We had the most wonderful Sound Bath January session in SW19. The energy in the room was amazing! Thank you for coming and connecting to make it so.
For those who would like a little more info on sound, it’s origins and how bathing in sound vibrations is relevant today, read on…
Sound has a long history of use in ancient times:
- Plato and Aristotle believed song could purify the soul and promote mental health.
- The ancient Egyptians treated their sick with musical incantations.
- Native American tribes believed that certain sounds had healing powers.
- The Australian aboriginal people have been healing bones and diseases with the didgeridoo for 40,000 years.
- In ancient India, yogis use sound vibrations to calm the mind and release stress.
- The ancient Greek philosopher/mathematician Pythagoras discovered musical intervals, explored how harmonic frequencies could be used for healing, and prescribed music as medicine. He discovered the use of different harmonic ratios to cure disease of the mind, body and spirit.
Modern science is now gradually catching up and recognising what these ancient cultures already knew:
- The drumbeats in shamanic ritual “causes the brain to give into the rhythm, turn off its inner chatter, and create an altered state of consciousness… ” says Neuroscientist Daniel Levitin. “Music activates almost every region of the brain: lyric centres; memory structures… It can light up those parts of the brain that are engaged during spiritual experiences. It can open up your heart to different ways of feeling and believing.”
- Research links music and sound healing to a number of wellbeing benefits, from reducing stress and anxiety to boosting the immune system, reducing blood pressure and pain as well as improving sleep quality, mood, mental alertness, and memory.
- Neuroscience is starting to reveal the mechanisms by which music triggers healing in the brain; already it has been shown to help a range of issues from chronic pain, autism and depression to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
- The medical properties found in ultrasound prompted a whole new science in search of the ancient art of sound healing. Ultrasound has been used to break up kidney stones and shrink tumors. Recently, scientists have found great healing properties in infrasound and audible sound as well.
“Researchers at MIT tell us that every cell of the body has electrical, chemical, and biological activity taking place inside it. The MIT research has led those involved to believe that they’ll soon be able to detect ailments simply from whether there are aberrant or inharmonious vibrations in the cells. This finds support in other research as well. Around 2010, Dr. James Gimzewski, a professor of chemistry at UCLA, used sensitive measuring devices and found that healthy yeast cells vibrated at a constant rhythmic rate of about 800 vibrations per second. This produced a pleasant harmonic sound when the vibrations were amplified enough to hear them; however, the harmonious sound changed to a screaming or hissing when the cells were immersed in alcohol and started dying.” (https://www.elephantjournal.com/2021/06/the-sound-of-well-being-is-ancient-sound-healing-the-new-frontier-of-science/)
Sound is powerful stuff!
Essentially, Sound Baths are an easily accessible type of meditation that gives you space to relax and allows your body and mind to rebalance. Part of a holistic approach to maintaining good health and wellbeing.
Mallet & Gong Sound Bath Wellness 