Why we need Sound Therapy

  Dr. Mitchell Gaynor, with Tibetan singing bowls in a Manhattan office in 2005, advocated natural and traditional medicine.  &nbsp;  CreditJoyce Dopkeen/The New York Times

Dr. Mitchell Gaynor, with Tibetan singing bowls in a Manhattan office in 2005, advocated natural and traditional medicine. CreditJoyce Dopkeen/The New York Times

More and more people are becoming interested in using sound as a therapy. It is nothing new as it is a return to ancient cultural practices that used chants, singing bowls, drums and other vibrational instruments to restore health and relieve pain. Also known as vibrational medicine, the practice employs the vibrations of the human voice as well as objects that resonate-tuning forks, gongs, Tibetan singing bowls and crystal bowls, to go beyond relaxation and stimulate self-healing. 

The potency of sound not only promotes relaxation, which is tangible after a gong bath, but it can relieve ailments, from common aches and pains to the anxiety that accompanies chemotherapy. Every object has a natural vibrational rate and this is called resonance - we use this a great deal in conversation now 'it resonates with me' and this isn't just a new way of expressing ones connection with things. It is because we are more aware of the importance of being 'in-tune' both with ourselves and our world. One of the basic principles of using frequency as a transformative and healing modality is to understand that every part of the body is in a state of vibration-every organ, bone, tissue and system has its own unique frequency so that being in good health means being in harmonic health. If a frequency is counter to our health it creates disharmony with other parts of the body, creating dis-ease. 

An area of health that we are interested in exploring  at Studio Britford is sound pollution. Living in a city or even a small town means that we are living with noise. The etymology of 'noise' derives from the Latin 'nausea'. We are bombarded by upsetting ad stress-inducing sounds every day. Road traffic, sirens, car alarms, rubbish trucks, large lorries, construction equipment, mobile phones, loud music, the list goes on. Noise pollution is among one of the most perversive pollutants to which we are exposed. 

Having regular exposure to a form of Sound Therapy, be this Acutonics, Tibetan singing bowls or gong baths, is immensely good for ones overall health. The drop into relaxation increases with each session as the sound penetrates deeper into the body, releasing and working through blockages. The humna voice is perhaps the most powerful of all healing modalities and we hope to have regular voice workshops to help overcome the great fear many of us have in finding our true, authentic voice and.....singing infront of others!

Dr Mitchell L. Gaynor (who died last year) was an oncologist and clinical professor of medicine at Weill Medical College, Cornell University and author of 'The Healing Power of Sound'. He suggests that when the heart rate is steady and breathing is deep and slow, stress hormones decrease. This is significant because stress can depress every aspect of the immune system. He distinguishes between curing and 'healing'. To 'cure' is to physically fix something, to 'heal' refers to wholeness, a union of the mind, body and spirit. Sound healing is integrative medicine-it compliments science.  

Interesting fact: Musical intervals and the body:

In examining the human body, the anatomical proportions resemble the waveform expression of musical intervals.  For example, the distance between one’s extended toe to the top of the sacrum, relative to the top of the sacrum to the top of the head is 3:2, the same ratio as the interval of a fifth (the note C to the note G).  These musical ratios exist throughout the body.


–Leonardo da Vinci