Singing bowls, also known as Himalayan bowls, are a type of bell that vibrates and produces a rich, deep tone when played. They are said to promote relaxation and offer powerful healing properties. Buddhist monks have long used Tibetan singing bowls in meditation practice. In addition, some wellness practitioners (including music therapists, massage therapists, and yoga therapists) use Tibetan singing bowls during treatment.
The Benefits Of Using A Singing Bowl
Deep Relaxation: Regular use of your cell phone and technology have you caught in a cycle of constant beta brain waves - logic, thinking and overthinking. Use of a singing bowl can help you access theta and alpha brainwaves and open you up to insight and calm, beyond the rational mind. Another consequence of experiencing a sound bath or using a singing bowl in your own practice, is that it allows us to temporarily place technology to the side and focus on the present.
Healing And Immune System Function: Experiencing constant, and chronic, levels of stress takes a toll on your body’s ability to heal itself. In the emerging field of epigenetics, we are learning that the environment one’s body is in affects the genetic expression of disease states. By using a regular meditative practice like a singing bowl, we can place our body into an “environment” more receptive to healing.
Creative Renaissance And Problem Solving: Theta brainwave are found in talents creators of the world. Folks like Albert Einstein, Aristotle, Salvador Dali and many more have become known for their regular power nap schedule. Creative insight often strikes at the most interesting times - walking up out of a nap, or a deep sleep with that “AHA” moment is a common occurrence. And it’s because napping takes one out of a beta state, and into the states of brain that are more receptive to big ideas. We can use a singing bowl to access these states while awake.
Subconscious Training: While you don’t remember everything that’s ever happened to you with your logical brain, there is a part of you that always has deep access to this. Operating in more beneficial brain states opens you to the collective intelligence that you have access to - beyond your rational brain.
To summarize singing bowls are used for a wide range of things from inducing peace and calmness to creating an environment in your body receptive to healing to different types of classrooms and musical performances and even to be played for children, and non human children (our pets!).
Check out this demonstration delivered by a local shopkeeper in Kathmandu:
Positive effects of Singing Bowl Sound Meditation on Mood, Tension, and Well-being has been scientifically proven
A study examined the effects of sound meditation, specifically Tibetan singing bowl meditation, on mood, anxiety, pain, and spiritual well-being. Sixty-two women and men (mean age 49.7 years) participated. As compared with pre-meditation, following the sound meditation participants reported significantly less tension, anger, fatigue, and depressed mood (all Ps <.001). Additionally, participants who were previously naïve to this type of meditation experienced a significantly greater reduction in tension compared with participants experienced in this meditation (P < .001). Feeling of spiritual well-being significantly increased across all participants (P < .001). 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. This meditation type may be especially useful in decreasing tension in individuals who have not previously practiced this form of meditation.
Heart disease, diabetes, addiction, and mental health issues have all been linked to stress and tension.1–6 Meditation, including systems such as mindfulness-based meditations, has shown promise in inducing the relaxation response and helping alleviate anxiety and improve well-being.7,8 The relaxation response is the body’s physiological response in relaxation, including lowered blood pressure to counter the fight-or-flight response and activation of the parasympathetic nervous system.9–11 As promising as mindfulness and other meditation systems may be, a common complaint is the time, patience, and discipline required to learn meditation. Thus, a form of relaxation and stress relief that does not require a steep learning curve or a great deal of discipline to utilize could potentially be a huge benefit to human wellness and health.
The authors set out to examine the possibility that merely lying down and listening to the high-intensity, low-frequency combination of singing bowls, gongs, and bells in a sound meditation could induce a deep relaxation response and positively affect mood and sense of well-being. Sound healing has been used for centuries and been utilized in various forms by cultures the world over, including native peoples. Australian aboriginal tribes have used the didgeridoo as a sound healing instrument for over 40 000 years.12 Ancient instruments have also been used for religious and spiritual ceremonies such as Tibetan (also called “Himalayan”) singing bowls.13 Tibetan singing bowls are metal bowls usually consisting of a combination of metal alloys and originally used by Tibetan monks for spiritual ceremonies.
While sound healing is not a new concept, there is a paucity of research in areas such as Tibetan or quartz crystal singing bowls. The majority of singing bowl studies relate to the physics of these musical instruments, including the sonic and wave properties, as well as attempting to model the singing bowl’s acoustic characteristics.14–16 In one study, singing bowls were used for emotional healing with high-risk youth as part of what was termed the best self-visualization method.17 The bowls were used in a psychotherapy model in combination with deep breathing, visualization, and a loving kindness meditation. The authors reported that this combination of healing methods may be a catalyst for emotional and psychological healing in counseling sessions.
The purpose of the present study was to further advance research in this area by examining the possible effects of singing bowls and sound healing on mood, anxiety, physical pain, and spiritual well-being, and to lay the foundation for a future more formal randomized control trial. More: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5871151/