Sound therapy
Sound therapy is a general term for a variety of alternative medicine and wellness treatments that work with acoustic vibrations (tones, noises, music, general sound ). The procedures understood under the frequently interchangeable terms sound therapy and sound massage are neither clearly defined nor legally protected. They are usually assigned to receptive music therapy and its practice-oriented aspect.
One motivation for using sound therapy methods is that hearing can subliminally influence feelings and feelings. The sounds are supposed to calm, harmonize and relax. Sound therapeutic applications are recommended , among other things, for stress . The vibrations should often not only affect the sense of hearing , but also the whole body or certain regions of the body. The teaching and theory of the procedures are summarized under the term phonophoresis .
Methods
Singing bowl massage
With the singing bowl massage, specially made singing bowls of different basic frequencies and sizes are placed on the clothed body and struck or rubbed or held directly over the body without touching it. In this way, the sound of the sound produced is transmitted to the body. This is perceived as a vibration in the body. The sound massage is said to have a relaxing and calming effect in the wellness area and is recommended, for example, in times of stress. The principle is also called phonophoresis. In the esoteric area, sound therapies are offered in which the singing bowls are related to the chakras .
approaches
In the wellness area, singing bowls are selected according to personal preference; the sound massage should simply promote relaxation.
With a so-called energetic approach from the area of esotericism, the sound and vibration of the singing bowls can allegedly release blockages in the subtle , i.e. soul-spiritual area. Sometimes the users of sound massage try to bring the sound into the aura as well as into the chakras in order to "energetically enrich" them. This approach cannot be scientifically understood.
In body therapy, according to the therapists, sound massage can assist in dealing with trauma . The sounds are supposed to penetrate the body memory and resolve the trauma. In Germany, therapies may only be carried out by therapeutically trained people.
Astrologically oriented providers use the mathematical and astronomical derivations of Cousto, who brought the orbital frequencies of the planets into the audible and also visible range by octaving. Singing bowls whose sound spectra contain such tones are called planetary bowls .
Principle and effect
The effect of sound massage is explained, on the one hand, by the fact that the human body mainly consists of water, which is set in motion by the sound waves. Ultimately, this effect works like an internal massage of the body cells. Physical and emotional tensions and blockages should be released in this way. There is no scientific evidence for this theory.
The other explanation is based on the assumption that certain tones that are produced by singing bowls can be assigned to the different chakras and influence them. If the chakras are disturbed, they should then be harmonized and positively influenced with the help of sound massage.
The author Peter Hess advocates the theory that the tones of the singing bowls put the treated person into a trance-like state; This effect resembles rituals of shamans . In this state, changes are possible on a physical, emotional and spiritual level. There is no scientific evidence for this either.
origin
The origin of the singing bowls is believed to be in India and the Himalayas, in what is now Tibet. There is only speculation about the age and original use of the singing bowls. The artisanal production of the bowls was almost completely given up in the Himalayan region between 1900 and 1940.
In the West, however, the belief arose around the 1980s that the Tibetan metal bowls were singing bowls, and they can undoubtedly be used to create sounds. There is no evidence that sound therapy is an ancient Buddhist method, which is often claimed in the western esoteric scene.
Sound furniture
When treating with stringed instruments , instruments from the monochord family are mainly used. The patient can lie down or sit in the wooden sound beds, sound cradles or sound chairs. On one side there is an opening, as well as strings that are plucked by the therapist. The cradle can also be rocked. Some of these instruments are built in such a way that a patient can lie or sit on, under or in them and thus feel the vibrations with the whole body. Alternatively, a monochord can also be placed on the patient's back and played on.
Other instruments / sounds / music
Other therapists also use cymbals , bells , didgeridoos , gongs , nature sounds, chants, or synthetic sounds. Further variants are resonance sound singing and making music, as well as the effect of sound on meridians or acupuncture points , for example with tuning forks .
The French doctor Alfred A. Tomatis developed his own method with specially prepared music and voice.
Audio cassettes and CDs are intended for personal use, mostly sold as meditation or relaxation aids with a wellness character and therefore without any specific reference to specific clinical pictures.
literature
- Peter Hess: Sound massage meditation - sound book. Singing bowls valuable for everyday life . 2nd Edition. Polyglobe Music, 2010, ISBN 978-3-9501281-1-6
- Peter Hess: The healing power of sound massage. Relax, reduce stress, relieve pain with singing bowls . 3. Edition. Südwest Verlag, 2006, ISBN 978-3-517-08214-1
- Frank Plate: Sound massage practice book: Learn and implement sound massage with singing bowls step by step . 4th edition. Traumzeit publishing house. 2004, ISBN 978-3-933825-37-7
Web links
- Information from the Heilpraktikerverband ( Memento from February 19, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ^ Susanne Metzner: Music Therapy. In: Wulf Rössler (ed.): Psychiatric rehabilitation. Springer, Berlin / Heidelberg 2004, p. 374.
- ↑ Randall E. Gray (1989): Tibetan Singing Bowl History. An Interview with Lama Lobsang Leshe , accessed June 1, 2015.
