Sound is a wonderful tool for healing and relaxation. It is a universal language that we all understand.
From the gentle sound of a beating heart to the thunderous roar of a jumbo jet, every day we are surrounded by sound and these vibrations have different qualities. Often we desire to seek peace from the busyness and noise of our daily lives and therapeutic sound therapies can offer this opportunity in a variety of ways.
From the gentle sound of a beating heart to the thunderous roar of a jumbo jet, every day we are surrounded by sound and these vibrations have different qualities. Often we desire to seek peace from the busyness and noise of our daily lives and therapeutic sound therapies can offer this opportunity in a variety of ways.
Who is sound therapy for?
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.
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.
How do we know it works?We all know how peaceful and gentle sounds can be. An example of this can be in the comparison between the gentle playing of a harp and the fast hammering of a pneumatic drill. All sound is good, but not all sound is easy to accept or experience.
In scientific terms, we know that all of the matter in our universe vibrates; this is the same for our bodies. Now consider how sound can affect physical matter - if you were to play a guitar string and place it close to another of the same note, they will both begin to vibrate in harmony. In the context of sound therapy, when specific instruments are played such as singing bowls, their resonance can lead the body and mind into a naturally peaceful state. You could even see this a retuning the body to it's natural frequencies. We are excellent conductors of sound and we can actually feel this on a physical level. One of the reasons for this is that our bodies are made up of 70-80% water and itself being an excellent conductor of sound allows vibrations to travel through our bodies with ease. Wonderful research on the effects of sound on water can be seen in the work of Alexander Lauterwasser, whose book ‘Water Sound Images’ provides a stunning insight into this magical world. The visualisation of sound is known as ‘Cymatics’. The scientific study of Cymatics can provide an amazing insight into the beautiful relationship between sound and the physical world. The film clip provided here shows Evan Grant presenting some of the key features of this research and how this area of study is ever unfolding. |
FILM CLIP:
Evan Grant talks about the relationship between sound and the physical world.
WEBLINK: Evan Grant's website containing some stunning images of the effects of sound on water.
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PsychoacousticsPsychoacoustics 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.
Thanks to the ground breaking work of Dr. Alfred Tomatis (1920-2001) we have an in-depth and intriguing insight into the power of the human hearing system. Tomatis claimed that the better the range of hearing we have, the more effectively we may function. His techniques have been used to treat auditory processing problems such as dyslexia, learning difficulties, attention deficit disorder, autism and motor-skill difficulties. For more information on how the Tomatis method can be used visit ‘Tomatis Education’ on the web. 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 slowing 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. |
Dr. Alfred Tomatis (1920-2001)
FILM CLIP: How sound travels through the ear and to the brain (BBC documentary excerpt)
FILM CLIP: John Beaulieu talks about our relationship with sound.
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'He who knows the secret of sound,
knows the mystery of the whole universe.'
Hazrat Inayat Khan
References (weblinks):
Biosonics - sound healing resources by Dr. John Beaulieu
Evan Grant - artist and explorer!
The Tomatis Method - the complete listening programme
Joshua Leeds - sound researcher, music producer and educator
The British Academy of Sound Therapy - sound therapy education and network in the South of England
Evan Grant - artist and explorer!
The Tomatis Method - the complete listening programme
Joshua Leeds - sound researcher, music producer and educator
The British Academy of Sound Therapy - sound therapy education and network in the South of England
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