So what is a sound bath, and are sound baths just another one of those new-age ways of healing the body?
As the name implies, a sound bath is a method of relaxing deeply while immersed in sounds and vibrations that have been used to potentially purify and heal, the mind, body and soul.
The journey is all about self-discovery while immersed in deep relaxation and meditation.
Sound baths are a therapeutic technique that employs the power of sound to relieve tension and stress from our bodies. It stimulates our parasympathetic nervous system for improved digestion, more peaceful sleep, and promotes physical wellbeing.
The concept of sound healing isn’t new. In history, used by ancient civilizations thousands of years ago it was referred to as spiritual healing and purification music.
A range of instruments such as flutes, gongs, singing bowls, chimes, rattles, didgeridoo, to mention a few.
Each instrument has its own country of origin and its own spiritual and symbolic significance.
Tibetan singing bowls: These singing bowls originated in ancient Tibetan Buddhism and are constructed from various metals. To create a vibration that balances your energy, practitioners strike the bowl with a mallet.
Tuning forks: When the sound healer strikes the tuning fork against the individual, they become revitalized.
Here is a Tibetan Singing Bowl and we also found some 7 Chakra Singing Bowls Sets,which you can use for each specific chakra center.
Crystal 7 Chakra Singing Bowl Set- Quartz crystals are used to make these singing bowls. To produce a specific tone that represents each individual energy center, the crystal singing bowls usually come in the set to access and align each chakra energy center.
We found a few crystal singing bowls (even though they are on the pricey side, but remember they are made from quartz crystal and are beautifully made some with actual chakra symbols).
This store has a few different versions and colors, some with chakra symbols so check it out here, if this is something you feel is right for you.
Drumming
Drums are widely used as a symbol of divinity in many religious traditions and rituals.
Drums can help with focus and stimulate chakra energy centers, also improving attention and concentration.
Drumming can help you find your rhythm and flow in life. It is an excellent way to boost your energy.
You don’t need an ancient drum; any type of drum will do.
You can use a bongo drum, steel hang drums, or any other drum you have on hand.
Just get into the flow and use the movement of drumming to balance your chakras!
Here are some nice drums we handpicked, check them out if you like?
Explore Various Steel Tongue Drums Beautiful Colors To Choose From
See For Yourself!
Digital sounds – Using digital sounds produced and aided by software to imitate specific instruments still helps relax and balance the chakra centers.
This is excellent for listening to a sound bath at home in your own space. Just remember it won’t feel the same, as being in a group setting, when you feel part of the collective energy. This all depends on your preference of course?
Chanting and other forms of prayer and even singing practice varied significantly across cultures all around the world.
It was all done to cure or cleanse the body. All of this is now referred to as part of the sound bath experience.
Sound baths have become so popular that even celebrities love to use them as part of their health and wellness routines.
Many rehabilitation facilities also use them as part of sound therapy (usually referred to as music therapy) for persons suffering from varied trauma or addictive behaviors.
Is A Sound Bath And Sound Therapy The Same Thing?
So, we’re on the same page here; sound bath and sound therapy (known as music therapy), are not to be confused with one another.
Music therapy is a treatment facilitated by a mental health practitioner.
While a sound bath can be facilitated by a holistic practitioner like yoga, meditation, or even a music healer. This can be practiced in a group setting, or even one can do it at home alone.
It is similar to meditation, as you’re in a deep, tranquil state of being.
Feeling the vibrational waves of wellness traveling throughout the body (minus the specific sitting postures.)
This ancient wellness form of sound therapy uses sound waves and vibrations to relax the body, mind, and spirit.
The benefits of sound baths include reduced stress levels, improved sleep, pain relief and more.
Sound baths are never replacements for any medical treatments, although people do use them as a complementary aid with other treatments.
Always check with your medical practitioner first for your own health and wellbeing journey.
How Do Sound Baths Work?
If you’re part of a group session or even in an individual session with a yoga or meditation teacher, a sound bath experience usually lasts between 45 and 60 minutes.
What Do You Do In A Sound Bath?
Participants are not required to do much.
No special clothes or equipment are required during a sound bath. However, participants are best to wear comfortable clothes.
Some participants are even prompted to bring along their pillow, a blanket, yoga mats, eye pillows, and anything that one may need to feel 100% relaxed and immersed in the session itself.
A holistic healer usually leads a group sound bath session using different vibrations and sound instruments.
All wellness sound bath sessions start with a theme such as a self-love or gratitude.
It needs to be something positive for the mind and body to enable participants to get comfortable with and feel the positive affirmations vibrate through, with the soothing power of sound as part of their healing process.
Even chanting Om or a mantra can be part of the hour-long session with the professional sound healer, these are various examples of sounds baths.
It’s to facilitate an ethereal, tribal theme or soothing meditation technique or can be both.
It shows us that the sound bath can be simple or complex, depending on the group’s demands.
