Sound Therapy
How can Sound Therapy help you?
Sound Therapy refers to a range of therapies in which sound is used to treat physical and mental conditions. It can be effective in not only achieving a state of relaxation but also in moving through blockages in the body. Different sounds have elicited a variety of emotional responses and altered mental and physical states in people.
Treatment by sound waves is believed to restore healthy balance to the body. Healing is done by transmitting beneficial sound to an affected area. Healing sound may be produced by a voice or instruments including electronic equipment, chanting bowls, or tuning forks.
Sound Therapy has been known to help treat such conditions as:
- Stress
- Anxiety
- High blood pressure
- Depression
- Sleep disorders
- Pain
- Autism.
Overview
Sound Therapy refers to a range of therapies in which sound is used to treat physical and mental conditions. Indigenous societies around the world have traditionally used sound in healing ceremonies, including drumming, hand-clapping, singing, dancing, and pulsating since the beginning of time.
Sound Therapy techniques vary but all involve the application of sound waves and harmonic vibrations to the body through the use of instruments, including the human voice. Sound helps to facilitate shifts in our brainwave state by using entrainment. Entrainment synchronizes our fluctuating brainwaves by providing a stable frequency which the brainwave can attune to. By using rhythm and frequency, we can entrain our brainwaves and it then becomes possible to down-shift our normal beta state (normal waking consciousness) to alpha (relaxed consciousness), and even reach theta (meditative state) and delta (sleep) where internal healing can occur. (Wellwood Health, Queensland, Australia)
Sound Therapy uses sound, music, and special instruments played in therapeutic ways, combined with deep self-reflection techniques, to improve health and wellbeing.
Therapeutic Sound and Sound Therapy techniques are delivered using tonal and rhythmic instruments and voice. The tonal instruments often used are Himalayan and crystal singing bowls, gongs, and tuning forks. The vocal techniques are toning (the singing of one tone—usually using a vowel sound), overtoning (a technique where more than one tone is sung simultaneously), or mantra (the chanting of words). A practitioner of Holistic Voice Therapy or Group Voice Therapy may also use ‘Vocal Processing Techniques’ which combine movement, breath, and visualization as well as voice.
A therapeutic rhythm treatment/session is given using frame drum and therapeutic percussion comprises rainsticks, shakers, chimes, and other percussion tools delivered in a specific order to maximize the therapeutic process. (British Academy of Sound therapy—BAST)
Sound Healing Therapy uses aspects of music to improve physical and emotional health and well-being. The person being treated partakes in the experience with a trained practitioner. Music therapy may involve:
- Listening to music
- Singing along to music
- Moving to the beat of the music
- Meditating
- Playing an instrument
Healing with sound is believed to date back to ancient Greece, when music was used in an attempt to cure mental disorders. Throughout history, music has been used to boost morale in military troops, help people work faster and more productively, and even ward off evil spirits by chanting.
More recently, research has linked music to a number of health benefits, from strengthening immune function and lowering stress levels to improving the health of premature babies.
Sound Therapy may work well with
Sound Therapy is commonly used to treat
Explore the Research
We believe you should have access to high-quality research to help you make informed health decisions. Below are four trusted databases you can use as tools to expand your healthcare knowledge.
