The Benefits of Sound For Healing
The sounds you hear throughout the day influence your mood – and whether or not you know it, certain frequencies can have healing properties. From soothing ocean waves to the calming repetition of “AUM” to hypnotic chants, music and sound can help ease pain and discomfort, boost your immune system, promote relaxation and even encourage physical healing.
While some may dismiss sound for healing as a bit woo-woo and New Age-y, there’s actually quite a lot of scientific evidence that supports the benefits of this ancient practice. For thousands of years, different cultures from Greece to Tibet have used sound to cure mental illnesses and even treat physical ailments. Using vibrational frequencies of varying pitches, tones and harmonics, sound for healing can help reduce stress levels, promote sleepiness and even activate parts of the brain associated with spirituality.
It’s a simple principle: every object has a natural vibrational frequency, or resonance. When an object with a similar frequency approaches another, the two will vibrate together until they eventually synchronize and create a new, combined frequency. This is known as entrainment.
Music has long been a popular form of sound therapy, with studies showing that specific frequencies can trigger positive emotions while others have an invigorating effect. And when it comes to sound healing, there are a variety of techniques that can be used including tuning forks, singing bowls and gong baths.
One of the most popular methods is called binaural beats. It’s a form of sound meditation in which tones are played at varying frequencies in each ear. When these two tones are mixed together in the brain, they cause a perceived third sound that can alter your brainwave patterns and improve cognitive function.
These healing frequencies can also be used to stimulate the body’s innate ability to heal itself. Research has shown that certain sounds can help reduce inflammation, increase blood flow and even improve heart health. The sounds can also be used to stimulate the production of cytokines, which are a type of cell that helps with tissue repair and recovery.
In short, sound healing can be used to treat a variety of mental and physical ailments and can be especially effective when combined with other alternative treatments such as acupuncture or yoga. And though it might seem a little out there and mystical, modern science is catching up to help ratify what ancient cultures knew all along.
So the next time you’re feeling a little stressed, turn on some soothing ocean waves or a simple AUM chant and see what kind of magic it works! You might be surprised at the results. If you want to take things a step further, find a sound healer who can guide you or search for solfeggio recommended Hz levels online to try some self-guided sound healing at home. It might just be the miracle your mind, body and soul need!