While each person’s entire experience of a sound bath is different, there are several similarities that nearly everyone experiences, which is deep relaxation and wellness.
Above all, it encapsulates the mind with relaxing and healing energy sounds which can also calm and loosen tense muscles. Sound bath experiences are also used for chakra balancing to be in sync with the universal energy of flow and equilibrium.
As mentioned, these sounds can include tuning forks, chimes, Tibetan singing bowls, crystal sound bath bowls, and gongs, just to mention a few.
The sound instruments are adjusted to different frequencies and pitches to help people enter a meditative state for flow of relaxation.
The sound experience can range from mental healing sound to physical healing benefits such as alleviating certain pain in the body. This leads individuals to a profoundly relaxed condition in which they totally immerse themselves.
However, it is not a shared feeling among all participants.
One person might cry or have an “aha” moment, while another person will feel calm emotions and a state of peace. It’s a relaxing internal practice that benefits our mental state and spiritually purifies the body.
Participants do a variety of different things in the ritual. Some people lie down, similar to the savasana yoga posture, while others prefer to sit or curl up, and others may even stand and move to specific tribal rhythms as they feel fully immersed.
By the end of the sound bath experience, everyone leaves feeling rejuvenated and refreshed with positive energy!
10 Benefits Of Sound Bath
Sound baths is usually a personal spiritual journey, where the sounds of various instruments are used to create an environment for an elevated meditative practice.
The sound vibrations can penetrate the nervous system and help release toxins from our bodies.
There are so many sound bath benefits; here we’ve listed 10 of them.
1. Reduction of anxiety and stress
2. Deepened relaxation and grounding oneself
3. Improvement of overall health and wellbeing
4. Stable mood and emotions
5. Improved sleep
6. Increased energy and focus
7. Enhanced awareness of oneself and more intuitive
8. Lower blood pressure
9. Pain reduction
10. Lowers the risk of heart disease and stroke.
Does The Vibration Of Sound Healing Loosen Muscles?
In addition, when we meditate and find inner peace through listening to sound bath or meditation music, our muscles also relax.
This releases endorphins that make us feel good about ourselves and stimulates cell activity, which helps with the self -healing process.
As the body relaxes, it alleviates some or all of the pain a participant may be experiencing. This happens when cells resonate or vibrate as a response to a particular frequency.
With a specific sound bath frequency, muscles loosen and relax, giving the participant a calming sensation.
In this particular study participants tended to rank their pain higher before a sound bath than after.
Who Can Use Sound Bath?
A sound bath can be a safe method for most individuals to try. There’s no evidence to date that adverse effects are associated with this technique.
The good thing is that you don’t need an athletic body to participate in sound baths.
It’s easier to participate in a sound bath than the traditional meditative state as the sounds themselves help the mind and body relax physically and mentally and there are no particular sitting poses needed.
Does Virtual Sound Bath Work?
Some people have tight schedules and cannot find the extra time to drive somewhere to practice a sound bath experience.
With the virtual one, all one has to do is either lay down or be seated and listen to some deep ambient, tribal rhythms or soothing vibrations. (You can listen to some sound bath sounds on our YouTube channel, here is one that is more rhythmic with drum and flute uplifting music, but there are also soothing ones.)
The virtual one takes away from the stress of time and travel.
A lot of people prefer the idea of listening and participating via audio or videos.
This way, people can enjoy the relaxed sessions from the comfort of their own home.
The beauty and convenience of a virtual sound bath are you can still be a participant of a group via live stream video sessions.
Or if you prefer solo, you can even practice this and create your own positive mantras with instruments such as a Tibetan or crystal singing bowls in your own private sanctuary at home.
If you want to just sit back and listen to the audios or videos, all you need are some quality earphones or headphones and your quiet and peaceful space. This way you can hear crystal clear sounds as they resonate throughout your being. (Just be mindful to set your ear pieces to a lower relaxed volume for the safety of your own ears and hearing health.)
Final Take
So if you’re looking for a way to release some of that anxiety and stress, you could try some sound baths or even meditation music to relax and unwind that over worked mind.
Sound baths can be one of the most relaxing ways to de-stress the physical and mental self; after all, it can be a great wellness routine right?
You don’t need to be in any particular sitting position. You just sit back or lay down and absorb the ambient sound waves surrounding you.
Some like the idea taking part in the music, using their own instruments like crystal or singing bowls or even drums to be immersed in the total sound bath experience.
This can be accompanied by positive affirmations or healing chants to help focus on something in particular. The choice is all yours, enjoy!
Disclaimer: Our web pages and blog posts provide general information for general purposes only and not to be used for any medical, legal or alternative health advice for any type of physical, mental health or financial concerns.Always speak to your practitioner before embarking on any new alternative treatments. If you have concerns about any medical matters, you should always consult your healthcare provider without delay.We thank you for taking full responsibility for your own health and wellbeing in life. ☺
