See how it works
Sound healing is a form of therapy that uses sound vibrations to balance and align the mind, body and emotions. It’s is not a new form of healing, it has been around since ancient times. Recently, backed by a growing body of scientific research, it has become more widely known and is increasingly available to people.
The whole body is affected by sound vibrations. Just think about how you feel when listening to your favorite track. However, it’s much more than that. Leading research institutions, such as Harvard University, have been measuring brain wave oscilations when exposed to different sound frequencies and examining what kind of effects they have on people.
The brain waves naturally oscilate in accordance with daily activities. In a normal awake state the brain is operating with Beta waves ranging from 12Hz to 40Hz, and when asleep it operates with Delta waves ranging from 0Hz to 4Hz. The purpose of a Sound Healing session, is to help to entrain the brain waves to slow down its frequency to a range of 4Hz to 8Hz and produce Theta waves. This is a state in between awake and asleep which is associated with a state of openess, where we can contact and perceive some deeper emotions and mental patterns. When in Theta waves, the body achieves deep levels of relaxation, allowing the whole system to release tensions, unblock patterns and restablish flow.
Every sound is unique, as are our bodies! Therefore, each Sound Healing experience may vary significantly from session to session, there is no right or wrong!
Distortion of time – the session can feel much shorter or longer than it actually is.
Visual images – some people experience colours or even scenes playing out before their closed eyes.
Memories and experiences – some people recall past memories or experiences either real or imagined.
Loss of boundaries of the body – some people feel that they move away from or go outside of their bodies.
These perceptions might be different, but in fact it’s a natural state and it happens because the brain is experiencing a different state of consciousness. Usually at Theta waves we would not perceive all these effects because we are approaching sleep, however during a session this awareness is present and allows us to access information and experience insights that we usually wouldn’t.
There are a few conditions where we advise individuals not to attend a sound healing session. The first being those in the first trimester of pregnancy. The second being those with significant mental health issues such as severe depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
From our experience, we have helped many clients with a huge range of issues and concerns. What we would ask is that you approach Sound Healing with an open mind and intention to help yourself to deal with what is getting in the way of flow in your life. The sound, frequencies of the instruments, your intention and awareness will be so much more powerful together.
Do take a look at the testimonials from our clients to read about their experiences.
If you are still not sure, why not come along to a group session and see how you feel afterwards or chat to us, we are always interested in hearing about your concerns and experiences.
We use specific instruments to produce different outcomes in our group and individual sessions. Below, we have outlined the ones we use most often to give you a better understanding of how and why we use them.
If you are feeling very tired or vulnerable physically and emotionally, Himalayan bowls are like a sonic hug. The larger bowls have low frequencies and are gentle and grounding, they help to relax the mind and body. We often place these on the body to massage away tension and help rebalance the system.
When we use Himalayan bowls off the body we select a range of bowls appropriate to the needs of our clients, small bowls have a higher frequency and are stimulating, a session with these can be mood enhancing and motivating.
This is one the most ancient sounds created but humans. All of us respond to a beat, that is our reference to our own heart beat. These beats have been used for many different purposes such as community gatherings, celebrations, and even war.
In a Sound Healing session, we often use drum at the start as part of a breathing exercise, a slow steady beat helps the body and mind slow down, so you can easily let go of your tension and worries and let the sound work with your intention to greater effect.
Drum is also used in group sessions, often called drum circles. These are deeply entraining and can be very transformative when coupled with a powerful intention.
In individual sessions, we use drum to help people who feel stuck emotionally or physically or who need to feel more energised and motivated. Drum massage is where we beat the drum above the body, putting powerful stimulating frequencies directly into the body. If we have done several consecutive drum massage sessions with a client, we offer a drum journey which can be very stimulating and helpful to people who feel stuck. Here we beat the drum away from the body at 180bpm for 30 minutes. This technique is extremely beneficial, deeply entertaining and its effect is really powerful.
There is a large range of gongs available with many designed for specific purposes. For example, Paiste manufacture a range of Planetary gongs tuned to the rotational frequencies of the planets in our solar system, based on the Cosmic Octave by Hans Cousto.
Gongs are very powerful instruments which can impact strongly on the body and mind. They are really versitile and can be played in a surprising variety of ways. Gongs combine very effectively alongside other instruments as part of a group or individual session.
Unlike drum, Himalayan bowls and gongs, crystal bowls are relatively new therapeutic instruments. These are made of quartz and are either frosted, clear or coloured. Compared with Himalayan bowls which produce a range of harmonic frequencies, crystal bowls produce a single note.
This property means that several bowls can be played together to produce musical intervals. These intervals are widely used in the music industry due to their ability to create an emotional response. For example, the minor second can create tension, like the Jaws theme tune. Or, like the perfect 5th interval, which can be nurturing and holding, think of the childhood favourite song Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. These are relatable examples and show how we react emotionally to specific musical intervals.
When we use crystal bowls we will devise a score depending on what is the client’s need.
The voice is our vibrational signature, the sound that anchors our arrival in this planet and that will be with us all along our journey. It’s unique, powerful and carries within the frequencies and harmonics needed to balance and align body, mind and emotions.
Learning how to use the voice as a healing instrument is a practice that can be part of a voice healing session.
In a regular Sound Session, voice is used to create a wide variety of different effects such as grounding, centering, cleaning and aligning the energetic centers, uplifting and bringing a sense of connection. It can also facilitate the access to blocked emotions and bring back the natural body flow. The voice can be used in accordance with any other instrument, depending on what will be required during a group or individual session.
Towards the end of a session, we have a duty of care to bring our clients back to a fully awake state. We use a number of different shakers, rain stick and chimes to bring you back to full consciousness.
There are a wide range of other instruments played during a session, such as chord instruments, crystal instruments, percussion instruments, and also regular instruments like piano, guitar and flutes.
Hope you get curious enough to come and visit us!!
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