What Is Sound Healing?
Since the dawn of time, human beings have used sound to receive information from their environment, to communicate with each other, and to create altered states of consciousness.
All ancient cultures understood sound to be the creative, generative force which gave form to the universe. From the yidaki (or didgeridoo) of the Origine peoples of Australia and the chacapa leaf-rattles of the Shipibo-Conibo curanderos of the Peruvian Amazon, to the lyre of the ancient Celtic bards of Britain, sacred instruments have been used to heal in every culture, in every age.
Sound healing is based on the principle that everything in the universe is in a state of constant vibration. Every molecule, cell, tissue, organ, gland, bone and energy centre in our bodies has its own specific rate of vibration. Like a well tuned musical instrument, the body has a rhythmic, harmonious form, unless its vibratory field is disrupted. Disease can be defined as any disorder, disruption or disharmony in this field. Sound, vibration and music have long been a part of our response to disease and illness, and the inter-relationship between sound, music, health and the environment is inextricable. Sounds in our environment touch every part of our physical being, not only through our ears but through every cell in our bodies.
Consciously directed sound can redress imbalances on every level of physiological functioning and can play a positive role in the treatment of virtually any medical disorder. Most illnesses begin in one of the subtle bodies. Negative thoughts, emotions and programming take on denser form as crystallised patterns of energy in our etheric fields that gradually work their way inwards, eventually and ultimately manifesting as physical illness in the body, our densest electromagnetic field. Sound is able to dissolve these crystallisations of potentially harmful energy long before they reach the physical body.
Novalis, the 16th century poet and philosopher, summarises this understanding:
“Every illness is a musical problem, and every cure has a musical solution.”
Sound healing can be used to:
Lift depression, elevate mood and relieve anxiety
Balance both hemispheres of the brain
Enhance mental clarity
Improve sleep
Relieve chronic tiredness
Trigger endorphin release, reducing physical pain
Relax muscular tension
Increase vital energy flow, creativity, intuition and motivation
Change old and unwanted patterns of behaviour, habits and ways of thinking
Reduce joint pain by increasing natural anti-inflammatory compounds in the body
Restore equilibrium of the endocrine system by stimulating the pituitary gland
Stimulate circulation
Support the endocrine glands and regulate hormonal functioning
Increase libido
Strengthen the immune system
Calm pre-surgical and post-operative stress
Aid recovery from illness, trauma and invasive medical treatments
All ancient cultures understood sound to be the creative, generative force which gave form to the universe. From the yidaki (or didgeridoo) of the Origine peoples of Australia and the chacapa leaf-rattles of the Shipibo-Conibo curanderos of the Peruvian Amazon, to the lyre of the ancient Celtic bards of Britain, sacred instruments have been used to heal in every culture, in every age.
Sound healing is based on the principle that everything in the universe is in a state of constant vibration. Every molecule, cell, tissue, organ, gland, bone and energy centre in our bodies has its own specific rate of vibration. Like a well tuned musical instrument, the body has a rhythmic, harmonious form, unless its vibratory field is disrupted. Disease can be defined as any disorder, disruption or disharmony in this field. Sound, vibration and music have long been a part of our response to disease and illness, and the inter-relationship between sound, music, health and the environment is inextricable. Sounds in our environment touch every part of our physical being, not only through our ears but through every cell in our bodies.
Consciously directed sound can redress imbalances on every level of physiological functioning and can play a positive role in the treatment of virtually any medical disorder. Most illnesses begin in one of the subtle bodies. Negative thoughts, emotions and programming take on denser form as crystallised patterns of energy in our etheric fields that gradually work their way inwards, eventually and ultimately manifesting as physical illness in the body, our densest electromagnetic field. Sound is able to dissolve these crystallisations of potentially harmful energy long before they reach the physical body.
Novalis, the 16th century poet and philosopher, summarises this understanding:
“Every illness is a musical problem, and every cure has a musical solution.”
Sound healing can be used to:
Lift depression, elevate mood and relieve anxiety
Balance both hemispheres of the brain
Enhance mental clarity
Improve sleep
Relieve chronic tiredness
Trigger endorphin release, reducing physical pain
Relax muscular tension
Increase vital energy flow, creativity, intuition and motivation
Change old and unwanted patterns of behaviour, habits and ways of thinking
Reduce joint pain by increasing natural anti-inflammatory compounds in the body
Restore equilibrium of the endocrine system by stimulating the pituitary gland
Stimulate circulation
Support the endocrine glands and regulate hormonal functioning
Increase libido
Strengthen the immune system
Calm pre-surgical and post-operative stress
Aid recovery from illness, trauma and invasive medical treatments
"The earth cannot move without music.
The earth moves in a certain rhythm, a certain sound, a certain note."
- SUN RA
What Can I Expect From A Session?
I offer one-to-one sound healings from my home at the New Brighton Arts Lab, an intentional community on the Wirral peninsula. My treatment room is in a private, warm and spacious loft conversion, with beautiful views over the Liverpool skyline. After a consultation, I invite you to lie comfortably on a massage table as instruments tuned to specific frequencies are played over and around the body to clear blockages in the energy field and restore the body to its natural state of harmony. Treatments are deeply intuitive, nurturing and empowering, combining overtone singing with acoustic and sacred instruments from different cultures around the world.
Sessions last around one hour, and most people fall quickly into deep meditation or sleep as the body self-heals and rejuvenates. The sound frequencies received induce the alpha and theta brainwave states associated with deep relaxation and meditation, offering a gateway to the subconscious. In these states, deep healing can spontaneously occur. This vibrational journey is also a powerful way to set intentions that are activated and amplified by the sounds chosen for the session.
Instruments that may be used to guide a sound journey include the reverie harp, monochord, koto, sun gong, ocean drum, frame drum, Koshi chimes, Himalayan singing bowls, sansula and tuning forks.
A session costs £50.
I also welcome exchanges in the gift economy – return gifts that are especially welcomed include bodywork,
contributions to the wood-fired sauna fund, organic fruits and compost.