Sound Therapy
Sound therapy with tuning forks is something that I will often use in my practice in follow up client sessions. Because we are mostly made of water, and water conducts sound, the body is a great resonator for sound. These vibratory sounds travel through the body to help remove energetic blockages, therefore helping to balance homeostasis and increasing the flow of Qi, or as science describes it, biophotons (light particles) or bioenergetics / electromagnetic frequencies. We now have Ultrasound in the medical world, and sound is also even used to break up kidney stones.
The way that water reacts to sound is the reason why sound therapy works in human bodies which has been shown in research studies as well as thousands of years of practices cultures all over the world. Sound travels at least four times faster in water than it does in air.
Water is the most abundance substance on the planet and a medium of sound and life on earth. Sound vibrations can carry through over very long distances, e.g. how whales can communicate with each other over thousands of kilometers. The sea is a constant orchestra of sound.
A glass of water on top of a piano when it is being played will vibrate at different rates depending on the notes used.
Sound Therapy is based on the principle that all matter is in a continuous state of vibration, including the human body. These vibrations are measured in hertz (Hz) with sound being measured in cycles per second. When a found is played, it sends out its unique vibrational frequency which resonates throughout the body and can alter brainwaves which affect mood, stress levels and physical sensations such as pain.
Dr Masaru Emoto was a scientist who believed that the molecular structure of water could be changed by the thoughts words and music it was exposed to. He demonstrated this by exposing water to positive and negative thoughts and words and pictures, and then freezing the water, which changed the water crystals into either beautiful or ugly / malformed / distorted crystals when seen under a microscope. He has written several books on his work. Veda Austin has more recently done similar work and has performed some really amazing experiments with this method. Here is a link to a documentary about Dr Emoto on Your Tube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDW9Lqj8hmc
Cymatics is the study of how sound waves create patterns in various media, such as sand, liquid, or flame. Science has shown what the ancients knew, that when sound travels through water or sand, it leaves a pattern. These patterns show us how different frequencies of sound appear visually when it moves through matter with each frequency producing a unique geometric pattern.
Entrainment is defined by a temporal locking process in which one system’s motion or signal frequency entrains the frequency of another system. Dutch Physicist and Scientist, Christian Huygens, discovered that when he placed two pendulum clocks on a wall near each other and swung the pendulums at different rates, they would eventually end up swinging at the exact same rate. They fell into rhythm with one another. He realized that this concept applied to not just pendulum clocks, but as a basic law of physics. Similarly, if you tap a glass and place a tuning fork on one side, the water in the glass will vibrate at the same frequency as the tuning fork.
Entrainment can apply to the heartbeat, brainwaves and cells. When they start vibrating in harmony with some external rhythm, they synchronise their behaviour and attune themselves to the stronger, more powerful vibration. This vibration could also be from another person or animals.
All living things have their own unique frequency, the organs in the body, our thoughts and feelings. When something goes wrong in our lives emotionally or physically, this frequency has become disrupted. Sound therapy can help rebalance these frequencies by using different tones (e.g. musical notes, singing certain songs, tuning forks, singing bowls).
Tuning Forks
Tuning fork therapy is based on the concept of these vibrations. Waves occur around and inside us. If the body experiences waves that create rhythm and harmony, sound healing occurs. The body therefore tends to resonate with the sound that it hears. As the vibrations from sound travel through the body, they remove energetic blockages that hinder the flow of your energy.
Tuning Forks are an effective method of applying sound to the body, including ace-points, trigger and reflex points, bone, muscle and tendons to help tonify Qi or disperse Qi to help relieve pain and attune the body on a cellular level.
Using different forks affects our biological rhythms and our circadian clock allowing us to synchronise with natural cycles, and to find our balance and homeostasis. Homeostasis is fundamental to healing the physical body, mind and spirit.
Different frequencies have different actions on the body. Each chakra (nerve plexes if you want a scientific name) is tuned to different frequencies and colours (colour is also vibration). We can also use sound on different vertebrae to help with alignment. Tuning forks can be used off the body or directly on the body (depending on the type of tuning fork) - we would usually have the end touching a bone for more vibration - or off the body. I have crystal feet on the ends of each of my weighted tuning forks that adds in even more potential benefits.
Studies have shown that the sounds of nature are hugely therapeutic, our nervous systems are tuned to the sounds of nature. Why then would you want to wear headphones while out in nature and disconnect. Mechanical sounds from ventilation etc. in hospitals can actually increase anxiety. In one double-blind randomised trial, mothers who had nature-based sounds through headphones during birth had significantly lower pain levels.
Relaxing music is processed differently though in the brain than natural sounds. They both relax us, but do so via different biological pathways. After the vibrations fade, the body listens more deeply. Cells reorganise, the nervous system exhales, and the wisdom of the tones weaves itself into your being.
If you think all of this is a bit Woo-Woo, then have a read of the fabulous book by David Hamilton PhD called "Why Woo-Woo Works", the surprising science behind meditation, reiki, crystals and other alternative practices.
These are the results of a study on the effects of different music on HEK293T cell growth and mitochondrial functions.
