Sound THerapy

For each and every one of us in this universe, our whole existence is vibration; it's all vibration. Sound is what gives us access to better understanding our relationship to vibration and the complexity of frequencies that occur at any given moment. This is why music can have such a profound impact on us. But structured music can also dictate our experience when incorporating the various elements of melody, rhythm, harmony and arrangement. Especially when factoring in the intention of the creator and the emotion they are trying to convey. But sound precedes music and the confines of its structure. Sound is the raw material and it can be very powerful when we use it not solely as a means for entertainment and storytelling, but as a tool to influence and shift our consciousness and physiology. By utilizing sound therapy with deep listening practices we can create an ideal entry point for a meditative experience and practice, particularly for anyone who has struggled to embrace more traditional forms of meditation. 

Sound therapy can be extremely soothing and bring you into a very deep state of relaxation akin to meditation, or even sleep, but it can also provoke a wide range of experiences. When we create space to become our own witness sometimes we encounter unresolved challenges, and sound therapy can assist in bringing some of this to the surface.

How Does It Work?

Sound helps to facilitate shifts in our brainwave state by using entrainment. Entrainment synchronizes our fluctuating brainwaves by providing a stable frequency which the brainwave can attune to. By using rhythm and frequency we can entrain our brainwaves and it then becomes possible to down-shift our normal beta state (normal waking consciousness) to alpha (relaxed consciousness), and even reach theta (meditative state) and delta (sleep; where internal healing can occur). This same concept is utilized in meditation by regulating breath but with sound it’s the frequency that is the agent which influences the shift.

Awareness In Our Bodies

If we are able to shift our perspective we can change our relationship to the issue that may be preventing us from experiencing our optimal homeostasis. Sound not only helps with inducing relaxation but also has a way of moving through areas of blockage. These energetic blockage areas can be located in our physical bodies, our subtle bodies, or both.

The physical body is where we experience localized pain and discomfort. Using tuning forks, especially osteophonic tuning forks (they vibrate at lower frequencies), we can stimulate the release of Nitric Oxide, a free radical molecule that has been proven to positively affect pain transmission and control. Which, in short, means that the frequencies help to create a physiological reaction, while the sound itself helps to influence our auditory system enabling us to modify our relationship to the pain.   

Our subtle body is our energetic body. This body is where our life force energy exists, commonly referred to as qi (aka chi) or prana. In Traditional Chinese Medicine meridian points are used to pinpoint areas that have restricted flow that affect different parts of our physical and subtle bodies. The body is known to have thousands of these meridian lines that are mapped out through the body in the same way we’ve mapped out the latitude and longitude of the earth. The subtle body holds imbalances and traumas that can eventually manifest in our physical bodies which is why it’s important to look at healing and balance not only from a physical perspective but as a complete holistic experience that includes mind, body, and spirit. Sound has the ability to positively affect our whole being. Eileen McCusick, author of Tuning The Human Biofield, has been exploring the theory that our subtle body acts as memory storage. A tree has rings that extend outward as the tree grows. McCusick suggests that our subtle body expands and stores our life experiences in a similar way and if we apply frequency with tuning forks we can help blocked energy from past experiences move towards the energetic filtration system of each chakra so that the stuck energy can be recycled into our life force.

The Experience

A sound therapy treatment is both a passive and participatory experience. The passive aspect is that you become more relaxed by laying down and slowing your breath. By doing this you prepare yourself to become the receiver of the sound. It's in this place of stillness that you participate by becoming more open and aware of each sound that comes in. Sound helps create the pathway to this place of stillness the same as a mantra helps you to arrive at the still point of meditation.
   

Some of the tools used are drumming, tuning forks, Himalayan singing bowls and quartz bowls. Recordings that incorporate binaural beats, bilateral panning, isochronic tones and deeply ambient drones can also be helpful In addition it’s important to note that awareness plays a huge role in our own healing. Vocal toning can be an incredibly powerful practice that gives us the ability to fine-tune our greatest vibrational instrument: our own body. Breathing exercises and vocal toning exercises can be highly effective for a daily routine to bring a greater sense of balance into your life.

Every listener's experience is subjective and there is no specific frequency that can guarantee the same result every single time. With that said, when we do introduce more ambient and nature oriented sounds there is a natural calming effect because these types of sounds are not attempting to influence you in the same way that other music does; with traditional music there's emotional content, the tempo of a song, and other factors that can and do manipulate us. A higher tempo song might make us want to dance or increase our heart rate. A slower ballad might tap into feelings of love, heart ache or even grief. As listeners we're often subconsciously choosing music that either mirrors our state of being or is the exact opposite as a counter weight to balance a particular emotion. 

Our Environment

It's important to consider what kinds of sound we take in from our living environments. Anyone who lives in New York City knows how painful the sound of a subway train screeching to a halt feels and sounds. Loud sounds can elevate our stress levels, create imbalances in our nervous system, lower our immunity, and, in extreme cases, cause hearing loss. When we are stressed, our whole relationship to sound changes and regular everyday sounds can become magnified and contribute to the feedback cycle of the stress, amplifying it even more. By utilizing sound therapy techniques we can become better listeners and more aware of the sounds we take in. We have a good understanding of the benefits of healthy eating, and the same can be true of sound. This is another example where mindfulness practices like chanting and vocal toning can help us to find a center and feel grounded. In doing so, when we do have those stressful trigger moments, we may be better equipped to appreciate and discern the sounds more as our own unique symphony constantly happening around us than to feel overwhelmed by a random cacophony. 

Our body, mind, and spirit always want to be moving in a direction towards balance, yet in these modern times we often have too much outer stimulus and noise and not enough time to dedicate to ourselves which can prevent us from achieving a better state of harmony. Sound has a way of helping us get to the source of this inner peace everyone consciously and unconsciously is striving for.