By Oliver Syers-
Meditating on music and frequencies is effective in easing anxiety and reducing pain, as well as improving a host of other symptoms associated with physical and mental ill-health, according to a growing body of research.
Using music as an effective tool in addressing anxiety is not a well established fact today in society. Yet, according to The Natural Resonance Center, music alters our physiology.
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A representative of the centre said :“Soothing music can produce a response characteristic of relaxation in which autonomic, immune, endocrine and neuropeptide systems are altered.
Quality music well delivered and absorbed can produce desired psychological responses such as reductions in anxiety and fear,” representatives of the centre state.
Music at its best is capable of directly affecting brainwave activity and addressing the many stresses and demands of daily life, which requires most brains to function at the ‘Beta’ frequency.
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This is associated with alertness, thinking and planning, with focus on the external world. As brainwaves slow, we move to the Alpha state experiencing relaxed wakefulness.
Randall McClellan describes a ‘feedback loop’ connecting the body and the mind, “What is significant…when the body relaxes, the brainwave rate lowers; when the brainwave rate lowers, the
body relaxes.”
‘Brainwave entrainment’ is the mind responding and synchronising to an external frequency, like the heightened brainwaves of humans when asleep.
It was discovered by Christian Huygens, a Dutch physicist and inventor of the grandfather pendulum clock in the 1700s who discovered the principle of ‘entrainment’.
He set each pendulum swinging individually, and when he checked some hours later, all pendulums had locked in step with the largest ones.
‘Binaural beats’ use sound technology to mimic desired brainwave states. Claims of boosting creativity, focus and learning, increasing feelings of euphoria, aiding sleep and pain reduction.
This means music can also play a vital role in motivating academic students and professional adults in the academic sphere.
It can also boost one’s mood and help combat depression and sorrow.
Sound Therapists
Some sound therapists have likened the body to an orchestra, with each part vibrating at a different rate. This is because therapeutic sound is believed to bring all parts of the body into harmonic resonance.
They stress the fact sound is absorbed through our bodies, and we even perceive sound through our skin and bones, according to a study by the National Institutes of Health.
The human body is largely composed of water which conducts sound much faster than air, making it an ideal medium for sound to pass through. Sub-audible sound is often used in medical science.
High-frequency ultrasound waves have been used for over 60 years for “diagnostic scanning, ultrasound therapy, and the ablation or destruction of unwanted tissues” . Most commonly we see this in pre-natal screening, and shattering kidney, pancreatic and gallstones.
Therapeutic Sound
Therapeutic sound has such a broad reach, its popularity on the up as awareness of its potential impact spreads.
Whilst scientific research is lagging behind, evidence has shown inspiring results when treating insomnia, anxiety, PTSD, chronic pain, fibromyalgia, sciatica, depression, dementia, tinnitus, autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia and ADD/ADHD.
Recently it has gained attention for treating long-covid symptoms, and sinus problems. Immune systems also get a boost from nitric oxide production associated with sound healing techniques, including humming.
Gradually we are seeing sound therapy being introduced to hospitals and other health care facilities, such as end-of-life care, dementia and cancer wards, stroke rehabilitation, surgical theatre and postsurgical recovery.
Mitchell Gaynor, MD, an oncologist and assistant clinical professor at Cornell University, uses singing bowls with his cancer patients “I believe that sound can play a role in virtually any medical disorder, since it redresses imbalances on every level of physiologic functioning”.
Other groups that benefit from sound therapy include those with autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia and ADD/ADHD, where sound and music have been seen to reduce challenging symptoms.
Aside from different sounds and instruments being used for sensory stimulation, sound therapy can be used to
improve auditory processing and language.
Right Ear Dominance
One avenue of research is the importance of right ear dominance. Because the right ear connects to the left side of the brain. The language centre, recordings are made so sound is louder in the right ear the result is an improvement in reading and
vocal skills.
According to Sound Therapy International, drawing on the work of Dr. Alfred Tomatis,(who also worked a lot with tinnitus):
“The left hemisphere of the brain is the main centre for processing language.
In order for speech sounds to reach the brain efficiently, the right ear must take a leading role in listening because the
right ear communicates most directly with the left hemisphere…children with dyslexia have failed to achieve right ear dominance and that therefore the order in which they hear sounds becomes
jumbled.”
