Shyam Nepali & Amy Beshara describe how to get the most benefit out of your sound healing experience. They provide tips on how to set up your treatment area and on specific exercises that can help maximize the treatment.
About Sound Therapy
“If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency, and vibration.” -Nikola Tesla
The ancient art of sound healing has been used by shamans, healers, and yogis, for as long as time. Sound healing works on the principles of energy and vibration. In a sound bath you don’t have to “do” anything except be present to receive the vibrations. However, here are some tips to maximize the experience for you.
Get Comfortable
During a sound bath, you will most likely be lying down in an extended savasana, for an hour or more. It is essential to be comfortable and support the body so it doesn’t get fatigued, numb, or painful during the session. While minimal cushioning is best, because the vibrations do transfer to the body via the wooden floor of the studio, do take full advantage of any yoga props available to prevent any discomfort. Use blankets, bolsters, and double up on yoga mats if there are enough available to provide more cushioning for the body, if it is needed.
You can rest your ankles, arms, and hands on blankets to protect them from the hard floor. A bolster placed under the knees is great if there is any lower back discomfort. The edge of a folded blanket rolled once or twice makes a “two-for-one” prop that creates a cushion for the neck and a “pillow” for the head as you rest to receive the sound bath.
Even if you don’t need it at the start, you will be glad you have a blanket nearby rather than discovering 45 minutes into the session that your ankles hurt resting on the hard floor!
Adjust As You Go
As in all practices of yoga, listen to your body and notice what it is telling you. A sound bath will often induce a state of deep relaxation, and you may notice the time flies by while the body stays completely still. On the other hand, if you feel suddenly that you need to change position or move something, do it! Listen to your body.
Receive the Vibrations
In a sound healing session, you don’t need to “do” anything but be still. Deep breathing can help relax the body, preparing it to receive the sound. But the wonder of sound healing is that the sound can induce this state of relaxation without effort, causing the body to relax and release on its own as the vibrations work their magic.
Alternatively, some bodies that have been in chronic physical, mental, or emotional tension for an extended period could find it more difficult to receive the vibrations. Bodies that have endured chronic stress, extended illness, or PTSD may suffer from chronic muscle tension, and a state of resistance could be felt by that participant, where it is difficult to even close the eyes.
If this is the case, gentle asana that stretches the tissues can prepare the body to release and receive. If you’re already lying down, reach the arms up and overhead to open the breath cavity. Before you settle in savasana for the sound bath, hold poses like child’s pose, seated twist, seated forward bend (Paschimottanasana). Regular practice of sound healing, as with all forms of yoga, will enable the body to learn what relaxation feels like, to achieve it, and to access that state when stress occurs again.
Allow for Release
Each of us has our own vibrational and energetic blueprint. Sound healing is so wonderful because of the way it “recalibrates” each individual, through bringing anything that is out of alignment back into alignment. During a sound healing session, if there is tension, the vibrations will calibrate a state of relaxation. If there is too much relaxation, the vibrations will be energizing.
When a release occurs, it could be physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, or any/or all of the above. This is because all the bodies are interconnected, and an imbalance in one affects the others. If mental tension is causing physical tension, as the body releases its physical tension, you may find a new state of mental clarity appear, for example.
Think “energy”
Because our experience is through living in the 3D world of physical bodies – “solid” things, directional space, and linear time – it can be difficult for us to perceive the vibrational energetic world. Quantum physics studies this world, with the most modern technology available. Ancient healers knew these secrets through their own perception, and we are fortunate to live in a time where we have access to both ancient and modern knowledge.
