Shifting your energetic levels through the power of sound  

I spent many years in the music industry, teaching young people how to find their voices and sing their hearts out; as a west-end performer myself I had no idea the power, the joy and ultimately medicine that music and song really brought to the listener. 

In addition, when I began to explore sound in more depth I realised how sound has been used as a healing modality throughout history. 

A History of Sound 

The history of sound healing stretches back as far as you can imagine, and throughout history, sound has been used as a cure for mental health and a way to help people work faster, influence, and boost morale. 

In Ancient Greece, Pythagoras taught the Harmony of the Spheres, a theory that the sun, moon, and planets emit a frequency that is an expression of the scale. This brought the understanding that the resonance of a musical instrument or the human voice is harmonious with the rest of Creation. Pythagoras and his followers used the flute and the lyre to heal. 

Two centuries later, Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, used sound therapy for his mental patients. In his book De Anima, Aristotle wrote that flute music could arouse strong emotions and purify the soul.

In stories told by Australian Aborigines, spirit beings sung Creation into existence in the Dreamtime, a time and place beyond the present, past or future. Dreamtime stories date back many thousands of years, and the didgeridoo, one of the most ancient instruments in the world, plays a part in those stories. Aboriginal people have played the didgeridoo to re-invoke the Dreamtime connection. 

 

In India, The Bhagavad-Gita counsels the reader to use the syllable as a mantra, and in the Gita, Krishna declares that he is Aum. The tradition of using the human voice to connect spiritually evolved during the 6th century A.D. in India as poets sang from the Vedas and the Upanishads. Then, in the 16th century, Bhakti yoga teacher, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, is believed to have played a key role in developing kirtan, a form of chanting.

 

The ancients understood that a simple sound could reorganise the body’s structure. Of the many civilisations that understood the healing nature of sound, one of them was Egypt. The Egyptians used sound to aid digestion, treat mental problems and induce sleep. Fascinated with the sound of vowels, the ancient Egyptians knew about their acoustic power. They believed that these sounds could generate vibrations with healing abilities. Using a method called ‘toning’, they manipulated the vowel sound using breath and voice to render therapeutic sounds. 

Roots of sound healing were also present throughout Asia. Singing bowls have been used for millennia to induce a state of spiritual awareness and healing, and singing bowls that date back to the 11th century B.C. have been found in China. Today, singing bowls are used in traditional spiritual practices in Asia and by sound healers, like myself all around the world.

Sound Healing - Today 

Many of us have an instinct for sound therapy. Sound can shift frequencies from low energy of guilt and fear to higher vibrations of love and joy. Sound healing is the use of sacred instruments or voice to release energetic blockages inducing a state of ease and harmony in the body. 

Just think about how a favourite song, a child's laughter or bird song can lift your mood. 

Listening to music and using our voices are popular ways we connect with sound. Neuroscientists have discovered that listening to music stimulates a rise in dopamine that can make us feel good.

Sound healing can take on many different forms. Practitioners today, like myself, tend to use a combination of instruments like tuning forks, crystal bowls and gongs. That’s because these can work faster and at different frequencies. I have two crystal bowls, one which speaks to the feminine energies of a being, and one which speaks to the masculine. 

Sound healing synchronises the brain waves to achieve profound states of relaxation, which helps to restore the vibratory frequencies of the cells in our bodies. When vibrations travel through the body, they promote circulation, energy flow, and rejuvenation. The frequency of the sound synchronises with the brainwaves and activates distress responses in the body.

What happens during a Sound Session

 

During a sound healing session, also known as a sound bath, I invite participants to lie down on the floor or a yoga mat, perhaps cuddle up with a cosy blanket. Then it is just a case of simply enjoying tuning into the delicious sounds, as the practitioner plays a variety of instruments and you "bathe" in the soothing sounds and vibrations. 

 

Tuning Forks

 

Tuning forks are typically used to tune other instruments. However, they have healing powers of their own. Calibrated tuning forks can be held to specific parts of the body to send vibrations that release tension and open blocked energy channels. This form of sound healing is good for emotional balance and pain relief.

 

  

Gongs

 

Gongs have been used as a form of sound healing since around 4,000 B.C. Now, they’re used in gong baths. This is a style of meditation where the practitioner creates different tones and patterns with the gongs to produce vibrations that work on the mind-body connection. 

 

Gong baths are great for clearing fears or emotional blocks and improving mental clarity, leaving you transformed on a physical as well as mental level. It can put you in a deeply relaxed and meditative Theta state as quickly as 90 seconds. 

 

Gongs also stimulate the limbic system, forcing your muscles to relax. The sound of a gong is heard through the ears, passing through the auditory nerve, then the vagus nerve, stimulating every organ in the body. All your organs operate more effectively, especially your liver and kidneys. You wake feeling refreshed and invigorated.

 

Singing Bowls 

 

These bowls come in different sizes and each one produces a deep sound that relaxes and heals the mind. Because each bowl produces a unique vibration that works on separate parts of the brain, different-sized bowls are often used together. Of course, they can also work on different parts of the body. Bowls elicit a light dream state and can be placed on the body to promote healing. 

 

This particular type of sound healing has been found to reduce stress, anger, depression, and fatigue.

 

About the author 

 

Natalie Farrell, is a leader in voice activation, intuitive sound healing and linguistic psychology. With an accomplished 20+ year background in singing, voice coaching, presenting and writing her work with Soulpreneurs acts as a catalyst for profound transformation guiding them to be fully visible within their field of expertise. In 2021, she published her first book, ‘Light The Way’, a powerful companion for modern-day change-makers ready to go all-in and approach business and life the unconventional way. Her mission: to release reverberant voices. 

To hear Natalie’s channelled sound healings you can download them here: