Sound Therapy in Yoga - Healing the Brain

Introduction

Healing the body through different tones and instruments of sound waves and harmonic vibrations helps to harmonize the brain. Sound healing is an alternative medicine revolving around for thousands of years. After sound therapy, many people experience a new energy level, improved mental clarity, increased creativity, and better relationships.

What Is Sound Therapy?

Sound therapy uses instruments, music, tones, and other sonic vibrations to balance and heal the body, mind, and spirit. It enhances deep rest, rebalancing the nervous system, and emotional release by creating a therapeutic atmosphere through specialized sound frequencies. Access to a deep level of inner wisdom and healing is attained through the hypnotic, meditative stage. Sound therapy uses music or sounds when the person is comfortably lying or sitting. It helps to relax and release stress, anxiety, depression, and tension; it also enhances deep breathing.

How Is the Ambiance of the Session?

Sound therapy enhances healing by playing a specific frequency of music or sound around the room and on specific body parts. It is usually performed in a private room, yoga hall, or community space. A personalized session begins with a self-introduction, followed by meditation to receive healing vibrations. A group session will be like a concert in a small place. Instructions will be given on receiving the energy with therapeutic sound therapy.

What Is the History of Sound Healing?

Many cultures involve sound and music in the body and spirit healing process. Ancient Egyptians believe music helps to heal illness, and native Americans believe certain sounds and music have healing powers. In ancient India, yoga was performed, where sound vibrations and music were used in the healing process.

The ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras is the ‘’father of music’’, the first person to recommend music as medicine and discovered musical intervals. He learned how harmonic frequency could be used as a medicine for healing. In 1839, Heinrich Wilhelm Dove discovered the advantages of binaural beats in neurological problems. The music or the sound vibration can help in the blood flow. In the 1950s, British Osteopath Sir Peter Guy Manners developed a machine to produce therapeutic sound vibration.

What Are the Benefits of Sound Therapy?

Sound vibrations and music have been used to heal mental and physical conditions for thousands of years. These vibrations and sounds heal the body by directly affecting the body’s energy and chakra rather than the body itself. The self-healing property is enhanced when the body’s energy is healthy and balanced. The body depletes the vital energy forces when the person experiences illness, stress, depression, injury, or emotional trauma. The person lose the ability to heal naturally, as the immunity weakness. The sound vibrations help to restore the body’s energy and balance.

Sound therapy uses specific sound frequencies for healing, which directly affects the brain and the nervous system and enhances wellness. Each sound vibration will produce different effects. The benefits are:

1. Deep Relaxation - The body releases endorphins, serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin, and norepinephrine when the person listens to sound and music. These are feel-good chemicals produced by the body, which make the person happy and help combat the flight and fight response. It also enhances a deep state of relaxation by reducing blood pressure and heart rate.

2. Good Sleep - Listening to pacifying music before bed enhances the good quality of sleep. This is due to the triggering of slow brain waves, which enhances relaxation, those released by deep meditation. Sound therapy deals with stress and helps to fall asleep faster and longer.

3. Relief From Pain - When a person suffers from pain, the body sends signals to the brain to prevent the production of certain hormones, which may cause inflammation. Hearing harmonic sounds and music enhances the release of happy hormones like endorphins, which block the release of those hormones that cause inflammation and reduce pain.

What Are the Types of Sound Healing Sessions?

There are various sound therapy sessions; these are;

• Sound Bath -

It is the most common sound therapy where one or more musicians play gongs. Tibetan singing bowls, temple bells, and other percussive instruments are used. In a sound bath, the person lies down and experiences the body and mind being filled with sounds and music. By focusing on the vibrations and sound, the body goes into a meditative state. These resonating sounds are of different pitches, tones, volumes, and rhythms, which help to focus on inner energy even when aware of what's happening around the person, and promote calmness and relaxation.

• Guided Sound Meditation -

A person is guided through visuals and meditation while an experienced musician plays a specific instrument. The same notes will be repeated again and again until the person attains deep relaxation. This form of sound therapy focuses on imagery and instructions rather than the music or sound alone. The sound plays as a backdrop, enhancing calmness and ease.

• Chanting and Kirtan -

It is a form of sound therapy where people, as a group, chant mantras. Kirtan is a powerful tool that enhances compassion, mindfulness, and concentration. It helps to connect with the spiritual community.

• Vibroacoustic Therapy -

It is used to enhance natural healing through low-frequency sounds or music. A chair, mat, or bed attached to speakers is used to feel the programmed vibrations.

• Acutonics -

To trigger the acupressure point or areas of discomfort, one or two tuning forks are placed in the specific areas. They affect the entire system by connecting these points to chakras. The practitioner helps to restore harmony by releasing the blockage using high-frequency sound or music.

• Binaural Beats -

These are recorded music. This sound vibration produces certain brainwaves by creating a wavelength mismatch between them. When played through headphones, the brain identifies the difference in oscillation and is entrained into different states such as alpha, theta, and deep delta.

What Are the Instruments Used in Sound Therapy?

• Tibetan Singing Bowls -

They are hand-hammered bowls made of metal. It produces a bell sound or forms a longer harmonic sound when rubbed with a wooden mallet on its edge. Each produces different sounds depending on the size of the bowl and the metal they are made of.

• Crystal Singing Bowls -

They are made of quartz crystals, forming a very clear sound when stuck or rubbed.

• Tambura -

It is an ancient Indian instrument with four strings producing very clear and harmonic sounds.

• Bamboo -

It uses soothing melodies during the healing process.

• Bells -

Bells occasionally produce intense sound vibrations that eliminate the negative energy and open the upper chakra centers.

• Hand Pans and Steel Tongue Drums -

They produce clear melodies and calming tones, so they were used during percussion.

• Gongs -

They produce loud and revibrating sounds. They add energy, depth, vibration, and power to the healing process, usually played during percussion.

• Frame Drums -

They are thin wooden drums with a drum head stretched across one side. They are low-pitched and are used to play slow harmonic music.

• Chimes -

They are great for starting and ending a session, as they have tuned bars that ring when struck.

• Tuning Fork -

These handheld instruments contain two prongs that tune to specific notes and frequencies. It makes a high-pitched note.

• Rainsticks -

These produce a soft and gentle sound. They help greatly in calming the mind and easing stress.

Conclusion

Sound therapy helps a lot in healing; it is a great alternative medicine to heal the body, mind, and spirit. It helps increase energy and mental clarity, enhance creativity, and improve relationships. Sound therapy uses sound vibration and music to heal the body and mind.

ADVERTISEMENT