Hi all! Namaslay® YTT Graduate, Jenelle Bleiler, and I are hosting a Self Care Workshop with a Yoga Nidra Exploration and Sound Bath Experience at Namaslay® Studios in September to help people understand more about the benefits of a restorative yoga practice, meditation and sound vibration in managing stress and anxiety. I’m really looking forward to the sound healing portion of the workshop and asked Jenelle to share with us a little more about how it works and what people can expect if they’ve never experienced a sound bath before. If you haven’t already, listen to this episode of the Namaslay® podcast where we talked more about sound therapy. Drop any questions in the comments, and I hope to see you at the workshop! xo- Candace
Jenelle Bleiler is a board certified music therapist with her degree from Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, PA. Following her clinical internship, in which she worked at a site using sound healing with multiple populations, Jenelle attended the Namaslay® YTT in Tennessee and received her 200 hour certification.
Sound and Vibration
While sound healing has only recently begun to experience mainstream popularity in popular culture, its use dates as far back as ancient Greece. Many of us have heard the terms “sound healing,” “sound bath,” and “vibrational healing,” but what it’s actually all about? I’ll go into detail in the workshop this September, diving deeper into the techniques and uses of sound healing, but I’ll answer some FAQ’s here!
What Is Sound Healing?
Sound healing is the use of vibrating instruments such as crystal or metal singing bowls, tuning forks, gongs, and even the voice to bring balance to vibrations throughout the body. This practice stems from the idea that the body has certain frequencies, sometimes referred to as chakras, and when the chaos and outside energies of the world interfere with these natural frequencies within the body, it can make us sick, moody, or unfocused. The idea of vibrational techniques originally was to restore the naturally occurring vibrations of the body’s energy centers.
How Does it Work?
I know what some of you are thinking right now. “Bring balance to vibrations throughout the body? Seriously?”
But hang in there with me for a second. If you were to play a vibrating instrument near a glass of water, the waves formed on the surface of the water would change with the different frequencies of vibration. Look up cymatics on YouTube if you want to see it in action. The human body is approximately 60% water, and just like the vibrations affect the water in the glass, the vibrations also act on the body. Not only do the vibrations affect the physical body, but exposure to deep vibrations can decrease heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate, which in turn causes a change in the release of hormones in the body.
This release of hormones has shown sound healing to be effective in reducing perceived levels of anxiety, anger, pain, and stress, and participants often report increased feelings of relaxation, awareness, and focus.
How is it Used?
Vibrations can be applied from a distance, with a practitioner standing at the front of the room and playing gongs or walking through a room holding a vibrating instrument. They can be applied directly, like holding a vibrating tuning fork to a painful, arthritic joint for example. The vibrational instruments are also used to promote a peaceful, relaxed atmosphere, deepen meditation, focus guided meditations, or enhance mantras and intentions.
If you have any other questions, leave a comment or shoot me a message on Instagram @jennybeeyogi, and come to our workshop to learn more!