody, shadow and sound filling all the room, I could not help remembering that the great composer who poured forth such a flood of sweetness into the world was deaf like myself. I marveled at the power of his quenchless spirit by which out of his pain he wrought such joy for others – and there I sat, feeling with my hand the magnificent symphony which broke like a sea upon the silent shores of his soul and mine.” The Auricle, Vol. II, No. 6, March 1924. Copyright of the American Foundation for the Blind, Helen Keller Archives www.afb.org |
Music Therapy is also another powerful approach to sound work and is a highly respected field of practice. The act of learning an instrument can be tremendously powerful and even aid in the recovery from illness. It has become common for music to be played for patients who suffer from anxiety when receiving treatment or when in pain, this is especially helpful in supporting children. There has also been tremendous success when working with Dementia patients and Youtube videos are common of sufferers regaining themselves and even memories when hearing their favourite music. See NICE or Dementia UK for more information.
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Our understanding of the relationship between sound and fascia is still developing but deserves careful consideration. Fascia is a form of connective tissue which can be found throughout the entire body. It takes many forms but overall it is one continuous and interconnected thin membranous sheet that surrounds and envelops almost everything in the body. To consider this in another form think of the skin inside an orange that holds it in segments; the concept is the same but the human system is vastly more complex and the fascia deeply penetrates even as far as enveloping our individual nerve cells. At a functional level the purpose of fascia is to allow free, gliding movement between adjacent tissues and to provide a course for interstitial fluid (a liquid which surrounds the cells in the body).
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