Sound Health by Lisa Byrne

Sound Healing is an ancient cross cultural art.  References to sound appear in all great spiritual belief systems from around the world.  With the support of numerous scientific studies, sound healing is emerging as a powerful modality to facilitate healing from a variety of physical, mental, emotional & spiritual dis-eases.  Sound works by addressing the basis of all life…vibration.

As Deepak Chopra, M.D. so eloquently states, although our senses report that we inhabit a solid body in time and space, this is only the most superficial layer of reality.  Quantum physics reveals that what appears to be a solid body can be broken down into molecules, atoms and subatomic particles, and that these subatomic particles are actually bundles of vibrating energy.  Everything in existence emits a vibrational frequency or resonance whether it is audible or not.  The human ear is only capable of perceiving a certain range of frequencies.  If our hearing was sensitive enough to perceive all frequencies, we would be able to hear the music of mountains, valleys, flowers and rivers, the singing of the sky and stars, and the symphony of our own body.

Sound is being used at the Cornell Cancer Prevention Center in New York City by Dr. Mitchell Gaynor, the director of Medical Oncology and Integrative Medicine and author of The Healing Power of Sound.  While, Dr. Gaynor explains he is not sure why certain sounds aid in healing terminally ill patients, he believes that their vibration affects the disrhythmic motion found in cancer cells.  He says that if he fills a singing bowl with water and then draws a baton around the rim it will create a harmony that turns the water into “beautiful shapes like snowflakes,”.  With the use of sacred sounds from instruments & voice, the same harmonious transformation can be achieved within the cells of the human body.

The body is naturally an amazing conductor of sound since it is over 70% water.  Sound travels 5 times as fast through water as it does through air. Bone is also an excellent sound conductor, so with over 200 bones in our body and 70 % water it is surprising we do not sound like an orchestra when we walk, talk or breath.  If you need more proof that sound penetrates the body into the tissue & cells look at an ultra sound, need I say anymore?

Each organ, bone, tissue and cell of our bodies produces a particular resonance which is the frequency at which it vibrates.  When we are feeling good, we say we are of “Sound” body, mind & spirit or in harmony with the rhythms of the universe.  If we are not feeling at our optimal level, then we have basically slipped out of tune. When a part of the body is out of tune we call this dis-ease or disharmony.  How can we realign the amazing symphony of our own body and create a state of health & well-being? Simply by using sound and intention to balance and align the body, mind & spirit.

We can realign the body through resonance & entrainment.  Resonance is the reverberation or vibration of an object, cell or body.  The vibration of one body or object can affect another through resonance.  An example of this is when clocks with pendulums are started swinging at different times all of the clocks will synchronize to the clock with the highest or strongest vibration.  The same principle of resonance will occur in our bodies & cells through sound healing.  We can introduce harmonious sounds created by instruments or the human voice that will sonically massage the cells & organs helping the body rid itself from disharmonious vibration.

The powerful rhythmic sounds & vibrations of the didgeridoo, Tibetan and crystal bowls, the drum, flute and voice can entrain our brainwaves and heartbeats so that they synchronize creating a rhythmic relationship with the sacred sound being produced.  Repetitive, percussive sounds alter our brain wave patterns and aids in changing our state of consciousness creating an environment with tremendous healing potential.  Sound is a powerful stimulus that produces physiological changes in the body such as: lowering heart rate, blood pressure & respirations, decreasing pain & anxiety, increasing healing hormones and reducing muscle tension & stress.  These changes can bring the body back into its natural state of health & well being.  The change in brain waves produced by sound also balances the two hemispheres of the brain known as Hemi-synch. Hemi-synch creates a profound state of relaxation and is a gateway for us to connect to other realms of consciousness.  These altered states of consciousness heighten our senses, increase our creativity, produce a state of awakened dreaming and connect us to our Higher Self.

I will leave you with a quote from Dr. Mitchell Gaynor, director of Medical Oncology and Integrative Medicine at the Cornell Cancer Prevention Center in New York City

“If we accept that sound is vibration and we know that vibration touches every part of our physical being, then we understand that sound is heard not only through our ears but through every cell in our bodies.  One reason sound heals on a physical level is because it so deeply touches and transforms us on the emotional and spiritual planes.  Sound can redress imbalances on every level of physiologic functioning and can play a positive role in the treatment of virtually any medical disorder.”

Lisa Byrne is a Musician & Sacred Sound Practitioner with H2O Holistic Health Options in Durango, CO.  She can be reached at 970-375-7794 or visit her on the web at www.holistichealthoptions.biz or www.journeytoone.com

Sound Healing Pioneer Jonathan Goldman Shares the Basic Principles of Sound Healing: