Have you ever attempted to meditate in a loud or sonically unpredictable space? Sound healing meditation is a way to tune out the external chaos and drop into the internal globe.
I’ve discovered myself meditating – or at least creating my ideal try to meditate – in locations like airplanes, crowded beaches and other public locations and it is not straightforward!
Don’t get me incorrect, at times I can handle to tune out of my surroundings and tune into myself, but it adds a level of difficulty and normally does not final also extended.
The Science of Sound Healing
Sounds have such a direct and profound effect on our nervous technique that the sonic atmosphere in which we meditate can make a massive distinction on the practical experience, and in the end, its effectiveness.
Consider for a moment the way your body reacts to a sudden, loud sound (like an alarm going off or your roommate knocking a thing more than in the next area).
Whatever the origin, it triggers our sympathetic nervous technique, or fight-or-flight response, in our body prior to our thoughts even has a opportunity to decipher exactly where the sound came from.
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In these moments, our sympathetic nervous technique releases tension hormones to prepare our body to face a harmful predicament.
So when we are in spaces that may create random sounds that trigger this response, our subconscious thoughts is maintaining half an eye open, so to speak, creating it a bit more difficult to completely loosen up, however alone transcend into a meditative state.
How Sound Impacts Our Yoga Practice + State of Being
With that mentioned, we can also harness this energy of sound to trigger a relaxation response in our nervous technique (also recognized as the parasympathetic nervous technique, or rest-and-digest state) to facilitate and deepen our meditation practices.
In this state, our body and thoughts are capable to counteract tension when creating a great landscape to facilitate a calming meditation.
Sound Healing 101: Everything You Need to Know About This Practice
As Dr. Mitchell L. Gaynor notes in his book The Healing Power of Sound:
“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 by way of our ears but by way of each and every cell in our body.”
He continues by saying:
”The sound of our voices, entrained with the sound of the singing bowl, permeates our complete becoming … We enter a state of consciousness that enables us to witness our lives from a calmer, more meditative point of view.”
5 Ways To Explore A Sound Healing Meditation Practice:
Here are a couple of of my favored techniques to incorporate the healing effects of sound into your meditation practice.
1. Audible Exhales
Beginning a meditation session with a couple of minutes of audible breathing can be an extraordinary way to give your self a dose of sound healing vibrations when connecting your breath and body.
When you initially get into your comfy seat (or preferred meditating position), close your eyes and take a deep inhale into the belly.
Exhale out by way of the mouth on an “ahh” or “ohh”. You may notice that the exhales get longer and longer as you go. This can genuinely assist slow the breath and get you into a relaxed state.
2. Vocal Toning
To take factors a step additional and to add a deeper element of healing, you can attempt vocal toning.
Before you start a sound healing meditation, contact to thoughts any healing intention or problem you may want to focus on for the workout.
For instance, let’s say you are dealing with a current breakup and want to use focus.
Again, inhale by way of the nose then exhale on any note or vowel sound that feels comfy and that may resonate with any stuck power you may really feel in your body. While you are carrying out this, visualize any emotional or physical discomfort breaking up inside.
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This can really feel a bit awkward at initially. The trick with vocal toning is to let go of any expectations and the concept that it requirements to sound “good” or “pretty” and rather focus on the vibrations you build inside your body.
We can harness the energy of sound to trigger a relaxation response in our nervous technique to deepen our meditation practices.
The reduce notes are felt more in the chest, upper belly and throat when greater notes are felt in the head and sinuses. Play about with diverse notes and vowel sounds to see which really feel ideal.
Notice how diverse you really feel prior to and immediately after – even for just two minutes – and how it sets you up for a potent meditation.
3. Mantra Chanting
Building off of vocal toning, we can also make use of the power of our personal voice to connect with the ancient practice of mantra chanting in your meditation.
Instead of vocalizing a random note or tone, mantra chanting entails more established notes and words with different meanings and intentions behind them.
As an individual who practices Transcendental Meditation, a kind of silent mantra chanting, audible mantra chanting has been a genuinely excellent addition to my morning routine. One of my go-tos that I advise is this 11-minute 11-second Om Hari mantra.
As you can envision, there are endless mantras you can opt for to chant with diverse meanings and lengths, so take some time to appear about on Youtube, Spotify, and so on. to locate a single(s) that resonate with you.
You can make chanting a component of your morning or evening ritual to tune into your breath and body. The added intention behind the mantra can also be an incredible way to manifest and contact in more of what you need in life.
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4. Playing an Instrument
An incredible and intimate way to practical experience the frequency of sound in a meditative way is by playing an instrument your self in the course of your meditation.
You can turn basically any instrument into a healing tool with the ideal intention, but I choose to use crystal or Tibetan singing bowls, tuning forks, chimes, drums, gongs or harmoniums.
The frequencies from these instruments in the area with you build a substantially more potent sound healing meditation practical experience than just listening to recordings.
Our body and thoughts are capable to counteract tension when creating a great landscape to facilitate a calming meditation.
When playing your instrument, be certain your body is as relaxed as feasible and enable your breath to sync to your playing.
You do not have to necessarily play all through the entirety of your meditation session, playing for a couple of minutes at the starting and/or finish will nevertheless assist trigger that relaxation response and enable for a deeper practical experience.
5. Passive Listening
Perhaps the most apparent way to incorporate sound healing into your meditation practice is by way of passive listening to healing music in the background.
As you know, there are millions of solutions for what sorts of music resonate most with you – no matter if they be sounds from nature, deep synths or singing bowls – that can all be streamed on the internet (a single of my favored sources is Meditative Mind on Youtube).
Simply hit “play” prior to you sit for your meditation and enable the sounds to ground you and give your thoughts a thing to focus on.
Pay focus to your breath and anytime you locate your thoughts wandering, bring it back to the sounds and enable that to be the mental anchor that aids to guide you by way of the meditation.
Sound Healing Meditation Is Music for the Soul
Being intentional with your sonic atmosphere can genuinely make your meditation really feel substantially more relaxing and perhaps a thing you appear forward to even more!
Try any and all of the above suggestions to see which resonates with you most. Perhaps you will locate that specific techniques of incorporating sound are ideal for when you meditate at diverse occasions of day, cycles of the moon, or seasons!
