THE SCIENCE OF SOUND
Everything in our universe is energy, which has a vibration. Everything existing in this universe is in a vibrational state, and the frequency at which we vibrate is called resonance.
Sound has been scientifically proven to have an effect on our autonomic, immune & endocrine systems as well as the neuropeptide transmitters in our brain.
SOUND EFFECTS MATTER
It has also been documented how sound can effect matter. Over 70% of our bodies are water or fluid and the effect that sound has on water has been photographically demonstrated in Dr. Masaru Emoto’s book ’The Hidden Messages in Water’. Dr. Emoto’s research documented in photographs how different sounds produced different types of geometric shapes within frozen water. Playing ‘Mozart’ produced beautiful symmetrical snowflake shaped crystals while a discordant sound had no clear structure. You can imagine then how potent the power of sound is within our bodies! To the right, see one of Dr. Emoto’s videos of water crystals dancing to Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake.”
UNDERSTANDING HOW SOUND AFFECTS THE BRAIN & BODY
Sound and music actually change our brain wave states. Every brain is made up of billions of brain cells called neurons. Neurons use electricity to communicate from one to another, just like the rest of the communication that happens in our body. There are 4 categories of brainwaves that branch into more detailed types. First is Beta (14-30Hz), which are concentration and alertness. When there is a higher level of “Beta” it is commonly diagnosed by anxiety or a feeling of separation.
The second is Alpha (8-13.9Hz), which is relaxation and the increase of serotonin production. During “Alpha” we can begin to enter the unconscious mind or a state of mediation. The third is Theta (4-7.9Hz), which is dreaming sleep (REM). This state is when you can access deep meditation or access to the unconscious. The last is called Delta (.1-3.9Hz), which is a dreamless sleep or when the growth hormone is released. Delta is also known to be a trance-like state or nonphysical.
When we use sound healing to entrain the brain to alpha brain waves states, we balance the hemispheres of the brain and feel relaxed and alert, akin to a meditative state of awareness. Science also shows that sound healing and music therapy bring the nervous system to a parasympathetic nervous system, where we are able to leave the “fight or flight” stages and move into the “rest and digest” stage.
READ MORE ABOUT SOUND SCIENCE
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"Turns out 'sound healing' can be actually, well, healing" By CORINNE PURTILL
“I heard a gong for the first time 15 or 16 years ago,” says Jamie Ford.
She’d heard a gong strike before, obviously—“I’d seen the Gong Show”—but this gong, in a 2000 kundalini yoga class, was the first one she’d ever heard.
“I heard it and I was just—I went to another place,” Ford tells Quartz. “I was calm. I could travel. Everything just expanded.”
At the time, Ford was a biologist studying the desert tortoise. The gong marked the start of a new career path, one that led to a room in LA’s Glassell Park neighborhood filled with crystals, tuning forks, and 12 brass-hued gongs the size of big-rig tires.
Ford, 39, is a sound healer and owner of the Sound Space. In 30 minutes her year-old studio, will fill with 10 strangers who will lie on the floor while the vibrations of her improvised gong concert wash over them. Ford also does private sessions. About 75% of the people who come to her are dealing with anxiety, stress, and depression…
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"Three Ways to Bring Your Body Vibrational Balance Using Sound Healing Therapy" By Jessica Estrada
Given that everything has a vibrational frequency, including ourselves, it makes sense that sound frequencies impact how we feel. That's why particular songs and types of music often bring about specific types of emotions from us. Sound healing, which is an ancient healing technique that uses tonal frequencies to bring the body into a state of vibrational balance and harmony, plays upon this as well.
So, how does it work? During a sound healing session, also known as a sound bath, you'll typically lie down on the floor or a yoga mat, perhaps cuddle up with a cozy blanket, and simply listen up as a practitioner plays a variety of instruments and you "bathe" in the soothing sounds and vibrations. Roxie Sarhangi, a certified sound healing practitioner based in Los Angeles, describes it as a "meditative acoustic sound concert." The sound frequencies then slow down brain waves to a deeply restorative state, which activates the body's system of self-healing…
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"The Power of Sound Healing" from STUART MAGAZINE
Many of us recognize that music has the power to improve our mood and reduce stress. We aren’t really able to explain exactly why it makes us feel better, but there is no doubt that listening to our favorite tunes somehow has a healing effect on our souls.
That fact was not lost on ancient civilizations either. Whether through prayer, chanting, or playing instruments, communities around the world have incorporated sound therapy for thousands of years. Cultures like Australian aboriginal tribes used the didgeridoo, and Tibetan monks had their singing bowls, integrating their instruments into spiritual ceremonies. They may not have known the science behind what they were doing, but they realized that sound, though invisible, directly affects our inner being, able to invoke trance-like states or kindle peaceful communion with the divine…
“A person does not hear sound only through the ears; he hears sound through every pore of the body. It permeates the entire being, and according to its particular influence, either slows or quickens the rhythm of the blood circulation; it either awakens or soothes the nervous system.”
― Hazrat Inayat Khan