Wellbeing
Sound Bath Experiences for Relaxation
Sound Bath Experiences for Relaxation
Sound bath experiences are a way of immersing yourself in meditative sounds which can promote your sense of wellbeing.
What is a sound bath and how does it work?
In general, meditation is excellent for managing stress and improving your overall wellbeing. A sound bath is a relaxation technique where you are immersed in the sound waves produced by the human voice as well as instruments such as chimes, gongs, drums and singing bowls.
“Sound bath experiences are becoming more popular and many people find them to be extremely beneficial for their overall health and well-being,” says Puranshant Kaur, a yoga teacher and sound bath practitioner based in Westport, County Mayo in Ireland.
Sound baths use repetitive notes at different frequencies to help bring your focus away from your thoughts. Generally, these sounds are created with traditional crystal bowls, gemstone bowls, cymbals, and gongs.
Each instrument creates a different frequency that vibrates in your body and helps guide you to the meditative and restorative state. Sara Auster, a Brooklyn-based sound therapist, explains on her website, “By using particular combinations of rhythms and frequencies, it is possible to shift our normal beta state (alert, concentrating, reacting) to an alpha (creative, relaxed), and even theta (meditative state) and delta (deep sleep; where restoring and healing can occur).”
For beginners, as long as you leave the normal beta state of being alert, concentrating, and reacting, then you should consider your experience a success. Calming those three instincts should leave you feeling relaxed and recharged.
Fans of sound bath experiences say they have a profoundly calming effect as the vibrations wash over you. Some go so far as to say they can help reduce pain and relieve stress and anxiety.
“Sound baths create the space and conditions for healing to occur on many levels,” explains Kaur. “The sound stimulates our circulation and immune system, cleanses our energy meridians, and helps to release emotions stored in our body like anger, stress and trauma. Sound also balances both hemispheres of our brain, promoting deep relaxation.”
