Healing power of sound
Afamous (and often misquoted) line from a 17th century play by Congreve is, “Music has charms to soothe a savage breast.” (People often say “beast” instead of “breast.”)
Both science and daily experience for hundreds of years have shown this to be true ... as well as its opposite, that some music can rouse passions and cause strong emotional reactions. The point is, music has power to influence the mind and emotions.
Do you watch scary movies like “It,” “The Shining,” or “Paranormal Activity?” The directors of all three of those movies used what is called infrasound (sounds that lie near or below the frequency most humans can consciously hear) to induce feelings of anxiety and fear in those watching their movies.
And they work, as long as you are watching the movie in a theater or in another situation where the sound system is up to handling it.
The other end of the emotional spectrum could be shown by stirring martial music: even without words, the beats of the drums and the ta-RAH of the trumpets are rousing and can inspire feelings of confidence. Or perhaps by soothing lullaby music that causes children and adults alike to relax and feel more like nodding off to sleep.
For untold centuries, shamans and other indigenous healers used sound to help in their healing of those who were sick or injured, but modern science often passed this off as simple superstition. However, recent research has also shown that sound does indeed have power to influence our physical bodies. It is a recognized field of medical therapy now, called sound therapy or vibrational therapy.
In the 1970s, scientists at the National Centre for Scientific Research, in Paris, studied the effects of sound on normal and malignant cancer cells. Their results were surprising. They used flutes, drums, gongs and other instruments and discovered that at a sound level of around 35 decibels these sounds produced changes in the cells — disrupting their structural integrity.
A 2010 study in Finland found that stroke patients who were given access to music as cognitive therapy had improved recovery. Other forms of sound therapy include using Tibetan singing bowls, crystal bowls, chimes, tuning forks and gongs.
According to one study related to using singing bowls, “Sixty-two women and men with an average age of 50 reported significantly less tension, anger, fatigue and depressed mood after sound sessions. Tibetan singing bowl meditation may be a feasible low-cost low-technology intervention for reducing feelings of tension, anxiety and depression and increasing spiritual well-being.”
Although in this study the researchers referred directly to changes in mood, emotions and mental state, scientists and doctors know that the more relaxed a patient is, the easier it is for the patient’s body to heal itself, which results in quicker and more complete recovery.
When a human being is relaxed, their heart rate steadies, their respiration becomes deep and slow, and this decreases the production of stress hormones. The late Dr. Mitchell Gaynor was an oncologist and clinical assistant professor of Medicine at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, and author of “The Healing Power of Sound.” He and other scientists hold that the reduction of stress hormones is significant because stress has a negative and depressive effect on the immune system and reducing the hormones in this way can help our bodies fight illness such as flu viruses and even cancer.
Lately, I have begun using sound therapy more often in my own practice, sometimes with drums or other instruments, or with recorded sounds through headphones while I administer Reiki to the client. I am also working toward using tuning forks for therapy, and I hope to use sound therapy to help more of my clients achieve the balance and personal healing they are seeking.
When the weather warms up a bit more, I plan to begin holding occasional drum circles at a new healing space that my wife and I are setting up at our home. Stay tuned for more details on that.