Everything Is Vibration: The Importance of Sound Therapy Karolina Kozera

“Everything in Life is Vibration” — said Albert Einstein. Everything in our universe is always moving and vibrating. Even objects that appear to be motionless vibrate, oscillate, and resonate at different frequencies, including every part and system within the human body — vital organs, glands, tissues, bones, nervous system, etc. Certain vibrations trigger a response in anything with a comparable frequency, thanks to the idea of sympathetic resonance. When the 'energy flow' - Qi from Chinese Medicine or Prana from Indian Philosophy, is blocked or restricted, its resonant frequency is no longer in a state of harmony leading to stress and illnesses. The body's resonance frequencies or patterns change when it's in a state of sickness. The body-mind may adjust and re-align itself to a state of harmony by using sound resonance.

Sound healing has been used in various forms for thousands of years to enhance well-being, through making music, chanting mantras, singing, drumming, using the gong, singing bowls and other types of sound instruments. The benefits of sound healing therapy include:

Physical and emotional healing; restored energy circulation, improved self confidence and self esteem; improved sleep and relaxation; increased focus and productivity.

We can heal through the powerful vibration of sound and it affects us all in different ways, because we are all made up of different energy frequencies. The frequencies interact, attempting to rebalance the body's energy to restore healthy vibrations to the body. Sound has enormous power. According to ancient Indian belief, it has the power to create an entire universe. In the beginning there was sound, which reverberated as Om (Aum), and from that sound everything came into existence. Aum is actually the shortest, albeit the most important mantra. The humming sound is a gateway to the energy. When we chant Om we plug this energy into our body. In conclusion, the voice is a powerful instrument and fantastic tool in sound therapy and regular chanting plus voice toning practices will open up the energetic points in our body (chakras) and create natural vibrational healing.

As a sound therapist I'm using lots of different instruments (mentioned above) to restore healthy vibrations to the body, but the Gong has the most powerful impact. The gong bath is becoming extremely popular as a form of therapy and I'm personally amazed by its healing abilities. What is the Gong bath and what are the benefits? Gong baths are sonic journeys and a type of inactive meditation where you bathe in vibrations washing over you. The deep sound and the vibration of the gong is able to penetrate all areas of the body. It is used to treat the energy related to depression, anxiety and negative thinking patterns that affect the life as a whole.

Let’s look a bit closer. The well played gong becomes an instrument of profound healing on all levels:

• Physical – the gongs have a rejuvenating effect on the physical body, which resonates with sound during the gong bath. It is a deep massage on the cellular level. Sound waves produce a relaxing response by stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system, restoring body balance through sympathetic resonance.

The gong's vibration can release physical pain and has a detoxifying effect on our body. • Mental – the sound of the gong can lower the brain waves and has an ability to entrain theta waves associated with meditation allowing the mind to rest and relax and connect to the present moment. • Emotional/feelings — the gong's rich layers of overtones has a clearing effect on emotional issues which have been suppressed in the body and the sound vibration can break up limiting thought patterns. The gong's sound has a huge effect on our heart chakra (4th energetic centre in the body) It is a very powerful tool to open the heart, allowing us to experience a true love. The gong sounds can draw out negative emotions. After a gong bath we might feel: peace, calm, contentment, deep silence insight, acceptance and no judgement. • Spiritual - the sound healing with the gong can help us to realise the true essence of who we really are through the connection with our energy. The chakras and energetic lines in the body (nadis – Indian philosophy, meridians –

Chinese medicine) are balanced. Gongs can also be used to stimulate an altered state of consciousness, this form of deep relaxation can feel similar to a trance like state.

'Sound is the medicine of the future' — said Edgar Cayce. Sound healing is a big alternative to traditional medicine and its approach to heal through pharmacology, which we cannot avoid sometimes. We can use the sound as a prevention offering a natural way to treat pain and illness. The body will receive sonic vitamins which can improve our health or balance deficiencies caused by stressful living and regular sound baths will allow us to raise happiness within ourselves.

Karolina Kozera

Sound Therapist and Yoga teacher

Resources:

'Gong Consciousness. Self Healing Through the Power of Sound’; Jain Wells, Ph.D.

'Sound Healing with Gongs. A Gong Book for Beginners’; Sheila Whittaker

'Vibrational Sound Healing: Take Your Sonic Vitamins with Tuning Forks, Singing Bowls, Chakra Chants, Angelic Vibrations, and Other Sound Therapies'. Erica Longdon