While sound healing has recently gained popularity, it is actually a centuries-old therapeutic technique. Every ancient civilization on Earth is reported to have used some form of sound therapy, ranging from voice chanting to instruments such as shamanic drums, elegant wooden flutes, and numerous others. Sound therapy is said to have begun 40,000 years ago when indigenous Australians used ancient didgeridoos for healing.
In today’s world, crystal bowls, gongs, tuning forks, chimes, and drums are the most popular instruments in sound healing.
Each instrument offers a unique significance. Some instruments activate the energetic centers, while others release stagnant energy and promote healing. Crystal bowls and chalices are widely used in sound healing spaces because of their energetic abilities. They are typically tuned to the seven energy body chakras: root, sacral, solar plexus, heart, throat, third eye, and crown. The gong, another popular sound healing instrument, is said to ease stress and stimulate the glandular and nervous systems.
One of the outstanding elements of human life is that we have so many different ways of healing ourselves. For many, music creates a relaxing, ritualized harmony that invites inner peace and tranquility. If you are someone interested in working with sound healing instruments, keep reading to learn more about the many beautiful options available to you today!
Who Can Benefit From Sound Healing?
Short answer: everyone and anyone who is open to it! Sound healing is an infinite modality that is widely accessible. The only pre-requisite is having an open mind to experience the healing possibilities.
More specifically, using sound as therapy can provide results for a variety of issues, including:
- Sleep disorders
- Confusion
- Depression
- Feeling "stuck"
- Stress management
- PTSD
- Pain management
- Anxiety
- Feeling weighed down
What Instruments Are Used for Sound Healing?
Gong
Gongs emit a wide range of intricate frequencies. They are often used in sound baths for sound therapy, which is typically done in groups with participants lying on mats while a gong expert plays gongs and other instruments.
A gong's dynamic range is vast, ranging from subtle shimmering sounds to powerful, booming tones that may overpower the space with a musical presence so intense that your DNA vibrates.
They produce a rich, resonant tone and come in various forms and sizes.
Most individuals describe the sensation as a "vibrating up and cleaning out" of stagnant energies from the mind and the body. Gongs initially originated in the area of Tibet in the 6th century CE and were utilized in spiritual rituals and religious rites.
Crystal Bowls & Crystal Chalice Grails
The pure quartz used to make crystal bowls resonates in a way that is both heavenly and calming to experience. Crystal bowls are one of the most often used sound healing tools in sound baths due to the powerful and intense sound they create.
Crystal Singing Chalices (similar to a crystal bowl, with an additional handle for the practitioner to hold and interact with) are also composed of high-purity quartz. When softly tapped or caressed, their long-lasting tone radiates outward, enveloping your surroundings with ethereal and relaxing energy.
Crystal bowls and chalices typically range in diameter from 6-8”. Each diameter produces a different note and vibration and thus corresponds with various chakras in the body. For instance, our 7” crystal chalice creates the note “B,” which corresponds with the crown chakra and all crystal Chalice Grails are tuned to 432hz.
Depending on your area of focus, choosing a bowl or chalice that works with the chakra you are devoted to can significantly improve your practice. Choosing a bowl tuned to the heart chakra is an excellent idea if you wish to open up your heart space and invite love and compassion into your life. Click here to browse our stunning collection of custom crystal chalices.
Tuning Fork
A tuning fork is a metal fork with two prongs adjusted to a specific pitch.
Tuning forks, commonly used to tune orchestral instruments, may also be applied to various body places, where they can concentrate intense vibrations through the skin to ease and open up pressure points. Tuning fork therapy has been shown to help reduce muscular and bone pain.
Tuning forks provide a steady tone with a lengthy duration, making them perfect for meditation and relaxation. Therapists frequently employ tuning forks to treat energy blockages in the chakra systems, inviting the body to begin mending itself.
Chimes
Chimes have been popular sound healing instruments since ancient times. In today's world, many individuals use wind chimes outside their houses because they find the sounds peaceful, without realizing they have therapeutic benefits, too! When the body receives the vibrations made by the sound waves, stress and anxiety are relieved.
Koshi wind chimes are a popular brand that sells perfectly tuned chimes that boost nature's healing potential. They provide a positive flow of energy that amplifies the blessings of the Universal Life Force energy surrounding us.
Drum
The frame drum is an ancient instrument that provides a strong and relaxing sound that may enhance your meditation practice while invoking profound healing.
Drumming helps you relax because it helps release endorphins (our feel-good brain chemicals) and creates Alpha waves in the brain. To simplify, you will likely feel more peaceful and joyful during and after a drumming session.
Shamanic drumming's steady beat is an excellent therapeutic aid because its persistent rhythm penetrates the entire brain, helping to bring both hemispheres into harmony.
Handpan Drum
Two half-shells are used to make these metallic, UFO-looking drums. They have an alluring resonance and a tone similar to a tongue drum. The handpan is a subtype of the steelpan. These instruments, once learned, allow you to produce an engaging performance that combines melodic notes and rhythmic noises.
The tone field in the middle is known as a Ding. The Ding is bordered by a circle of at least seven distinct tone fields on the upper side, or shell, and a hole on the bottom known as a Gu. Hand pans or drums come in various sizes and may be played solo or in collaboration with other drummers.
Trying Sound Healing at Home
Everything within the cosmos is constantly in flux and movement. This movement is known as energy. Our thinking processes generate energy; our bodies generate energy, and we generate sounds with our voices and through musical instrument playing.
We often use terms like "being in sync with..." or "walking to the same rhythm as..." without thinking about what they mean. People appear to intuitively understand that when the vibrations of their cells match the vibrations surrounding them, they feel happy!
Sound healing is incredibly beneficial for our mental and emotional well-being. It has more profound and far-reaching impacts on our state than merely listening to an upbeat song to brighten your spirits.
Many of our ideas begin in our subconscious brain, and one of the advantages of sound healing is that the resonances extend into this area of our brain without us needing to 'try' or 'push'; healing can just occur!
Sound healing instruments, in essence, improve your emotional and physical well-being. If you want to begin using sound for healing in your life, listen to the call! Crystal chalices are an excellent instrument to begin your sound journey with, as they are intuitive to play yet still immensely powerful.