Sound Healing modalities are now being used in the Integrative Therapy departments of most hospitals in the San Francisco Bay Area as well as nearly every major hospital in large cities across the country. This is in part due to the work of David Gibson and the Globe Sound and Consciousness school in San Francisco. I was fortunate to study under David, and the other brilliant people teaching at Globe.
David Gibson is spearheading many avenues of research including: www.SoundHealingResearchFoundation.org and www.MedicalSoundAssociation.com. This work is cutting edge and very exciting. Check it out!
Much of Sound Healing therapies are from ancient wisdom traditions. However, several relatively recent events have helped open the door for the understanding of the general public, not to mention sound and music making their way into the western medical scene.
Check out the Ted Talk by Anthony Holland. He shows four types of cancer being exploded by sound frequencies. An even bigger door opener is the Opioid crisis. Doctors are now seriously looking for safe and effective alternatives for pain relief and it turns out, certain sound therapies are effective. Research is showing that conditions such as Parkinson's have a positive response to sound therapies. Not to mention sleep issues, depression, anxiety, headaches, muscle tension, and more.
The techniques being used in these hospitals include voice, crystal bowls, Tibetan bowls and gongs. These sound tools help to create a stable and coherent vibration in the body, mind and emotions, which overcome the chaotic vibrations of fear, anxiety, depression and pain, and entrains the body systems into a state of peace and stillness.
Tuning forks are also being used. Tuning forks are especially helpful "administering" the coherent vibration right on /into the body to help overcome pain or anxiety.
Vibration (and thus frequencies) is the basis of everything in the universe. There is a hierarchy of vibration that exists in the body. Frequencies are the basis. Multiple frequencies create a more complex sound or timbre. More than one timbre gives you musical intervals or chords. Add the factor of Time and you now have melody and rhythm, which have their own affects on the mind and emotions. Then add Intention and the healing effects are even more enhanced.
In a sound therapy session, the point is to work at all levels of the hierarchy instead of just one level. Consider the cells. Each cell resonates with a certain frequency. Each organ is made up of a certain timbre of cells. The relationship between the organs is like musical chords and intervals. And the most important part of the "song" is the smooth flow of music through the body.
It's like particles and waves.The frequencies and timbres receive and transmit the flow.If there is blockage in the flow anywhere in the system, we can either explode them with destructive resonance (like ultrasound on kidney stones) or harmonize them back into their natural coherent state
All of these modalities are based on activating the body's natural healing response.
Research has shown that when someone is at peace, the entire immune system flourishes and organs go into alignment. The body is given space and then, free from tension, begins to heal on its own.
It truly is time we start taking Sound Healing modalities into our lives. It is a somewhat uphill battle to help people understand how much it can help. I am reminded of Mark Twain's sentiments,"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so."
Keep your minds open. Be curious.