Results: Unlike rock and classical music, exposing cells to five-element music produced several beneficial physiological effects, including statistically significant increases in the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) by 17%, glutathione (GSH) by 21% and cell growth rates (14%), as well as a significant reduction in the reactive oxygen species (ROS) by 13%. For the group treated with classical music, there was only a trend toward increased GSH (8%), although the increased growth rates (14%) did reach significance. In sharp contrast, the cells treated with heavy-metal music responded with an opposite and significant 16% increase in ROS and a significant 11% reduction in cell viability. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35248473/
The tuning fork was invented by John Shore, a trumpeter in the service of George I in 1711, nearly three hundred years ago. Tuning forks were originally produced to tune musical instruments but in the last 4 decades they have become important tools in medicine and alternative therapies. Because they eliminate their own overtones within a few seconds of striking, the pure resulting sound waves are rapidly transmitted throughout the nervous system and entire body with just a few applications.
They have been used and to diagnose broken bones and test haring. However, because of the strong vibration they produce, practitioners started using them to balance energy in physical, emotional, and mental bodies.
Tuning fork sound resonates deeply on the subtle body, and it penetrates to the subtle energy channels which are responsible to create the physical body. Vibrations produced from tuning fork shake the impurities to throw them out from the physical, emotional, mental body. Any blockages or stagnant energy, impure energy residing at one place can be released through the help of tuning fork. Sound and the vibrations from the tuning fork harmonise the physical, mental, emotional bodies.
Tuning Forks are based on the principle that everything in the Universe is made of vibration. Sound Healing is possible because our human bodies are not solid. Our bodies are rhythmic and harmonic. Disease can indicate we have gone out of tune or vibrational rate of the body has lost its rhythm. Tuning forks can assist the immune system and help stimulate the body to heal itself."
Human body is composed of three bodies: -
-
Gross body: physical
-
Subtle body: energetical
-
Causal body: mental
A sound emerged from tuning fork triggers these three bodies. We all have some blockages and tension in the body due to the lifestyle what we live, which makes it difficult for us to be free from these impurities and in order to sustain our healthy state of thoughts, emotions, and physical. Tuning fork vibrational therapy works wonder on these stacked emotions or experiences in our life which we might have not been able to release.
A powerful tool for emotional upliftment for the being to come out of any kind of pain and misery. Tuning forks also work largely on the psychosomatic disorders and achieving the healthy state of mind and body.
After the vibrations fade, the body listens more deeply. Cells reorganize, the nervous system exhales, and the wisdom of the tones weaves itself into your being.
There are 3 basic categories:
1.Sonopuncture: This term was invented a few years ago and refers to the use of Tuning Forks on the acupuncture points, meridian points, hand and feet reflexology points, spinal reflex points, Shiatsu points and all other reflex points of the body
.
2.Osteophony: This name is from created from the Osteophonic Tuning Forks, or OTTO forks as John Beaulieu calls them. This is the application of Tuning forks to the articulations and any part of the skeleton. Bones transmit vibration more effectively than any other matter in the body.
3.Diaphony: A term created by my Yogi Bhanu which refers to the use of Tuning forks in the Subtle Bodies, energy fields and energy centres (aura and chakras).
Tuning forks can be used as a therapy with two major principles, however body both and mind are intrinsically linked and the two can be combined. I will usually use Kinesiology muscle response testing to find out what the body needs in which area : -
-
Vibrational therapy (lower frequencies) – works more on the physical body e.g. injury, spasm, stiffness, blockages, pain. Weighted tuning forks are placed directly on the body for this. They can stimulate the flow of lymph and blood to the area of application thereby speeding up the healing process and promote deep relaxation and the elimination of built-up stress and toxins from the joints.
-
Acoustic therapy (higher frequencies) – works more on mental, emotional or energetic imbalances. Unweighted tuning forks are usually off the body for this around the ears or auric body. Placing an activated tuning fork near the ears (more than 5 cm away) helps balance and regulate the metabolism of organs, which have a direct link to the auditory nerve. The ears play an important role, re-transmitting the sounds to the nervous system and via the nerves to the major organs. This also has a powerful regulatory effect on the entire nervous system, creating deep relaxation or stimulation, depending on which forks are used.
After a Sound Therapy Session
Many people feel a sense of calmness and relaxation during the session. Many feel the effects of the session right away or even up to a week or so afterwards, others may not. Note that if you believe that Sound Therapy will not help you, it will not, and it therefore isn't the right therapy for you at this moment in time. Sound Therapy can be a powerful therapy. Some people just feel relaxed, whereas other people can feel a sense of relief or a change in emotions, or an emotional release. Sound Therapy can remove blockages which may then help release toxins stored in the body. Some people may therefore occasionally feel the effects of detoxification after a therapy a little such as lethargy, headache etc. However, if this is part of your continued support with me, we will already be supporting your detoxification pathways, and I will also be muscle response testing to gain insight as to which tuning forks your body wants at this particular time and whether it will raise your vitality.
Because of the potential effects of Sound Therapy, it is advised to have it on a day when you have nothing planned afterwards that day so that you can just relax, or on a day that is highly emotionally challenging for you such as the anniversary of the death of a loved one etc. Sound Therapy is not appropriate for those with pace makers, metal parts (e.g. hip replacement), and severe mental illness. I also do not do sound therapy on people undergoing chemotherapy or those with active cancers or severe illnesses.
After a Sound Therapy session it is advisable to avoid stimulants such as caffeine, alcohol, tobacco and sugar for a few days.
Just one session is not usually enough for most people if their issue is chronic and has been going on a long time. A Sound Therapy session should be viewed as part of your ongoing therapeutic journey with me as we gently "peel off the layers of the onion" one step at a time. I do not heal, you are your own healer. Sound therapy, like all other therapies doesn't treat, heal or cure, it helps to bring the body back to balance / homeostasis, thus promoting the body's own healing process and vital force.
