Brought to you by Australian Good Health magazine
Discover the healing power of sound to bring mind and body back into balance, Melanie de Ferranti says.
Have you ever listened to a piece of music or a sound and felt calm, or been moved to tears? Or perhaps you've had a good sing in the shower, and afterwards felt really energetic and in a great mood. If you're wondering why you feel like this it's because the cells in your body are buzzing with energy and vibrating on a microscopic level at certain frequencies. However, these vibrations can at times get out of tune leaving you feeling "off key", stressed and unbalanced.
Sound healing is a practice that can restore your vibrational balance by getting in touch with the frequency that you and your cells are vibrating at now and "tuning" them back to a harmonised state.
You can discover your unique vibrational frequency by listening to different sounds — be they from nature, singing, drumming and chanting, musical instruments and bowls — and then observing those you resonate with. Getting in touch with your signature sound can help you to feel centred, calm and well-balanced. It also provides many health benefits, such as strengthening your immune system as well as assisting with learning and behavioural difficulties.
How can sound heal?
Every cell, organ, bone and even gland in your body vibrates at a certain frequency and can absorb or emit sound. When you are vibrating at your optimum (often referred to as your "root" or "soul" frequency), you feel centred, grounded and "in the moment". However, everyday frequencies like sounds of the city, electricity and mobile phones, and others from daily life can distract you, and your cells, from your root frequency.
The aim of sound healing is to return the vibration of an unhealthy cell back to its optimum vibratory frequency. It works on a physiological level, says Jaye Roberts, a Sydney-based massage therapist who uses Himalayan singing bowls as part of her treatments.
"Your brain picks up the vibration, and the body uses the sound to seek out which frequency it needs to tune," Roberts explains. "This can impact on your nervous and immune system, and even individual organs that need healing."
Roberts uses the Himalayan singing bowls for six minutes at the start of each massage to relax her clients. "We call the sound the bowls make 'feeling tones' because it's not just audio — you can also feel the vibration. Deaf people can feel the vibration and listen with their body and it will have the same effect."
Do you need a tune-up?
Sound healers believe that when an organ or other part of your body is not in a healthy state of vibration you may display a range of symptoms from feeling pain or a little "off key" to discomfort or encountering an actual health problem.
"This is the body's message to you that something is wrong and that you need to change something," Melbourne-based sound healer Ben Sowter says.
He suggests consulting a sound healer when you feel off balance energetically, blocked from achieving goals in your life, or when preparing for the treatment of an illness or recovering from one. "Any emotional blockage can benefit from sound healing," Sowter says.
Sound healing is also appropriate for physical symptoms and illnesses that don't respond to standard treatments. It's also an excellent complement to other therapies. If you're not in touch with your body on an intuitive level then it's a good idea to get a regular tune-up. "You wouldn't let your car go without a service, would you? So your body should get the same treatment," Roberts advises.
For the full story, see the February issue of Australian Good Health. Get a great subscription deal on New Zealand Good Health magazine at magshop.co.nz.
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