What is Sound Therapy
By Lyz Cooper
Everything in the Universe is vibrating. The chair you are sitting on, or ground you are standing on is not solid but made up of particles which vibrate at different frequencies. This vibration creates a frequency that can be measured or converted into cycles per second (CPS) or Hertz (Hz). The human ear can hear between 16 - 22,000 CPS (Hz), so most of the frequencies given off by the objects in the world around us are either below (too dense) or above (too fine) for our range of hearing (although this doesn't mean you can't feel them).
In the days of the first space missions, Astronauts experienced what was termed as 'space-sickness'. Professor Schumann had an idea that this may be down to the astronauts being deprived of the Earth's resonance or 'song'. He fitted an instrument in the next space rocket that emitted 7.83 Hz - the Earth's frequency, and predictably, there was no more space-sickness!
Our organs, chakras and different areas of our bodies, all resonate at a different frequency, which when blended together, produce a symphony that is as unique as a fingerprint (although there are standard frequencies for optimum health). In an ideal world we would all be in harmony and balance, but due to the constant bombardment of factors (stress, negative energy, pollution etc) we are often being pulled 'out of tune' with our true song, therefore resulting in dis-ease.
Sound Therapy is becoming an increasingly popular way of 're-tuning' mind, body and spirit. Sound is used to correct imbalances on all levels of being using a method known as 'sympathetic resonance and entrainment'. For example, if you took two tuning forks of the same note and held them relatively close to each other. When you struck one of the forks, the other would begin to ring - why? Because the soundwaves from the tuning fork that was struck have travelled through the air and activated the tuning fork that wasn't struck, therefore the tuning fork that wasn't struck has come into sympathetic resonance with the other fork.
Sound Therapy is used in the same way to re-train the chakras and energy systems of the body to sing their true song - often by playing the frequency the chakra needs. This can be done using ancient and modern instruments such as singing bowls (crystal and Tibetan/Himalayan) voice, tuning forks, gong, mantra, monochord, didgeridoo etc.
Like any complementary therapy, Sound Therapy is best used as a preventative medicine and has been used with very positive results for a wide range of illnesses such as chronic pain, tinnitus, depression and anxiety, cysts, hormonal problems, insomnia, stress and migraine to mention a few. Some clients have experienced permanent relief from long-term chronic symptoms – it is very rare that clients experiencing a treatment receive no benefit whatsoever.
This method is by no means new - many ancient civilisations used sound as a powerful tool for healing and transformation. The best practitioners today combine both ancient and modern techniques, producing an effective healing tool that is a synergy of scientific research, intuition and thousands of years of knowledge. Scientific studies carried out in the USA have shown that 20 minutes of voice and drumming significantly improves the effectiveness of the immune system – therefore sound is good for your health.
When choosing a sound practitioner, as with any complementary practitioner, check that they are suitably qualified and insured before choosing to work with them.
Lyz Cooper
This article was posted by Lyz Cooper
