Magic bowls
The Tibetan bowls are similar to bells whose toll vibrates and sings with a deep rich tone. Also known as singing or Himalayan bowls, they ease relaxation and have powerful healing effects.
Buddhist monks have been using them in meditation practices for a long time. They are also used by some massage, musical and yoga therapists during healing sessions. These bowls are made of an amalgam of seven metals. They can be hand-made or manufactured. The hand-made bowls are better.
How do they work?
There are several different theories that explain the effects of the Tibetan singing bowls: just like listening to music, they can have psychological effects and benefits. The vibrations made by the bowls have an impact on our mind and body. Their sound interferes with our brain waves and leads to relaxation.
The benefits from listening to their sounds may be associated with the ancient practice of sound therapy. Often used by indeginous cultures around the world, it includes pulsing sounds, hand clapping, drumming and singing for ceremonial, spiritual and medical purposes.
BENEFITS:
Stress release: Studies have confirmed the use of singing bowls as a method to ease relaxation and reduce anxiety.
Sleep improvement: As singing bowls therapy is related to the lowering of anxiety and tension, it can also lead to better sleeping patterns.
Lower blood pressure: A study, published in the American Journal of Health Promotion in 2014, reports on the advantages of starting a regular 12-minute relaxing session with singing bowls, which results in a lower systolic hypertension and pulse, compared to the values measured prior to the session in a state of peace and quiet.
Dealing with depression: there is a study, researching the correlation between singing bowls therapy and the mood improvements that have occurred and suggests that this may be a cheap and efficient method to alleviate depression symptoms.
Immune system booster: The Tibetan singing bowls may stimulate the immune system and induce favourable changes in human brain waves.
Pain relief: A study, dedicated to chronic back pain, has established that people, treated with singing bowls therapy show a significant reduction of their pain intensity as well as lower stress levels.
Body balancing and harmonisation: The singing bowls vibrations can lead to some good changes in our body by ‘harmonising’ the cells and ‘balancing its energy system’.
Complement other healing practices: Some people use the singing bowls in combination with other healing practices like meditation and deep breathing.
Every singing bowl has its own unique and different sound. The fact that these bowls successfully induce relaxation and offer powerful healing effects both in physical and psychological aspects is a very valid reason why each of us should have at least one Tibetan singing bowl at home.
Some tips when choosing a bowl:
Find the right size for you
The size of the singing bowl and whether it will be used by a therapist or a beginner, actually matter. Learn more before choosing the right size for you.
1. Small bowl
If you are a beginner and you would like to learn how these bowls really work, choose a bowl with a diameter of 9 to 15 cm. Its resonance may not be very long but its tone will be high. This is a budget variant for beginners who just want to try and learn more about the singing bowls.
2. Medium bowl
If you are a more enthusiastic beginner and you want to try the magic of the bowls, you may decide to invest in a bowl of at least 17 - 20 cm diameter. This size fits perfectly in the palm of your hand. These bowls have good resonance and may be used to balance your chakras, aura cleansing, space cleaning and meditations.
3. Large bowl
Without any doubt the large size of the bowl also increases its resonance. Its powerful vibration can be felt on the surface it stands on while singing. Large size bowl is considered a bowl with a diameter over 25 cm. Large bowls are expensive, hard to produce and to find. There is even a singing bowl which is big enough to sit in it and feel its reverberations. Such bowls are usually used by sound therapists to create body harmony.
Choose the right tone for you
The next important step after you have figured out the right size for you, is to find the right singing tone. It may sound easy but that is the hardest part, especially if you have a lot to choose from.
You may choose the bowl based on whether its tone soothes you and resonates with you. If you are torn apart between several bowls, ask someone else to make them sing for you while you simply close your eyes and just feel which one you like most.
Define your goals
1. Chakra treatment
Many people use the singing bowls for chakra and energy healing. The idea is that the chakras are ordered in terms of colour and they correspond to musical notes.
If you want a set of bowls for healing or cleansing of the seven chakras then you can select the tone of each one with the help of a music application and find out the right one for each of your chakras. If, however, you need just one singing bowl that works towards healing any part of your body, then you have to find a bowl that soothes you and which you relate to. Such a bowl may be used for treatment of any of your body parts, combined with the express intention of healing.
A small size bowl around 15 cm may be used for the third eye chakra with musical note ‘La’ or ‘A’. A bowl with diameter around 10-13 cm corresponds to the crown chakra in combination with the musical tone ‘Si’ or ‘TI’.
Medium size bowls of 17 - 20 cm can be used for the throat chakra together with musical tone ‘Sol’ or ‘G’, and a bowl of diameter 22.8 cm can be used for the heart chakra with the musical tone “Fa’ or ‘F’.
To balance the chakras you can use a bowl of around 30 cm with the musical tone ‘Do’ or ‘C’. In the same way, a bowl of 25-28 cm is good for the sacral chakra with the tone ‘Re’ or ‘D’, and the diameter of 22-25 cm is suitable for the solar chakra with the tone ‘Mi’ or ‘E’.
When choosing a set of healing bowls you should start with the biggest one, respectively the root (first) chakra to the smallest one (seventh) the crown chakra. It makes it also easier for the therapist to carry the whole set of 7 bowls, fitting into each other. Most large bowls have lower tones and the smaller ones – higher tones, so finding the right bowl for chakra treatment is easy if you follow that order.
2. Overall body treatment
A large singing bowl is the best option for overall body treatment. Each organ, bone and cell in our body has a respective resonation frequency and when we feel low, uninspired or sick, the sound may nullify or finetune these subtle energy fields. The vibration of a larger bowl disperses faster and evenly across your body while you are sitting and makes you relax which helps your brain waves to switch back, improves relaxation, creativity and healing.
3. Feet therapy
The large singing Himalayan bowl is also used for foot treatment. You can try with a bowl of 45 cm where you can stand on your feet, even if it’s hard. Standing in such a singing bowl you will feel its vibrations and its sound resonate all over your body from head to toe. Dr. Buathon Thienarrom, Thai holistic therapist, who practises sound therapy with singing bowls, says that: ‘the vibrations enter the body through the water which stimulates blood circulation, allows for muscle relaxation and improves the lymphatic flow”. It has been established that this particular type of sound healing reduces stress levels, anger, depression and fatigue.
4. Head therapy
The thin therapeutic bowl from the Himalayan shop is the best for head therapy because it is light and big enough to fit. This is an efficient way to release stress after a long and hectic working day.
You can sit comfortably on a chair and wrap a scarf around your head to stabilise the bowl. Turn the bowl upside down and put it on your head like a cap, then knock gently on it just once. Wait for 20 seconds and repeat. Make sure it is stable enough.
5. Meditation and relaxation
If you need a singing bowl to relax your mind and meditate, then use a bowl whose sound aligns well with you and you easily relate to.
At Space and Rituals we believe that we can reduce stress levels and have a positive impact on our health by using this magical instrument. Therefore we have secured a good range of singing bowls and we can consult you on finding the right one. Call us.
From Space and Rituals with love
Author: Rositsa Georgieva