More Benefits of Tibetan Bowl Sound Therapy (part 3 of 3)

If sound can heal then it can prevent disease and illness by getting to parts of us where other medicines and therapies have difficulty reaching or cannot go. To regularly have bowls sessions would be akin to regular exercise. Bowls are not, however, needed everyday but the use of bowl sessions at least twice per month month could provide support on all levels for disease prevention. The overall effect of Tibetan Bowl Sound Therapy is cumulative; the body remembers the higher vibration more easily each time you do it. With support of the Tibetan Bowls, the body can heal you before you even know an illness is brewing.

Sound massage with the bowls will have a positive effect on anyone. The problems this therapy can heal are unlimited with stated intention. It is only a question of the number of sessions to make a change. A client can suddenly be pain or symptom free in one session but it may take another individual many sessions before they notice significant change. It depends whether the client believes he/she can overcome the obstacle, naturally. Without question, each session promotes deep relaxation and a greater overall sense of well being and retrains the body/mind to let go stress in order to heal itself again.

The bowls are placed both on and near the client’s fully clothed body. The client may be lying down or sitting, depending on their ability and desire. The session may last from 20 to 40 or 50 minutes depending on the intention for the session and age and tolerance of the individual. The session is usually performed with the client lying first in the prone and then supine positions for an average of 40-50 minutes.

Chakra Balancing. Chakras are energy vortices originating in the ancient Indian system of healing. Most literature discusses seven main chakras but there are literally hundreds of vortices of energy all over the body. For example, acupuncture points are energy vortices and therefore chakras. In Sanskrit “chakrum” means “wheel” (chakra is plural). Chakras are energy wheels full of light and color that shimmer and spin and vibrate when functioning correctly. When functioning correctly, the body is healthy in mind, body and spirit. Only those trained to see clairvoyantly used to be able to view these energy centers but modern photographic technology has made it possible to see auras and chakras without such training or natural ability. More recent literature speaks of 12 chakras, the additional four just beginning to come into being within each individual.

Chakras are the connection between the spiritual aspect of our being and the physical. There is an endocrine gland associated with of the 7 chakras. In the Indian system of healing when a physical dysfunction is in place one or more chakras is considered to be blocked, dysfunctional or unbalanced. Unbalanced chakras are reflected in a whole range of mental, emotional and physiological dysfunctions. Chakra balancing is used to correct the chakra so that the endocrine gland and all the associated structures and organs affected by that gland, balance and begin to function correctly. Historically, chakra balancing has been done in a number of ways but it has been most effectively done by someone who has the capability to either feel or see or both the chakras and their state of unbalance. They then use their energy field and technique to adjust and balance them. Tibetan Singing Bowls naturally cause chakras to self correct. The sound waves, in the form of sine waves run interference to the unbalanced chakras and naturally correct and balance them. The overall balancing effect of the Tibetan Singing bowls on the brain waves and cellular function combine to enhance and support the corrective rebalance of the sine wave’s effect on each chakra. The result is balanced chakras which can then in turn support the cellular level physical changes also created by the sound waves.

Repeat sessions at a given interval over time then assist the body/mind to throw off toxicity and the diseased state while simultaneously re-training the chakras and physical body to remain in a state of balance. Increasingly over time the body will return to a state of ‘ease’ or good health.

Though Chakras are far from a scientific fact, ancient literature suggests that their balancing was part of the whole process employed when healing any level of dysfunction. Balancing the body in the way ancient cultures have may be the missing link in health care today.

Tim Reep, LMT  is able to work more thoroughly and get more done in one session when his client’s see me for a bowl session immediately prior to his session. This is because the vibration of the bowls softens tissue even into the deepest parts of the body– bone deep. Since the bowls turn off the mind-chatter and balance the brain, the energetic healing is already in process and this makes his job easier and more profound for the client. The bowl vibrations continue to process in the body while he is working which gives the client a more thorough and complete healing when the two sessions are done back to back.

Use in Hospice Setting

Several Hospice organizations in Germany use Tibetan Bowls. They assist the dying patient to relax and allow the dying process to become more peaceful and less fearful. The sound vibrations cause the soul to remember it’s ability to move freely with or without the body it has belonged to in this life.

Hospice organizations offer workshops for their workers as well as families to learn how to use the bowls with the dying patient. In Germany ‘s hospice program, dying patients are taken on “Sound Journeys” which are a creative combination of visualization techniques done while playing the bowls for the patient. The sound and mind interact to create a soothing, relaxing and uplifting experience for the patient.