Sound therapy has also produced wonderful results in the community with addiction groups, trauma groups, prisons, schools and nurseries, care homes and hospices all benefiting. There are also stories of it leading to spiritual experiences.
Sounds That Heal
Experts in this area say there are many ways to access the healing powers of sound at home or via a professional. Some common techniques are: Tuning fork therapy, ‘sound baths’ (meditation using various instruments including gongs, singing bowls, drumming and the voice to ‘bathe’ in vibrations), binaural beats.
The expression “seeing is believing” advocates sight as the key player in our connection to the external world. For our ancestors however, the ears, not eyes, told of what lay beyond the campfire
light.
Sound has the profound ability to relax, enchant, and unite us. It can also haunt, shock and terrify.
There’s a primordial quality that touches us deeply. It is hardly surprising then that in the last decades, the employment of sound to exert power and control has risen.
Sound can be a tool of torture and coercion. Even current noise pollution levels can cause ‘sonic fatigue’ accompanied by physical and psychological symptoms.
The human ability to better harness the full potential of sound to heal and liberate have also increased.
Overlooked for centuries, but now re-entering the mainstream, there are a multitude of ways sound and music can be used therapeutically.
A LIFE OF SOUND
Author and researcher Eileen Mckusick writes “The human body is wired to be exquisitely sensitive to sound. The faculty of hearing is the first sense to develop in utero, and the last to depart before
death.”
We are susceptible to sound on a psychological, emotional and physiological level, with the ‘right’ sounds encouraging us into a more harmonious state. Think of a baby drifting off to a mother’s
lullaby, or the gentle lapping of waves on the beach calming our mood.
Compare that to the relentless hammering of a pneumatic drill outside your office window.
When such a pervasive sound ceases, every fibre of our being sighs with relief. The tension being held onto subsides.
It is easy to see how undesired sound can cause health and well-being to suffer,
and having no ‘earlids’ unlike our eyes, we cannot shut off sound. This means we often underestimate how vulnerable we really are to it.
SOUND THROUGH TIME
Sound and music are present in all cultures and natural healing systems, with many different soundmaking instruments. One of the oldest instruments is the didgeridoo or ‘Yidaki’, dating back tens of thousands of years.
Stories passed down through the Aboriginal people of Australia tell of the deep vibrations healing broken bones, muscle tears and many other ailments.
The very low sounds are heard audibly but also felt by the body if close enough. A bit like a thumping car bass rattling your
bones.
Sound healing was big in Ancient Egypt and Greece, with some very worthy names such as Pythagoras, Hippocrates, and Aristotle proclaiming curative properties.
Iamblichus stated:
‘Pythagoras considered that music contributed greatly to health, if used in the right way…He called
his method ‘musical medicine’… with certain melodies composed to cure the passions of the psyche…anger and aggression.’
Physicians in classical Greece treated sciatica, digestive problems, insomnia and mental trauma with flutes and harps. Native American culture uses drums and flutes to heal the sick.
In Tibet, singing bowls are used in meditative practices that have a number of health benefits, and the Yogic traditions of India recognize the beneficial effects of chants and mantra on various parts of the body.
With such a rich tradition up to the Middle Ages, there is then a gap of around 450 years where this ancient art almost died out in the west.
The 1930s saw the discovery of the medicinal properties of ultrasound, and a new era of sound therapy.
Randall McClellan describes a ‘feedback loop’ connecting the body and the mind, “What is significant…when the body relaxes, the brainwave rate lowers; when the brainwave rate lowers, the
body relaxes.”
‘Brainwave entrainment’ is the mind responding and synchronizing to an external frequency. For example, when someone is struggling to fall asleep, their brainwaves are probably heightened.
When presented with a slower frequency, usually in the form of sound or deep vibration, the mind begins to slow down to match. In fact, it was Christian Huygens, a Dutch physicist and inventor of the
grandfather pendulum clock in the 1700s who discovered the principle of ‘entrainment’.
He set each pendulum swinging individually and when he checked some hours later, all pendulums had locked instep with the largest ones.
Binaural beats’ use sound technology to mimic desired brainwave states. Claims of boosting creativity, focus and learning, increasing feelings of euphoria, aiding sleep and pain reduction, are made by the many free tracks accessible online.
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