Sound Healing - Factual or Fanciful?

The History of Sound Healing Through The Ages

The use of sound to heal disease has been documented since time immemorial in ancient Indian, Chinese and Greek texts.

The Ancient Greeks believed that music had healing properties. The great philosopher Plato observed that fast-paced music made people more excited and slow music helped them to feel calm.

In ancient China the Taoist sage Lao Tzu recommended that people purify their spirits with music several times a day for optimal health.

The Vedas, a set of sacred Hindu scriptures written around 1500BC, contains the first reference to sound and music therapy. Sound was considered one of the 5 elements along with Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Ether (or Space). These 5 elements were believed to be connected to different aspects of the body.

Sound is also practiced in Yoga through mantras, chanting and pranayama (breath), which are used to change the state of your consciousness.

The Native American peoples of North America were taught that a person's spirit was divided into 3x parts - 

• The physical body
• The heart
• The mind

Each of these 3x parts had a different function and could be healed by a corresponding sound. When someone became ill tribe members would chant or sing to create healing sounds for their soul.

For Native Americans the drum represents the heartbeat of Mother Earth - a powerful, unifying force for body and spirit. 

Other instruments that have been used for sound healing through the ages include flutes, rattles, singing bowls, gongs, bells, chimes, tuning forks and the human voice. 

Most ancient medical traditions are based on a holistic approach that focuses on restoring harmony between body, mind and spirit or soul. The Sanskrit word "Ayurveda" can be translated as "knowledge of life" ("ayus" = life and "veda" = "knowledge")

All of this seems a long way away from the modern Western method of treating disease, which is to manage individual symptoms as they arise. A  disconnection between physical and mental health is common, and emotional health is rarely acknowledged in conventional medicine. 

But is modern science coming back round to what ancient peoples already intuitively knew?

The Science of Sound

Sound is a form of mechanical energy which can converted into other forms of energy or electricity. Sound waves can travel through molecular mediums, such as air, water and solid materials.

Sound waves have different frequencies which can be heard as notes or pitch. Sound frequencies are measured in Hertz (Hz) - 1 Hz = 1x cycle per second.

The human ear can hear sounds from around 20Hz to 20,000HZ (20kHz). However research conducted by Dr Alfred Tomatis found that most people only hear at about 20% of their capacity. We can also feel vibrations down to 0.1Hz.

How can we apply the science of sound to healing the human body?

The Role of the Brain in Sound Therapy

Let's take a look at the marvel that is the human brain.

The brain is essentially the flight control centre of your body, regulating vital functions, gathering and processing sensory information to keep you safe and alive. 

The brain is made up of millions of nerve cells (neurons) forming countless connections and communicating with each other via electrical impulses. This symphony of connections forms our consciousness, which constantly changes in response to our environment.

These electrical impulses are called brainwaves, measured in Hz by an electroencephalogram (EEG) machine. The EEG machine detects electrical impulses from the brain, sends them to an amplifier, and then to a computer where they can viewed as wave forms.

The frequency of brainwaves determines our level of consciousness:

Brainwave Frequencies

• Beta (14 - 40Hz) = Awake, Conscious reasoning. 

         This is our normal waking state, associated with alertness, logic and critical reasoning. They may also lead to overthinking, stress and anxiety.

• Alpha (7.5 - 14Hz) = Deep relaxation

        Alpha brainwaves are present during deep relaxation, a daydream or light meditation, often with the eyes closed. The Alpha state allows access to greater imagination, memory, learning and concentration. It's an ideal state to programme the mind for success with affirmations and visualisations. 

• Theta (4 - 7.5Hz) = Deep meditation, Light sleep

         Theta brainwaves occur during deep meditative states and light sleep, including REM sleep. This is the realm of your subconscious when you dream. Your mind's most deep-seated programmes live here, and you may experience vivid visualisations, inspiration, creativity and profound insights. 

• Delta (0.5 - 4Hz) = Deep sleep

The slowest frequency experienced during deep sleep and very deep, transcendental meditation where awareness is fully detached. Delta is the realm of your unconscious mind, and the gateway to the collective universal wisdom. Deep sleep is linked with physical regeneration and healing.

• Gamma (>40Hz) = Insight and Information Processing

Gamma brainwaves are the most recently discovered and fastest frequency. Initial research is showing this state is associated with bursts of insight and high-level information processing.

These brainwave frequencies can be used to promote natural healing.

The Science of Sound Healing

Every part of your body has it's own unique frequency. Your body's internal vibrations will respond to the frequencies you encounter around you. 

The principle of entrainment describes how one vibrating system falls into line with another. 

Entrainment was first discovered in 1665 by Dutch scientist and inventor of the pendulum clock, Christian Huygens. He observed that several clocks hanging from the same beam would tend to swing in unison after a short time.

Entrainment is a naturally occurring phenomenon - schooling fish, swirling starlings and circadian rhythms where our sleep-wake cycles entrain to light-dark cycles.

Entrainment can be harnessed in sound healing to alter brainwaves, influence the state of consciousness, re-programme thought patterns and induce a deep yet effortless relaxation. If the body's natural frequencies have become disrupted by injury or illness entrainment can help to re-balance those frequencies.

This allows the body, mind and soul to come back into harmony, and for you to re-discover your true, authentic self, so natural healing can take place.

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