What is Sound Healing?

Sound healing, sometimes referred to as music therapy, is a method of promoting wellness used by many holistic health practitioners. While this may sound like a New Age discovery, the practice of using sound and music as a healing tool actually spans many ancient civilizations. For instance, Tibetan Buddhists have used singing bowls for centuries to fine-tune the body’s energy fields, or chakras. The effect is a balanced alignment between the emotional mind and the physical body.

Generally classified as a modality of energy medicine, sound healing is based on the premise that disease manifests as a result of the misalignment or blockage of energy flow. It also embraces a belief in cellular memory. This suggests that negative energy generated by past experiences may become trapped in the body and ultimately stored in the cells of organs and tissue. Unless released, this energy may eventually cause these organs and tissue to malfunction.

Sound healing enthusiasts point to the social and developmental significance of music and sound to support validity of these concepts. For example, music has long been regarded a vibrational language that is readily understood, thereby transcending language or cultural barriers. It is also interesting to note the fact that humans are regularly stimulated by sound in the womb, long before the powers of sight and smell are established. Scientists have also found that music positively affects a growing brain. In fact, research indicates that musical instruction stimulates cognitive development in children, an observation known as the “Mozart Effect.”

The mechanism behind sound healing rests in a physics phenomenon called the Entrainment Principle, which dictates that any two oscillating energies will come into sync according to the one with the higher vibrational frequency. This is the same principle that permits two pendulum clocks, for example, to eventually keep time at the same pace when placed near each other. This phenomenon is universally recognized in chemistry, biology, and other life sciences. In people, it translates to the regulation of body systems, including heart rate, respiration, and brain wave activity. In fact, research has shown that sound healing therapy increases alpha waves in the brain, which is associated with relaxation and improved immunity.

While the goal of sound healing is to achieve or restore health, it does not endeavor to do so directly. In other words, sound healing is not the cure. Rather, the objective of this form of therapy is to facilitate harmony between all the systems of the body to create an environment in which healing can take place. Sound healing is also an integrative practice and sessions may incorporate additional therapies, such as Reiki and balanced life coaching.