Sonotherapy or sound therapy consists of a millenary discipline that raises the use of the voice and other musical instruments to generate certain vibrations that have a beneficial effect on our body. Its scientific basis rests on the principles of resonance and entrainment , by which a vibrating object causes changes in the vibration of another.
I like to distinguish it from the term “Music Therapy” which, although it may seem the same, it is not. It is about the application of music in a structured process, with the aim of recovering, improving or maintaining mental and physical health. Therefore, we are talking about an allied profession in the field of health.
What are the instruments and techniques most used in sound therapy?
We could highlight the gong, the Tibetan bowls, quartz crystal bowls, the shamanic drum, the Native American flute, the Shruti Box and, our own instrument, the richest and most powerful, the voice.
Each therapist uses their own techniques. But as a general rule, the most widely used could be gong baths, which are 45-minute sessions with this instrument as the protagonist, vibrational therapies with Tibetan bowls, placing these on the body, the chanting of mantras and the diphonic chant. techniques lead us to balance the cardiorespiratory system, calm the nervous system, promote calm and well-being, facilitate meditative states, calm the flow of thoughts, promote spiritual growth and harmonize our energy centers (chakras).
This is curious but has an explanation. Sound is an energy that impacts our ears, but also our skin, and reaches our cells.
Each person has their own energy , their own vibrational frequency , their energy block and their mood. The same sound that resonates with a person and calms their state, can make another person nervous and a third can leave them indifferent. But those same sounds another day, those same people can have a totally different effect. When sound comes into contact with the body, it encounters resistances of our vibrational and energetic state. The fact that a person is overwhelmed or even physically painful by a sound means that the sound is “breaking” a resistance or an energy blockage.
In other cases, sound relaxes and calms us because we “need” that frequency or that sound. Let’s think of sound as a food that nurtures our vitality. Somehow, it is the same with smells, flavors or colors. That is why you cannot give magic recipes with sound. In therapy, you have to see what sounds lead to what we want to provoke or achieve in the patient.
In the same way, there are sounds that connect with our mind at a subconscious level and can remove any trauma or blockage that makes us feel uncomfortable, restless or irritable.
Are there specific sounds or specific types of music that calm in a generic way or is it something that only depends on each person?
As a general rule, all natural sounds, the sea, the countryside, animals or the elements usually connect us with our essence and give us vitality, just like harmonic instruments. For example, sounds with a low frequency bring us to a calm state while high frequencies activate us.
On the other hand, if we talk about music instead of sounds, this is something more personal and subjective. We tend to self-prescribe almost unconsciously the music we need at each moment, the one that resonates with our emotional state at a particular moment.