Dying patients can tolerate up to 30 minutes per day of sound massage. Sound massage should not be used if the dying person is in an extreme condition near the moment of death or when they are confused, restless or in strong pain.

Example:

In my work as a Hospice volunteer I was called to use my Reiki skills with “Betty” (fictitious name). She had experienced Reiki and other energy therapy during her life and was therefore aware of what was happening to her body and soul. I introduced myself and told her about a few bowls I brought with me. I did a few minutes of Reiki and then asked her permission to play the bowls on/near her. She ordered everyone out of the room so she could receive this experience. I placed the bowls around her and gently tapped them. She closed her eyes and relaxed. About 30 minutes later I ended the session and quietly left the room. It was about 3:30pm.

I received a call from her daughter and caregiver later that evening. She told me after I left “Betty” was given a sponge bath. Her daughter remarked how quiet and peaceful “Betty” was during the bath. She said “Betty” quietly and peacefully passed away two hours later. She said she was thankful for me using the bowls because her mother had been struggling to “let go” for days and she felt that the bowls assisted her in letting go of this life with dignity and peace.

The use of Tibetan bowls with Hospice patients in Germany has shown that it minimizes the struggle to let go and die. It allows the dying patient an easier path through the dying process. It allows patients the opportunity for a quiet and peaceful death.

In his book, Mitchell Gaynor references Therese Schroeder-Sheker and her work with the extended art of palliative medicine. In one example, Dr. Gaynor relates how with the use of music and sound Therese was able to shift a dying man’s fear and agony into a peaceful and “blessed death”. Therese relates that music helps the body and soul unbind the threads that sustain life processes by freeing patients from time.

While music played from a CD might help a dying person, live bowl sessions provide much more. Their vibrations are not only heard but felt “to the bones” of the patient. Even if the bowls are not placed directly on the body, the healing vibrations resonate through the patient and fill the room with their powerful peaceful vibrations ridding the patient of fear and other stresses related to the dying process.

Use in Stroke, Pain Management and Neurological Rehabilitation

The use of Tibetan Bowls for these specific problems is widespread in Germany . Occupational therapists, Psychiatrists, Neurologists and Physical Therapists use bowl therapy as part of their patient treatment plan. Bowls are used in the field of neurology in hospital intensive care units for those who have suffered strokes, have had neurological surgery of many types, are dependent on a respirator or are otherwise very ill. German doctors, therapists and their patients are interviewed on the DVD prepared by Telse Hunter, PhD (see resources). In one case, a critically ill man who showed little or no movement, over the course of several bowl treatments, was using facial expressions and smiled again for the first time. The therapist shows how he is even able to move his hand and arm. Traumatic brain injury patients show improvements on many levels when they are treated with bowls. A specific brain injury patient who was regularly self-abusive, is now, after many sessions with the bowls, no longer self-abusive.

Addiction therapists use the bowls to assist patients during the detoxification period. It helps them re-develop a healthy sense of wellbeing and let go of their fears and helps them reconnect in a health way with their bodies. In the DVD the therapist relates how much easier the addiction treatment is on the patient when they are having regular bowl sessions.

The DVD shows Occupational Therapists using the bowls for many different types of injuries. Psychiatrists are having their patients have bowls sessions for sleep problems and other psychiatric illnesses including pain management. In the DVD a patient explains how her pain from Rheumatoid arthritis is alleviated with the use of Tibetan Bowls.

Professor Volk relates how the bowls assist patients with traumatic events causing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Patients relate how they can “let go” of their pain and recover in ways such as regaining their appetite. Even when they don’t like the first few treatments but they stick with the therapy, they ultimately find themselves better off and healed of their problems.

In a later segment, a social worker talks about how bowl therapy is so profound because it addresses one’s issues on all levels, not just the physical level.

In Conclusion

Tibetan Bowl therapy has not yet caught on here in the United States but given the current health care insurance crisis, doctors and patients and consumers in general may be more willing to look at other methods for healing the unexplained medical issues and prevent illness over all. While science has not explained why these bowls can heal, it is obvious that they can and do. Perhaps it’s time to think less about how and why something helps and simply accept that it does. It may seem like an odd sort of therapy but I implore you to give it a try! You won’t be sorry you did!

© 2015 Bethann Vetter

Part 1 here

Part 2 here