What is Sound Healing Meditation?

Have you ever wanted to just switch your brain off? No more worrying, self-criticism and imagining the worst-case scenario. Meditation is pretty much as close as we get to hitting mute on our minds. We shut off the outside world and turn our focus to anchors to the present moment so we’re not thinking about the past or the future or even much of what is happening right now. 

It leads us to this dreamy, floaty state of just being. It’s blissful! Singing bowls can help us access and make the most of this natural state of just being in a sound healing meditation. 

Why is meditation so powerful?

Reaching a meditative state is amazing for many reasons. Mainly, it’s a circuit breaker for stress. We calm right down. It’s good for our physical health as it can reduce our blood pressure, heart rate and other physical symptoms of stress that aren’t healthy in the long run. As we switch from fight or flight and into rest, digest, repair and restore, our bodies can better regulate and heal bodily processes like hormones and cellular repair. 

Pausing to just be is also good for our mental and emotional wellbeing. Meditation brings us to a place of calm, clarity and confidence which we take with us for the rest of the day. It stops our thoughts from running away from us. We can step back and reassess situations now we don’t have stress hormones racing around our bodies. Enjoying some peace and quiet can turn a hectic day into a more manageable one!

There is so much noise in the modern world. To just be is really powerful. We can reconnect with the present moment, our bodies and our true thoughts, feelings and desires. 

You don’t have to be meditating for hours on end for it to make a difference. A recent study found that just 10 minutes of meditation a day has a positive effect on anxiety, depression, wellbeing, and attitudes and behaviour around health. 

If you’re anything like me, you got really excited about meditation and how it could help you on your healing journey but reached a snag. How to get into a meditative state…

How singing bowls aid meditation

I really struggled when I was first getting into meditation. My mind is a very busy place, especially as I have ADHD. I tried lots of different types of meditation in an attempt to get to a peaceful place including breathwork, chanting and witness meditation. But I couldn’t reach the deep relaxation I was looking for. 

That was until I discovered sound healing meditation. It switches my brain off like nothing else. I realised sound was my route into a meditative state. Once I learned about the fascinating art and science of sound healing it all made sense. 

Singing bowls are made of quartz crystal, a powerful material for transmitting and transforming energy. When played, they release vibrations. Due to brain entrainment, we automatically start syncing our brain waves with the sound waves around us. So the sound waves of crystal singing bowls retune our brain waves to slow down. 

This is exactly what we want because we know through testing that when in meditation our brain waves slow down to alpha, theta or even delta. In these states, we are deeply relaxed, at peace, disconnected from the outer world and reconnected to our inner world. We can access our subconscious and even unconscious minds and their memories, emotions and intuitive realisations. 

Sound healing is a shortcut to a meditative state. We can use this in a couple of different ways… 

Sound healing meditation at a sound bath

Go to a sound bath and let the sound waves wash over you. All you have to do is lay there as the practitioner plays the bowls and takes you on a journey of restorative relaxation. You’ll feel your body calm down and your mind switch off as your brain waves synchronise with the sound waves and slow down into a meditative state. 

You can go to sound baths to destress and disconnect or you can set a specific intention and let your mind come up with the answer when in sound healing meditation. 

Sound healing meditation at home

You could get one or a set of your own singing bowls and play them to prepare yourself for meditation. To play singing bowls, you need to stay in a conscious state so start by playing the bowls then switch to a meditation ritual. 

You can play for 5, 10, 15 minutes, letting the sound waves slow your brain waves down and your thoughts and body follow suit. Then when you feel relaxed enough, stop playing and start a meditation ritual. You could anchor to the breath, a mantra, a visualisation or anything else that works for you. As you’ve prepared your brain for meditation, it will come a lot easier. 

A sound healing meditation is a great way to transition from the rush of everyday life into the peaceful and blissful state of meditation. If you find it hard to just witness your thoughts and not get carried away with them, it’s like a hack for slowing down the mind and switching off stress so you can enjoy the benefits of meditation. 

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Find out about upcoming sound baths run by myself and verified sound practitioners in our community here. Explore the online sound library to test what sound bowls resonate with you and then book a consultation for personalised guidance in finding the right singing bowls to support your practice. Upgrade your consultation to a workshop if you’d also like to learn about and practice playing singing bowls to bring you to a state of meditation.