As more people search for remedies to provide relief from common mental health issues such as anxiety and depression, sound healing has taken center stage as a viable addition to people’s self-care practices. Various cultures from all over the world have used singing bowls in celebrations and ceremonies — with good reason. Indeed, Good HouseKeeping notes, many cultures used singing bowls in capacities other than strictly for healing.
Brooklyn-based certified sound healer Nate Martinez explained to the outlet, “[Singing bowls] are typically made up of a blend of various metals found throughout the Himalayan region. Initially, they served, and still do, as practical functioning bowls for food, seeds and water.” He continued, “But they’ve also been used for as long as an instrument to create sounds, as well as a tool for meditation, ceremonies and in certain instances, healing.”
Today, you may have seen practitioners playing their soft tones on Instagram, offering relaxing frequencies to their followers. Especially since they help enhance your meditation practice, singing bowls can impact your body and mind in positive ways. Made with various alloys, each singing bowl can offer a different benefit. The outlet notes that most are made from bronze, but other naturally occurring substances, such as quartz and gold are also molded into bowls.
“What they are designed to do is cancel out the mind chatter, and allow you to really just experience these very soft, tonal wavelengths of vibration that allow you to ease the mind,” sound healer, Guy Douglas, offers to the outlet.
Singing bowls soothe the central nervous system
Those soft, sometimes high-pitched tones that many recognize as healing sounds do more than quiet the mind, however. The wavelength of these vibrations can prove deeply healing for your entire system. Susy Markoe Schiefflen explains to Shape, “Some of the science behind what takes place during a sound bath is that the healing frequencies of sound entrain with your brainwaves and can effortlessly shift you into brainwave states associated with deep rest, healing, and meditation. All you need to do is lie back, relax, and let the sound vibrations wash over you.”
This, in turn, calms the nervous system into a state of deep relaxation where cell repair regeneration can take place within your body and your mind. The outlet notes that these sounds can lower blood pressure and immediately reduce feelings of anger, depression and fatigue.
If you purchase a sound healing instrument of your own, there are plenty of ways to use it to your benefit. “You can use it to set an intention in the morning at the start of your day, to take a digital detox break to relax and center, to enhance meditation, to commemorate a ceremony or celebration, to clear the energy of a space, and before bed to achieve deep, mindful sleep,” Markoe explains.
People suffering from neurological issues such as epilepsy or seizures should speak with their doctors before frequently using sound bowls in their healing practices, however. Good HouseKeeping reports that the vibrations from the instruments may negatively interact with brain waves.
But, if you’re looking for a soothing, nourishing addition to your self-care practice, a singing bowl could be the tool that makes a big difference.
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