Healing with Sound

A physician friend of mine once jokingly said that most of the time, doctors just entertain their patients until they cure themselves. While he was joking, there is an element of truth in what he said. The body is its own best healer. When balanced and harmonious, your body knows exactly what to do in any situation. One tool that can help you tap into the balance, harmony, and healing that is innately within you is sound.

The Mechanics of Sounds/Vibrations

Sound has been used for generations by most cultures to bring peace and balance. Beating a drum, playing a singing bowl, and chanting a mantra can all have a harmonizing effect. Listening to the sounds of nature can also have a healing effect on your well-being. A walk in natural surroundings can create a soothing effect through your entire physiology. Listening to different music at different times can be used to stimulate or soothe the mind and body. In Indian music, there are specific pieces known as rajas, which are played at different times of the day to align the rhythms and energies of the body with the rhythms and cycles of nature.

The Indian Vedic Science of Mantras has, for thousands of years, used a system whereby the vibrations of different aspects of creation can be reintroduced into an area of the body to restore the memory of wholeness in that area. Here are some ways sound can help heal.

Get in Tune

Everything is sound or vibration. If you want to communicate with someone or something, get in tune with its sound or vibration.

Many years ago, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi introduced the West to many fascinating experts in yoga and ayurveda. One of these was Balraj Maharishi from South India, who was reported to know the vibration of 6,000 herbs. When asked about this, he humbly responded that whenever he walked through the forest and came across a new plant, he would "ask" it what it was good for and attune himself to its vibration. Or, if he was trying to cure a particular illness, he would walk through the forest and "ask" who could help, until a plant would "sing out" to him.

Listen to Your Own Thoughts

Your own thoughts are vibrations, which become your actions and shape your life. It is said that if you want to know why your life is the way it is now, look at your thoughts in the past, and if you want to know how your life will be in the future, look at your thoughts now. If your thinking is negative and confused, you are creating turbulence in your physiology.

Worrying about something creates a negative vibration through the whole physiology, throwing everything out of balance. Making the sounds of worrying is one of the most harmful things you can do to yourself. Instead, try to keep your thinking calm and positive, creating a soothing, loving sound. Your cells will appreciate this and your body is more likely to stay healthy. Try thinking more from your heart and less from your mind. Sounds emerging from the heart have healing vibrations.

Chant Simple Sounds

There are special mantras that can be used for healing, but these are best learned from an experienced teacher. However, there are many simple sounds you can use that are quite effective. These sounds can be chanted silently or aloud. Chant them and direct the vibration to the area of imbalance.

The vowels are known as nonlocal sounds, meaning they will localize and harmonize wherever you direct them:

• Aaa
• Eeeee
• Eye
• Ooooo
• Uuuuuu

Sounds containing consonants generally localize in a specific area:

• Mmm—sinuses
• Nnn—ears
• Imm—eyes
• Lmm—nose
• Paam—stomach
• Kaa gaa gha—throat
• Yaa yu yai—jaw
• Haa—diaphragm
• Mam—reproductive organs
• Maa—heart
• Sssss—lungs and large intestine
• Shhh—liver and small intestine
• Who—spleen and gall bladder
• Wooo—kidneys and bladder

Try to keep your thinking calm and positive, creating a soothing, loving sound. Your cells will appreciate this and your body is more likely to stay healthy.

Chant Chakra Vibrations

Consciousness transforms into matter at every point in the universe, but is most lively in certain places. On the body, those places are the chakras, which spin consciousness into matter. The chakras are energy centers positioned along the spine; clearing them so they can spin freely is an important part of spiritual growth.
Like everything else, each chakra has its own sound or vibration. Chanting these sounds either aloud or silently with your attention in the appropriate area helps balance the chakras. Each chakra has its own qualities, but by starting at the base of the spine and chanting for each chakra two to three times, you can create an overall harmony.

