Sound Healing as an Affordable and Effective Performance Benefit for Organizations
I offer on-site sound-assisted meditation sessions (aka “soundbaths”) to organizations for cultivating cultures of optimal performance.
Optimal Performance: The Relationship between Mindfulness and Recovery
Optimal performance requires recovery[1].
The reason for this is very simple: recovery attends to the nervous system, the central intelligence system in humans responsible for receiving and integrating all information available to us. When that central intelligence system is overburdened, it will stop functioning optimally and thus result in sub-optimal, or even decreased, ability. Without sufficient recovery the ability to sustain, learn, create, and perform are impaired and both the individual and collective suffer.
Organizations that invest in the connections between recovery and optimal performance will increase their ability build resiliency and capacity, enhance the quality of work outcomes, and create sustaining culture within their systems.
It is well documented and has become well known that having a mindfulness practice is a very effective form of recovery. Various forms of mindfulness practice are known to:
Lower blood pressure.
Reduce stress, anxiety, depression, lethargy, etc.
Activate the parasympathetic nervous system responsible for triggering healing processes within the body.
Interrupt “fixed” or “cemented” thought patterns (which infers opening pathways for new ones and, thus, promoting creativity and innovation).
Many other benefits have been documented and proven by modern science.
Sound healing is a safe, accessible, inclusive and affordable way to facilitate a mindfulness practice:
It is an ancient, non-invasive, and entirely safe practice[2].
It is accessible to all physical abilities and can be done by simply sitting or lying down.
It is virtually seamless: does not require sweating, changing clothes, or going somewhere offsite.
It does not require any prior experience. The way sound (specific frequencies) interacts with the brain and body makes it more accessible (and effective) than meditation alone to train the brain and receive restorative benefits.
The Data
25% Reduction in Medium - High Stress
28% Reduction in Medium - Very High Anxiety
33% Improvement in Depressed Mood
87% Report Receiving High - Very High Benefit
Common Questions
What is mindfulness and how is a “soundbath” relevant to cultivating mindfulness?
A simple definition of “mindfulness” is living in the present moment. Meaning that mindfulness is being (intentionally) more aware in each moment and being fully engaged in what is happening in one's surroundings with acceptance and without judgment.
Some people believe that mindfulness, or a practice that promotes mindfulness, means your mind is free of all thoughts and feelings, or you’re “releasing” (i.e. “ignoring”) all your thoughts and feelings. This is not true. Your brain will ALWAYS GENERATE THOUGHTS THAT CREATE FEELINGS. Mindfulness is about how attached you get to those thoughts and what you do with them. When you let the thoughts pass through and observe them without attachment (like watching a movie), that is when they become the most potent form of intelligence you can access, and both your consciousness (what you are aware of) and abilities are elevated.
Ultimately, a mindfulness practice (e.g., meditation) is a way of training yourself to become more adept at maintaining a state that allows you to access more information, and respond with awareness of that information, in every moment. The more you can practice being in a receptive state, the more access you will have to your greatest abilities and experience of life. Some people call this “flow.”
Certain sounds (i.e., frequencies) help entrain your brain into the ideal state (i.e. Theta) for meditation and makes the practice of mindfulness more accessible. The sound frequencies produced in soundbath assist the brain in entering that meditative state sooner and sustaining it longer.
Mindfulness (in simplistic terms)
What is sound healing and how does it work?
Sound healing is a way of using certain types of sounds to entrain the brain and body into a natural state of restoration, healing, and alignment. It is an ancient practice that is non-invasive, safe, and accessible to almost anyone.
What happens during a soundbath?
The participant(s) will lie down or sit in a comfortable position, usually with eyes closed or covered. They are then “bathed” in a concert of sounds is typically produced by instruments like singing bowls (crystal, Tibetan, alchemy, etc.), drums, gongs, chimes, rain sticks, etc.
Typically, there will be a brief “grounding” exercise to settle in, followed by a "bath of sound" for almost an hour.
These sounds entrain the brain into a deep meditative state (Theta) activating the body's natural healing abilities through the parasympathetic nervous system for everything from cellular regeneration to stress release, interrupting negative patterns, and energetic alignment.
Each person’s experience of a soundbath will be unique to them and subsequent soundbaths will not be experienced the same way. Typically it is a very relaxing and cathartic experience. Some people report experiencing short periods of "agitation" (usually in the beginning). This could be a general sense of not being able to relax (“feeling activated”), an experience of intense emotions, or flooded with thoughts (“monkey mind”). Sometimes people will feel sensations in the body, (e.g., pulsing, pressure, tingling, etc.). These are all signs that the body is moving energy. And this is good! Energy that stays stuck or trapped in the body will eventually lead to ailment or illness. Typically, these sensations pass, and people eventually drop into a lucid dreamlike state (Theta) and experience the relaxation and clearing that normally comes with sound healing. Even if this doesn’t happen, the benefits of the session will be received.
