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Why Singing bowl therapy is good for you

By on July 27, 2017

Just as our computer’s hard drives need occasional defragging for peak performance, so does our body. Sound therapists believe that the body contains energy frequencies and that sonic frequencies can be used to realign incongruous energies.

According to scientists, our brain and body respond to organized sounds which is why stressed-out modern, urban dwellers turn to this ancient holistic approach called ‘sound bathing’ for healing and relaxation.

Tokyo families catches up with Alan Sharp who helps run Mindful Trinity, one of the very few companies in Tokyo offering Tibetan’s ancient form of healing called Singing Bowl Therapy.

What is Singing Bowl Therapy and how does it work?
Sound therapy is a specialized form of music therapy. Music therapy uses a range of instruments and sounds to promote well-being and health.

In Tibetan sound therapy, we immerse the client in the sound of (metal) Tibetan singing bowls. In Tibet and Nepal, there is a tradition of playing singing bowls as a healing ceremony. We partly follow a technique used by the Tibetan and Nepalese temple shaman.

This is regarded as body energy work. Indian spiritual culture defines seven main Chakras, or energy centers, in the body, which relate to different aspects of a person’s physical and mental health. Using sound vibrations, from different singing bowls, we can cleanse and re-energise each of the client’s energy chakras to bring a feeling of general well-being and balance.

In Europe and the U.S., these traditional techniques have been updated and are now used alongside other therapies – in particular, for de-stressing and helping to calm the mind.

Recently, in the U.S., especially California and New York, sound baths have become popular for relaxation and de-stressing.

But also in Germany, singing bowls are used, in some clinics, during rehabilitation from serious physical trauma such as a stroke or after a serious accident. Especially, it also helps to restore movement.
We have combined sound healing with simple counseling work to help a client resolve personal issues such as their relationship with partners or for finding a better work-family life balance or maybe to digitally detox from IT burnout.

Lastly, an important part of sound therapy is to bring some intention, you want to work on, to the session. That can be anything. If though, you just want simple physical relaxation then maybe a normal massage type therapy would be more suitable.

What it does.
Singing bowls produce a very unique sound with many different vibrations coming from each bowl. These vibrations have a few effects.
They gently vibrate the body to give a deep cell level massage which helps to relax tensions especially in the back and shoulders.
They also have a synchronizing effect on the brain which helps to calm the mind; similar to mindfulness meditation.
Everyone has a different experience. Often though, clients often report a sense of lightness or clarity of mind after a session.

Who is it for.
Sound therapy, in general, is suitable for anyone of any age.
Our clients, at the salon, are usually adults in their 30’s and 40’s.
(Note: we would only work with a child along with one of the parents)

How long are the therapy sessions?
The normal session last between 1 hour and 1 hour 30 minutes.
If additional counseling is appropriate, a session can last up to 2 hours
(Note: we can only accept cash payments – at this time – no credit cards)

Does your detox program help someone trying to lose weight?
Our detox program doesn’t directly promote weight loss as a benefit. It’s possible some clients lose weight, during a retreat, but we have never measured that in particular.

The focus of a retreat is to help people physically and mentally detox using fasting.

If a person felt, for example, their weight is an issue, then we work to guide the client on that issue in general.

Once they return home, clients can practice, what they discovered, about themselves, and see if they change.

Fasting is as much about self discovery as it is about physical health. Fasting retreats have been found, in the U.S. and other places, to be an effective way to release habits and work on personal issues – and they also provide physical cleansing benefits such as removing excess or unwanted waste from the body.

So, we try to guide clients on how to find themselves and the causes of their difficulties. This includes work on diet and exercise but also sleep as well as relaxation and meditation.

Any upcoming retreats?
For a while, we are focusing on the Tokyo salon business and trying to grow that so we have no further retreats planned this year.

We hope to hold one group retreat each year. However, for 2018, this is still just an idea and no firm plans exist at the minute.
http://mindful-trinity.com/main/tokyoenglish/sound-bath-group-meditation/
Full details will be released on the website soon. This is a good way to experience singing bowls for the first time.

We have a 12-week private program, in Tokyo, taken over 6 salon sessions. http://mindful-trinity.com/main/tokyoenglish/12-weeks-program/
This is based on aspects of the fasting retreat program and includes many of the mind and well-being benefits. This can be arranged on request. The physical aspects, of the fasting retreats through – exercise, diet, etc…. – are not included in this program.

Check out http://mindful-trinity.com/main/tokyoenglish/home/ for futher details.

About Julie Wilson