Vibration and Sound Baths: What’s the story?
Vibration affects everything. You may have read Stephen Hawkins on string theory at some point in time. Well, the strings are moving due to vibration. It is everywhere and it affects everything.
Vibration can make us want to dance, sing, work harder, feel love, compose music. Yet since the arrival of radio, TV, phones, the internet and social media we have less opportunity to tune into the sounds in nature. Many of these sounds – birdsong, wind, waves and the rustle of leaves – have a calming effect on our nervous system. They are natural sounds at a gentle vibration, or hertz level, which make us feel restful.
As our leisure and spare time has become more screen based, the counter need for an experience which provides exposure to harmonic frequencies has grown. The right level of vibration at the right hertz frequency can have a therapeutic and relaxing effect.
Sound baths have become a requirement, just as “forest bathing” – (a Japanese term for being calm and quiet amongst the trees during a walk) increased in popularity over the last two decades as global urban living densities expanded. Sound baths and sound bath practitioners are expanding in the developed world to meet the need for calming the anxious mind.
For the many attached to their laptops and smart phones prioritizing a session to…. lie down feels, likes an anathema. Gliding into a state of mind clearing relaxation is easier said than done. However, the science is in. We’re now equipped with medical tools to measure how our mind, hearts and breath rates respond to a sound bath, and they confirm what many ancient cultures have known all along – sound feeds the soul.
French Doctor, Alfred Tomatis (otolaryngologist) stated, “In addition to its critical functions of communication and balance, the ear’s primary purpose is to recycle sound and so recharge our inner batteries.” According to Tomatis, the ear’s first function in utero is to govern the growth of the rest of the physical organism. After birth, sound is to the nervous system what food is to our physical bodies: Food provides nourishment at the cellular level of the organism, and sound feeds us the electrical impulses that charge the neocortex.”
This opinion implies that immersing in sound is something we should do regularly: the more healing and calming the sound, the more restorative to the entire nervous system.
Let’s take it back a few steps. First of all, to answer the question – what is a sound bath?
“A sound bath is an immersive, full-body listening experience that gently invites you to use sound and stillness as a way of connecting to your inner and outer worlds.” Sara Auster, US Sound Practitioner
Sound baths provide an opportunity not only to listen, but to allow time and space to hear where the sounds resonate in the body and feel what they do. When people can untether their minds in response to vibration a lot of physical and physiological effects can start to happen. While the evidence is still accruing on the nature of sound ‘healing’ the growing market for sound baths indicates it’s being regarded as beneficial to overall wellness by people in many parts of the world. With chronic stress becoming increasingly common practices like yoga, breath work and sound baths are becoming more essential. We’re all looking for ways to improve our health, feel better and more balanced in our everyday lives and see things more clearly. A sound bath and meditation session are a well packaged way to do that.
How long should a sound bath be?
There is no prescribed length for a sound bath. Some people find 30 minutes sufficient to receive a benefit, and some sound baths go for hours in a fully immersive experience offering the time and space for people to do deep, internal exploration and healing.
The known benefits of a Sound Bath
Several recent medical studies have shown that sound baths decrease levels of tension, anxiety, anger, depression and confusion. There are measurable benefits on emotional and physiological health from sound baths. Tests have shown positive mood changes, heart rate variability and improvement in esteem related affect and vigor.
How long are the positive effects felt of a sound bath?
Generally, the positive effects are felt in the initial hours following a sound bath – a calmer and more present state of mind. Some people can take hours or even days to process the effects of a session – particularly if the session triggered an emotional response or release. It is important to give yourself time and space to process a session and not rush back into electronics as usual.
For those who have never tried to mediate or have trouble turning off a busy mind sound baths can be a beneficial and gentle introduction. The sound provides something to connect to and transformation is possible through listening, hearing and choosing to engage.
