You probably have been hearing, seeing or even perhaps you have experienced this “new” way to cleanse and be renewed called “sound bath.”
But what is it and how does it actually work to make you feel so relaxed like you’ve had a physical bubble bath?
The fact is sound baths aren’t new at all. The ancient sound healing practice of relaxing musical presentations actually predates Christ and have been scientifically proven to reduce stress and anxiety.
It’s about how our bodies respond to frequencies.
We are all made up of atoms. The basic building block of all living things. An atom is 99.9999999% empty space or energy and only .00000001% physical matter and 99% of our bodies are made up of atoms — and atoms vibrate which means we are more vibration than stagnant solid material.
In 1992, scientists coined the term biofield, referring to a large field of energy that surrounds and extends out from the body about 8 feet. This field of energy can be measured and felt.
Biofield tuning refers to the use of sound that brings balance to all dimensions of health. This therapy clears congestion and stress in your energy field.
So a sound bath can re-calibrate the body, turning off the sympathetic nervous system — which is best known for its role in responding to dangerous or stressful situations — and stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system, which is how bodies naturally repair and heal.
A sound bath is a deeply immersive, a fully-body listening experience that uses sound to stimulate therapeutic and restorative healing for the mind, body, and spirit.
The experience begins with each person lying down or seated comfortably, often with a blanket and an eye pillow. Sound baths typically include healing instruments such as gongs, singing bowls, chimes, tuning forks, rain sticks and even the human voice.
The idea is to bathe participates in waves of sound to balance and unblock the body’s energy centers, known as chakras, which simply means wheel “of energy.”
There are seven main energy centers in the body that correspond with our endocrine system or glands.
To function at our highest physical and mental level our chakras or energy centers need to be opened and balanced. If they are blocked or in discordance, you may experience physical or mental pain depending on where chakra is located and the parts of your body that are near that chakra.
The sound baths help to rebalance and open those energy centers.
Some noted benefits of those who participate in sound bath include, lowering stress and anxiety, improved sleep, deepening relaxation, boost of energy, clarity and focus, physical pain reduction and so much more as each person responds differently to sound.
You can experience a sound bath session with me called Moon Aura during the week of the full moon each month at Sea Island Resort or enjoy a Levitate Sound Bath session in silk hammocks or a Chakra Opening Sound Bath session at Salt AER Studios in Brunswick.
• Iman Ali is a wellness expert and founder of IMAN LLC (Integrative Medicine and Nutrition) and Southern Zen Studio offering a variety of mind body wellness services and products in southeast Georgia. She’s a certified Urban Zen Integrative Therapist, Reiki Master Teacher and Sound Therapist. She can be reached at southernzenyall@gmail.com.