Sound healing therapy is the best thing since the inception and acceptance of yoga.
….While that may not be the textbook answer for what sound healing is, maybe it should be? We’ll explain why.
An alternative non-invasive form of therapy, recent findings prove that sound ignites crucial areas of our brains responsible for generating new neural pathways, the epitome, and the path to healing. When enhanced by sound, these neural pathways improve brain performance, physical and emotional wellbeing, movement, memory, and even communication skills. That’s right, you didn’t read that wrong. Sound, which is essentially traveling vibrations at altering frequencies, has the power to heal you.
Sound healing therapy is the use of sound to put the body in a state of comfort and alleviate physical and even emotional pain. This is all possible with the understanding of what sound is. Sound is a wave of vibrations that travels through any state of matter, physically speaking. In regards to human physiology, sound is the reception of these vibrating waves by the ear. Once received by the human ear, sound waves can influence existing frequencies housed in the body that may result in a low mood, pain in certain areas, or even anxiety. For example, when someone says they’re feeling “low”, or they’re “just not up to it”, it can be said that they’re vibrating at a low frequency. Introducing a higher frequency by way of sound is an alternative to healing, in that it restores the body to optimal function. On the contrary, someone who is experiencing anxiety may be vibrating at too high of a frequency and could benefit from lower vibrating sounds to create a state of calm and stability.
More specific implications for the healing benefits of sound can be seen in all areas of the body. Sound healing has been used to treat anxiety and depression, as certain frequencies activate waves in the brain that are only seen in deep meditative, tranquil states of being. Sounds produced from Himalayan bowls have been studied for their effects on physiological benefits in the body, such as lowering blood pressure and respiration. Sound healing instruments called tuning forks can aid in healing in the same way that acupuncture does, directing certain frequencies to certain pain points on the body and providing relief. Aside from the mental and physical benefits of sound healing, there have also been clinical applications involving the use of high vibrating sound waves to target and destroy cancer cells, as well as quickly and non-invasively healing damaged tissue.
In regards to persons with developmental disabilities or delays, forms of sound therapy including music therapy have been used as pertinent stimulation to normalize altered sensory channels. In group settings, musical forms of sound therapy have encouraged social and communication skills. Sound healing has also helped with memory and learning, as we all have learned that attaching something to rhythm is a great way to make something stick to memory. (Shoutout our ABC’s.)
Across the board, sound healing has proved undeniable and beneficial. Even if you’ve never used any of the forms mentioned above, we’ll bet you have your unknown version of sound healing if you have a favorite song that can uplift your mood. Or, if you use a nature sound mimicking app to fall asleep, what we listen to and with what intention, can alter current energy states. Further research is emerging every day in this innovative, cost-effective form of healing, and the restorative power of sound is becoming more widely accepted. We may not be too far away from the times when going to an orchestra is prescribed as medicine, versus current forms of treatment.
The topic of sound healing… it’s worth a listen.
