So what is a Sound Bath?
A sound bath is a sound healing session that you would typically experience in a group setting. Participants lie on yoga mat or blanket and are bathed and totally immersed in the vibrations and frequencies of different sounds. The exposure in those sounds affects your physical, mental, and emotional bodies and has a great many benefits for most people. Have you ever considered how sounds affect you on a daily basis? You may feel irritated by the city noise or the noises in your own home. Household appliances like tumble driers and dishwashers can have a detrimental effect on your concentration levels and general mood, and usually, you only notice this when the sound ceases. On the other hand, how many times do you feel uplifted by your favorite music or by the gentler sounds of calm waves, trickling water or the breeze in the trees? These 2 simple questions will help you realize how important sound can be for our well-being and overall health.
The Science behind Sound Bath Meditation:
Physically, the soothing vibrations from instruments like singing bowls and gongs can help you relax deeply. These vibrations may also calm your nervous system, making stress go away and even helping you sleep better. The sounds and feelings during a sound bath session can bring peace to your mind.
During the sound bath, participants lie on their back; (sometimes referred to as the Savasana position in yoga) for the entire experience. The general intention of a sound bath is to create a state of harmony in the listener by using sound to clear discordance from the participants’ energy fields. Among the benefits are relaxation, an increased sense of well-being, expanded awareness, and access to inner visionary experience. Sound therapy is deeply rooted in science and based on the principles of quantum physics and sacred geometry. There are hundreds of clinical trials and peer-reviewed white paper studies on the healing properties of sound. Western medicine uses sound waves on a daily basis in the form of ultrasound technology, which can be used to break up kidney stones among other things.
Ultimately, a sound bath is a subjective experience and you can try out different sound baths to see what works for you.
Ideally you should feel that the practitioner offering the sound bath has positive intentions of wellness, love, and healing. It is a unique experience that can’t really be compared to other therapies and potentially a wonderful supplement to any healing or wellness program.
Sound bath healing takes many forms, but the common denominator is the deep and total relaxation it brings to both body and mind. Once this state of relaxation has been achieved, the body’s natural healing mechanisms can begin to realign the energy centers also known as chakras and meridians, stimulate the production of neuropeptides and pave the way for new neural pathways within the physical brain.
According to recent studies some conditions believed to benefit from sound therapy include:
- anxiety
- depression
- lack of self-esteem
- lack of self-confidence
- muddled thinking or “brain fog”
- physical pain arising from tension in the muscles of the body, particularly in the head and neck
- feelings of isolation or detachment from the world around you
CLICK HERE to listen to my podcast with Anthony Profeta, world renowned meditation teacher and sound practitioner.