A sound bath is usually a one-two hour healing ceremony in which participants often reach a deep meditative state. Lying comfortably on your back on mats on the floor with heads facing the instruments, you are “bathed" in waves of sound as various instruments of both ancient (Himalayan singing bowls) and modern origin (Quartz crystal bowls) are played. Some instruments are associated with more grounding properties, such as the gong, while others raise us up to higher spheres. Sound baths usually begin with guided deep breath work to achieve relaxation and end with a period of silence. As instruments are played, the brain entrains to the tones, vibrations and frequencies allowing brain waves to slow down to achieve a theta state, or the optimal dream state most often experienced upon waking or just before falling asleep. It is in this state of consciousness that we may be able to access the previously inaccessibile.

The benefits of sound healing have long been experienced by those who have used the modality for centuries. Yet like so many other spiritual practices, it is not until Western science proves its efficacy that it is taken seriously. Take for example  the benefits of meditation. Only after our technology advanced that enabled brainwaves of Tibetan monks to be measured,(https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2944261/), was it scientifically proven that meditation slows brainwaves, lowers anxiety, impacts neural changes that decrease emotional reactivity, lowers heart rate, blood pressure and other documented health benefits. While the affeccts of a sound healing session may be temporary, such as the way one might feel after a massage, like any meditation practice, the more one reaches a deep meditative state, the easier it is for the brain to return to that relaxed state.

While the science of sound healing is still in its early stages, I believe that it is only a matter of time before its benefits are more widely studied, documented and accepted. Sound is the medicine of the future!