We all know that music can change our mood—lifting our spirits or bringing us to tears. Whether it is the elegant keys of a piano, or the sharp beats of a drum, every noise has an effect. But what if notes could do more than that? Ishtiaque Mahmud, a personal trainer at Re:Tune, shares his knowledge of sound healing with us.
How would you describe sound healing to someone who has never heard of it before?
Sound healing is the use of vibrations and resonance to bring the body, mind, and energy into harmony. Just like a musical instrument can fall out of tune, our body and mind can do the same, through stress, or illness, or emotional strain. Sound healing can be used to bring our physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual systems into balance.
What kind of tools are involved?
The instruments include bowls, gongs, bells, and human voice. We tune each one so that they resonate with different points on the nervous system and the brain.
What does a typical session look like?
We can do a sound bath- where everyone lies down with their head facing the bowls in a semi-circle, and I stay in one place and play the bowls close to their bodies. The vibrations wash over them, hitting their bodies and their energy centres. There are also individual sessions- where I move around.
Sometimes we place the bowl on cloth covered skin and strike it. When placed directly on skin, the bowl doesn’t create perfect vibrations. We can also take a leather stick and run it around the rim of a bowl. This produces a different sort of sound, compared to striking them.
What is an energy centre?
We each have seven chakras or energy centres- and they each serve different functions of the body and mind. For example, the first chakra– the Root Chakra- is at the base of our spine. Its function is survival- our sense of feeling grounded. The second one, across the pelvic region, is about honouring our feelings without suppressing them. I use seven bronze bowls, set to seven different frequencies, each targeting a specific energy centre. The aim is to bring them all back into tune.
You mentioned that the bowls were made from different metals. What metals are these?
Traditionally, they are made from alloys of seven sacred metals, each representing an energy centre and a different planet. The metals are lead, tin, iron, copper, mercury, silver and gold.
Currently many, including mine, are made primarily of bronze. It is rich in harmonics, so it covers multiple planets.
There are also crystal bowls, which are becoming more and more popular lately. These bowls are made out of pure quartz crystal, and they make a clear, high sound, as opposed to deep, grounding tones of metal. Sometimes they have precious metals or gemstones such as rose quartz and amethyst embedded in them.
What are the benefits to sound healing?
There are physical benefits, such as headache and migraine relief, and improved sleep patterns. There are mental benefits, such as stress reduction, increased clarity, and a more balanced emotional state. It also helps with depression and mood swings. Then there are the spiritual benefits- an increased sense of connection to inner silence- your higher self.
Sound healing can be used to bring our physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual systems into balance.
I assume that you’ve participated in at least one sound healing session. How would you describe your own personal experience with it?
It was very relaxing. There were moments that I drifted off into a trance. It was very easy to drift off because the sounds that I was hearing were making me very calm and giving me a sense of stillness, and of expansion. I was able to see my thoughts clearly, spaced out and slowed down. It was very healing.
What kind of clients do you generally get?
There are people who are going through something- such as the death of a loved one, or separation, or issues like financial independence. The kind of services I offer are also a chance to open up, if they have something weighing on them. They can book a private session and share, and I offer full confidentiality. Through healing practices such as breathwork and sound healing, they have all experienced catharsis in these sessions. Thus far, all of them have said that it has helped them to relax, to calm down and to focus better.
Many of those who come are seeking clarity, or seeking purpose. They feel as though they’ve been just living life on autopilot and it’s not making them happy. And a lot of times it’s about not really knowing oneself. People who are deep practitioners- what they eventually find is that they’re more in touch with their deepest and highest self.