Did you know you can harness the power of sound to heal your body and mind? If you have a hard time believing this, think about your favorite song. You probably only have to hear the first notes of this song for you to be filled with peace and joy, energy and vitality. Now think of the sound of an ambulance or a police siren, a fire alarm or a smoke detector. Instantly, without conscious thought, your mind is filled with thoughts of despair, danger and other negative emotions when you hear those sounds.
This is simple proof of the power of sound to drive your emotions, and in some cases your behaviors.
Additionally, it has been known since the beginning of recorded human history that sound can be used for healing and medicinal purposes. You have probably heard that relaxing, soothing music is used in penitentiaries and hospitals to calm inmates and patients alike. This is just one example of the healing power of sound.
How Sound Heals
If you scrape or cut your skin, you apply some type of antiseptic or antibiotic cream. This speed up the healing process. Your sense of touch is harnessed by the application of a substance to help you get better quicker. This is nothing more than what happens when certain sounds, frequencies and vibrations are used to deliver very specific health benefits.
Entrainment is at the basis of sound healing. Since you are nothing more than energy (science has proven this, that humans and all other living things are bundles of energy), and energy is constantly moving and vibrating, you can synchronize your brain waves to frequencies provided by music and sound. This moves you from a beta state where you are experiencing what is known as waking consciousness to an alpha state. The benefits of alpha brain waves are relaxation and stress-relief.
Alpha is not the only state of brainwave activity that can help heal the mind and body. Sound healing includes the attainment of theta or delta states of consciousness for meditation, sleep and healing of internal organisms and bodily processes.
How Does Sound Healing Work? What Is the Experience Like?
In a sound therapy session, you will calm yourself, usually close your eyes, and concentrate on slowing your breathing. This is to put your body and mind in a place where they are more aligned to accepting the influence of sound as a natural healer. You are making yourself a receptacle of sound. A sound healer will provide sound from Himalayan singing bowls, drums, songs, human voices, tuning forks or vibrational instruments that influence your brainwave activity.
This allows you to reach the states of being mentioned earlier that influence positive health and clear negative energy. The experience feels much like meditation, except without the quiet, usually soundless environment. The benefit is mental, physical and emotional well-being.