Welcome to day eight of my 30 Days of Ayurveda series! Throughout these blogs and videos, I will be sharing some upbeat thoughts and wellness tips, as well as some Ayurvedic tricks and food recommendations to help you lead a balanced life.
Singing Bowls for Healing
Singing bowls can be used for healing as well as producing a beautiful sound. On April 22nd 2020 we celebrated Earth Day, an annual event that celebrates the Earth whilst promoting the need for environmental protection. For its 50th anniversary celebration, the organisers encouraged people to go outside and create some sound. This tied in wonderfully with the expressions of love and gratitude that people had been expressing around the globe; for the health care workers selflessly going out to protect and look after us all during the Covid 19 pandemic.
When it came to making my sound, I decided to focus my thoughts on the earth and its finite resources. I believe that we need to think more consciously about our lives. About what each and every one of us can do to protect these resources and make them go further.
Sound as a Healing Tool
Sound can be used to mentally, emotionally and physically heal us through its vibrational qualities. Over the years, sound healing has been known to; lower stress levels, stabilise mood swings, reduce high cholesterol and blood pressure, as well as improve sleep. Sound has even been used to treat anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, autism, and dementia.
Types of Singing Bowls
Years ago, I bought a gorgeous Tibetan singing bowl whilst on a Dali Llama conference in Italy. It’s this same bowl that I chose to use on Earth Day. Singing bowls have been used in Tibetan culture for centuries. Generally made from a bronze alloy, the bowls are played by striking or rubbing its rim with a wooden or leather-wrapped mallet. This causes the sides and rim of the bowl to vibrate, producing a rich sound that that relaxes and heals the mind.
As each bowl offers a unique vibration for separate parts of the brain, different sized bowls are often used together. They can often provoke a light dream state, while some people even place the bowls on the body to promote healing. Indeed, singing bowls have been found to effectively reduce stress, anger, depression, and fatigue.
Singing Bowls for Charging Water
Some people believe water quality can be improved by charging it using a singing bowl. Water is understood to hold memory, this is now being proved with cutting edge science.
When a singing bowl is played, the sound produced causes vibrations to reverberate around the bowl. As a result, when you add water to the bowl, the water will start to vibrate as the sound waves move through it. The resulting rippling movement not only causes water droplets to leap out the water, but also produces a gentle, hypnotic sound, almost like raindrops.
Listening to organic and natural sounds, such as those made by water in a singing bowl, can help to reduce stress levels. Indeed, studies have found that listening to nature sounds helps the body decrease our sympathetic response (the root of our “fight or flight” reaction) and increase our parasympathetic response (this helps the body relax and function in normal circumstances). As a result, we feel far more relaxed and calm in day to day life.
Some people believe that drinking or cleaning yourself with water from a singing bowl offers special healing benefits. This is because some people believe singing bowls can be used to ‘charge’ objects. You could even try pouring water from your singing bowl to help your plants grow!
Whatever you use your singing bowls for, I hope their sounds meet you and offer something special to you. You could use even them to celebrate Earth Day next year, it is held on 22nd April every year!
Over the next 30 days, I will be sharing even more tips and tricks to help you build some great Ayurvedic routines. Hopefully, they will soon be imbedded in your life and you can progress with them. Be sure to let me know how you’re getting on, and why not share what sounds you made on Earth Day? Find me on Instagram @anneheigham and on YouTube.
