The Science of Sound Healing

As sound healers, sound is the element that we focus on. It inspires us and heals us. We strongly believe, and have experienced ourselves, that sound healing with singing bowls is a technique which brings your body and mind into alignment and a state of relaxation. 

The use of singing bowls can produce calmness of the mind and relaxation in the body. But how do they do this? 

Sound waves, both those heard and those not heard, have beneficial effects on the body and the brain’s functions.

Dr. Mitchell Gaynor, the director of Medical Oncology and Integrative Medicine at the Cornell Cancer Prevention Center in New York, believes that both the sounds we hear, and the vibrations we feel have beneficial effects. 

“If we accept that sound is vibration and we know that vibration touches every part of our physical being, then we understand that sound is heard not only through our ears but through every cell in our bodies. One reason sound heals on a physical level is because it so deeply touches and transforms us on the emotional and spiritual planes. Sound can redress imbalances on every level of physiologic functioning and can play a positive role in the treatment of virtually any medical disorder.”

There are two ways that singing bowls affect us:

1. Vibration Waves
Our bodies are predominantly made up of water, and the vibration waves produced by  7 metal, handmade singing bowls cause our water molecules to vibrate. This vibration can stimulate the sensory cells in our body and cause relaxation of the muscles. In fact, studies have shown that singing bowl meditation can reduce the sensation of physical pain.

2. Sounds

The right and left ear each receive a slightly different frequency tone, perceived as a single tone. The brain synchronizes it’s brainwave frequency to the difference in hertz between tones played in each ear. This can lead to states of deep relaxation, associated with beta waves or meditative trance-like theta waves, depending on the frequency.

The quality of the singing bowl, with anything, is determined by both the materials and the skill and experience of the artisan crafting. Directly translating to the quality of the sound waves produced and the healing benefits they provide. This is why we take such care in the selection of our singing bowls.