How do I come prepared to participate in a soundbath?
Wear comfortable, loose clothing (dress on the warm side, body temperature can tend to drop during session).
Hydrate well (before and after).
Avoid large meals less than 1 hour before; snack ok.
Arrive early to allow time to set yourself up, use the bathroom, etc.
Recommended props:
Body-length mat or cushion: for laying on the floor (e.g., yoga mat, camping pad, blanket).
(Optional) Blanket: to put over your body for warmth.
(Optional) Pillow or bolster: for under head and/or knees.
(Optional) Eye cover: for blocking out light (e.g., eye mask, eye pillow, bandana).
I am sensitive to sound; will I be able to tolerate a soundbath?
Yes, this modality is well tolerated by most people. If you wear hearing aids, it’s recommended to remove them.
I have worked with many people with severe sound sensitivity due to neurodiversity including: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), PTSD, ADHD and Autism. Most often these participants report being surprised at how calming and healing the sound bath is for them.
And it's still not for everyone. That said, there has been only one person on one occasion in my 10 years of practice that had to leave the room.
My guidance is that it is safe for anyone to try, and it is completely OK for a person to leave the sound bath if they are uncomfortable in any way. This is why when I do work with sensitive groups, I have volunteers that sit in the room and are available to assist people during the event for any reason, including making the decision to leave the room.
How Does “Sound Healing” Work?
The short answer is: physics. For many it can be difficult to train the body and brain with only breath to receive the benefits of meditation. With the assistance of frequencies (sounds) produced in a soundbath, most participants achieve that meditative state more efficiently, and sustain that state longer with less effort, increasing the benefits.
The Principle of Entrainment and Cymatics are two of the most common concepts that illustrate the science behind this modality.
The Principle of Entrainment basically says that two frequencies in proximity to each other will eventually entrain each other to oscillate at a single frequency. This was discovered in 1666 by the Dutch physicist Christian Huygens when he observed that the pendulum frequencies of different sized clocks mounted on the same wall or board became synchronized to each other.
It is this principle of physics that allows certain sounds (i.e. frequencies) entrain your brain into the "Theta" frequency that supports cell repair, rejuvenation and other healing processes in the body.
I often describe the principle of entrainment through the analogy of a digital equalizer on a stereo system. When the music plays the colored bars dance up and down.
This is what your brain looks like in any given moment, with all of its dancing up and down (mostly in Beta, Alpha, and Gamma when you are awake). When entrained by the frequencies of powerful crystal bowls or gongs, the "equalizer of your brain" will be predominantly entrained to a frequency of Theta, and sometimes Delta (most often associated with relaxation and sleep). People will often describe the moment during a sound bath when their brain suddenly shifted from “busy and activated” to suddenly dropping into that “entrained, meditative state.” That moment is when the principle of entrainment took effect.
Cymatics is, essentially, the visualization of sound. What cymatics reveals is how different frequencies shift shape and create alignment in phyiscal matter.
And what else is made up of matter? Our bodies!!! It's basically proof that vibration shifts form, much like how Masuru Emoto's water experiment that demonstrated how the vibration of our intentions and thoughts shift the molecular forms in water (reminder: we are 70% water), or how the famous (and later contentious) Ted Talk that shows how certain frequencies can shift the form of cancer (by killing it or preventing it from replicating)
Both cymatics and entrainment also make sound healing a great way of re-patterning the brain: interrupting "negative" patterns (e.g., anxiety), and opening up the potential for new patterns. This is where ultimate creativity (manifesting) stems from: the ability to orient and respond in a new and open way to what is in front of you. And because our thoughts are a form of frequency, any intentions you bring with you will be amplified.
Whenever I do “soundbath” I think about these two principles and how they interact with both our physical and auric bodies. I can see (and feel) the vibrations of the bowls and the gong “snapping” the cells of organs and the cells of the body into their version of perfect, sacred geometries, like particles on a plate connected to a tone generator, finding their ideal and optimal state of being. I can visualize any rouge cells that may have lost their way, vibrating, and shifting their way back into alignment, and energy in my auric space being cleared and aligned.
These, and other scientific principles, when applied to the use of frequencies as a healing modality is one of the best examples of consilience I can think of, and makes it clear why this has been an ancient modality for healing throughout the history of human existence. And it is my hope that it will again become more accessible and predominant approach for many of our current ailments.
Sound Healing for Recovery and Performance In Your Organization
Hopefully all of this information gives you a window into what makes sound healing so compelling as a modality for recovery and performance.
If you are interested in offering this work inside your organization, please contact me or schedule an exploration session.
References
[1] https://hbr.org/2001/01/the-making-of-a-corporate-athlete
[2] In years of experience working with neurodiversity, brain injury and sound sensitivity and only one time has the sound been intolerable for a participant. That said, there are no medical contraindications or adverse side effects from sound healing. More often what participants report (e.g., ADHD, brain injury, PTSD) is that it healed something for them and regulated their nervous system.