Sound therapy, the relaxing power of sound vibrations

Sound therapy or sound therapy uses sound waves in the service of well-being. An ancient discipline that is returning to the fore, sound therapy is now used more and more often in yoga and meditation sessions. Practiced in group or individual sessions, it allows you to feel the way sounds and vibrations act on our body.

The benefits of sound therapy

Made up of 70 to 80% water, our body is very receptive to vibrations and sound waves, which have many positive effects on physical and mental well-being. The vibratory frequencies act on the cells of our organism, the liquids, the meridians and the energy channels.

Here are the benefits we can see:

• Sound therapy reduces stress and anxiety by acting on the central nervous system.
• It helps dissolve blockages and release tensions.
• It improves cognitive abilities: memory, concentration, creativity, language.
• It promotes quality sleep.
• It soothes physical and emotional pain.
• It rebalances the energy of the body.

Where does sound therapy come from?

This sound care has existed for centuries and is not only widespread in the East (Tibet, Nepal), but also in ancient times where singing was used to lull pain or for the purpose of healing. Some yoga practices also incorporate the repetition of Mantras, formulas made up of syllables whose sounds have, among other things, the power to heal.
Harmonic singing, music and their vibrations have always been used for therapeutic purposes to relieve pain. Several studies have demonstrated the relaxing power of music as well as its role in reducing chronic pain in patients.

Since 2011, in France, the CHU of Saint-Étienne (source here) also uses sound therapy as a supportive and comforting treatment, in addition to drug treatments in its palliative care department. Sonotherapist, Cathy Lefebvre offers individual sessions to patients, in which she offers them moments of appeasement, relaxation and serenity thanks to soft-sounding instruments, such as the carillon, the ocean drum (which imitates the sound of the sea), the rain stick and the Tibetan bowls.

In Canada, the MedSon Research Center is developing Sonotherapy and Sonology for medical and therapeutic uses. It was after a cancer diagnosis that Emmanuel Comte, the founder, chose to use sounds in addition to medicine to help him regain health.

Today, we can find this discipline of sound healing under different names: sonotherapy, sound bath, sound therapy, sound yoga, sound massage or Touch by Sounds ® (by Emmanuel Comte). It is based on sonology, knowledge of sounds for therapeutic purposes.

Sound bath or sound treatment, how does it work?

As soon as you hit an instrument like a Tibetan bowl or a crystal bowl with a stick, the sound emits vibrations that will diffuse all over the body; like the vibration of a ricochet in water. The body emits an electromagnetic field: the surface of the body such as the skin, but also the interior of the body (organs, meridians, muscular structure, bone, nervous system) vibrate to the depths of our cells. When there are physical tensions, emotional blockages, illnesses, the frequency of these vibrations is disturbed.

Thanks to their specific frequencies, the sounds emanating from the instruments can resonate with our body to rebalance its internal structures, its energy as well as to harmonize the body and the mind. It is water, the main constituent, which acts as a conductor. The vibrations can thus diffuse through the cells.
Certain waves emanating from Tibetan bowls or crystal bowls are also perceptible by the brain in a state of relaxation, we speak of ’alpha waves . In active standby, our brain mainly emits beta waves, fast waves. Alpha waves can only be reached through meditation and allow the two hemispheres of the brain to function in harmony with many benefits on the mind: global vision of things, better concentration, better memory, better management of stress and emotions, listening to our intuition.

During a session or a treatment, different instruments can be used:

• The gong: It is a metal percussion instrument, with a more or less flat and circular surface. The larger ones emit a very loud sound and are usually hung vertically. There are also bowl-shaped gongs.
• The tuning fork: It is akin to bran acupuncture. The tuning fork produces ultrasound and vibrations that penetrate the body, muscles, organs and joints in order to relax them and also to stimulate their own regeneration.
• Tibetan bowls : Made of different metals and of all sizes, they appear later than gongs. Some can be used as a bowl for relaxation or meditation, others for sound massages. In this case, it is placed on the body of a person lying down and struck so that the sound penetrates inside the body.
• The crystal bowl: White, colored, transparent or frosted, it offers a long song, made of high vibratory frequencies.
• Tibetan cymbals: They collide to deliver clear sound and long resonance. Their ringing invites contemplation. They are used in yoga to start or end a session. During sound baths, they create a sound universe conducive to relaxation and meditation. They also make it possible to purify a room of negative energies.

How does a sound therapy session go?

On their groundsheet and under blankets, practitioners are lounging in the dim light. For once, they have nothing to do, only let themselves be guided by the therapist and rocked by the different instruments.
The chimes open the ball, the singing bowls take over. Silence punctuates the session to give everyone time to assimilate all these vibrations, those that we hear and those that we do not perceive but that the body feels.
Then it was the powerful sound of the mallet hitting the gong that sounded. About fifteen gongs follow, which resonate as the session progresses, while the sounds of Tibetan bowls and tuning forks, more acute, complete this cosmic concert.

Do not expect a pretty melody, the Western musical ear must allow itself time to appropriate this new symphony. But you reach a state of deep relaxation. Some enter a meditative state where breathing becomes more regular, while others fall asleep lulled by this bath of gongs also called gong bath.

After an hour to an hour and a half of sound bathing, you come out revitalized, serene and reboosted.

Where to do a sound treatment or sound bath?

In yoga studios or with therapists who have received sound therapy training in different regions of France, there are collective sessions of sound therapy, gong bath, therapeutic tuning fork and other sound treatments. A group lesson generally costs 10 to 30 €. It takes 30 to 90 € for a particular session, depending on the region.

There are sound baths in audio to be found on different platforms such as YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcast.

Your shopping for sound therapy instruments

> Zaphir chime(ex-carillon Shanti), depending on, is used indoors. It can be suspended like any wind chime, or be used for a sound therapy session. This model comes from the Pyrenees, it is handcrafted in France.

> Ocean drum , this double drum which encloses pearls, which, by moving, produce a sound close to that of the sea, is used either in percussion with a small mallet, or by making the pearls rustle.
Its price is ultra reasonable on Cdiscount, 14.33

> Rain stick : there are a plethora of models, but we really like those made of bamboo, with an ethnic style. You can easily find some on the Etsy site, like the hand-painted ones from PerCubes. Indicative price: € 21.60 on Etsy.

> Tibetan bowls: Also sometimes called singing bowls, like the gong, they are real instruments of resonance. According to Tibetan legend, this bowl is made of an alloy of seven metals, each linked to a star. This medium model is also available in large, € 39.95 at Nature & Découvertes.

Special bibliography sound therapy and vibrations

The sound of vibrations – Influence of sounds and music on health and personal development, by Emmanuel Comte, published by Dangles. In this book, the author returns in detail to the vibratory power of sounds and resonances, with much study. Astonishing discoveries, including in the medical field, support his remarks. Exciting. € 20 on the Fnac website.

The practice of sound yoga – Healing by the 5 mother sounds, by Véronique and Denis Fargeot, ed. Le Courrier du livre. This book, sold with an audio CD, comes from shamanism, Tibetan, Shinto and Taoist traditions to compile interesting sound yoga techniques or sound yoga. € 22.90 on the Decitre website.