• Lam—Root chakra (base of the spine)
• Vam—Sacral chakra (behind the pubic bone)
• Ram—Navel chakra (just below the ribs)
• Yam—Heart chakra
• Ham—Throat chakra
• Ksham—Third eye chakra (between the eyebrows)
• Om—Crown chakra (top of the head)

The Journey

Silence contains the potential for all sounds and therefore the mechanics for all healing. Mantras such as the Chopra Center's Primordial Sound Meditation mantras are vibrations that take your awareness on an inward journey.

By making this journey on a regular basis, you begin to integrate this potential in your daily life. In the process, the mind and body gain a deep level of rest, and rest is how the body naturally heals itself. The memory of wholeness, health, and harmony begins to be restored in all levels of your life.

A Deeper Dive—Putting it Into Practice

by Angie Parris-Raney, LMT

Like many of us in the healing professions, I continue to seek ways to restore balance and harmony. Let's face it, massage and bodywork can be exhausting, and if you're not taking care of yourself, you can quickly burn out. Our work is not only physical, but also requires an emotional and spiritual component.

Looking back, I was the person who knew meditation was a good thing, yet disregarded it as something only for "peaceful" people. I'm a physical gal who likes to hike, run, ski, camp, and more. In my mind, meditation wasn't anything I could possibly do. I can't sit still. My brain has too many thoughts. My version of meditation is through activity. And sometimes, that's OK. There is something to be said about getting into the zone. It is, in fact, a kind of meditation and healing of its own. But it's not the same.

Two years ago, however, a well-respected continuing education provider and mentor asked me the question, "What is it you're not doing for yourself?" When I thought deeply about it, I decided I didn't have enough time in my life to simply be. I wasn't creating the space and time to go within. What a primal thing to crave! And so the journey and dedication to wholeness began. But how to quiet my busy mind? I looked to the teachings of the Chopra Center.

The use of sound is a powerful tool to connect with our nervous system. Just like listening to music or the healing sounds of nature can nourish us, so does repeating a mantra with a certain tone and vibration. Whether you repeat the mantra inside your mind as a thought, or out loud as in song, with the right sounds, you can align yourself with the vibrations that foster healing.

The use of mantras is a powerful tool to redirect the mind to one focus. It doesn't mean the mind won't stray to other thoughts, but now you have a tool to come back to. Like other vibrations or sounds, you slowly begin to tune in to, feel, and flow with the sound. You almost become it. And just like a body of water with powerful waves, the thoughts begin to settle into tiny ripples, then stillness. Now, you can settle into a space of just being. Like sleep, this quiet is the space for healing.  

Through the journey, this is what I've learned to be true: 

1. It's called a meditation practice for a reason. The very name of it implies one must practice. And for that, I've indeed experienced a cumulative effect of a daily practice. For example, instead of reacting to circumstances, I can now witness my thoughts and emotions rather than identifying with them. It creates a sense of centeredness. I'm not always successful, but again, it's a practice.  

   Start where you are. If you only have three minutes a day, then commit to three minutes a day. See how that feels after 21 days. Then, after 60 days, you might discover, as I did, that it's somewhat akin to going to the gym—three minutes turns into 10 minutes or 20 minutes or more. Then, your body-mind starts to crave it. And when you experience the benefits from your practice, it motivates you to continue.   

2. Tuning into your breath will provide you with much information if you stop to observe it. Is it fast? Is it slow? Can you breathe deep or is it shallow? How do you feel when you tune into your breath? As the Chopra Center has taught me, tuning into your breath puts you exactly in the present moment. Why? Because you cannot breathe in the past and you cannot breathe in the future. You can only breathe in the now. 
3. Let go of judgment. This is your safe space for yourself. Give yourself permission to simply be. Enjoy yourself and enjoy the process. 

Take it from someone who thought it impossible to sit still and be quiet with oneself. Using natural sounds, mantra, breath, or whatever vibration you choose can be a powerful tool to overcome a busy mind and facilitate self-healing. Because, as we know, we can't give what we don't have.