Sound Baths for Fibromyalgia

By Karen Crosby

Sound is an ancient method of natural therapy for lots of medical problems, and is becoming more and more widespread today.

The sound of birdsong, waves on a shore, music, and singing is very comforting and brings pleasure and joy to us all.

Many years ago during my yoga teaching early days, I had the opportunity to attend an event; which included a sound bath using gongs and singing bowls.

This I found amazing and really helpful for my fibromyalgia pain and sleep at the time.  

This last November a sound bath expert booked my village hall, and I have been attending every two weeks.  It lasts for about an hour, starting with a relaxing meditation, and it has had great results for me.

Before these sound baths, I had chronic joint pain, mainly in the elbows for over 5 months, and a lot of pain in my arms and shoulders generally.

Now, after attending 4 sound baths, the pain has been reduced by 90% in the arms, the joint pains are about 95% gone, and even with the cold weather when I usually suffer a lot, I feel a lot better!  I also found it deeply relaxing, and my anxiety and stress levels because of fibro symptoms were greatly reduced. 

In one study in Canada (The Natural Health Hub), 19 women with fibromyalgia volunteered to have sound therapy with startling results.

The volunteers, whom were an average age of 51, reported dramatic improvements in their symptoms after 10 sessions. The sessions were for half an hour, and twice weekly over 5 weeks.

They were questioned before and after each treatment by doctors, who used tried and tested methods (Fibro Impact Questionnaire, Pain Disability Index, and Jenkins Sleep Scale). 

The results offered some real truth that sound is a natural painkilling method: -

·      81% Pain Reduction.

·      90% Improvement in Sleep.

·      Significant improvements in the time they were able to sit and stand without pain.

·      Improved mobility from 25% to 75%, plus better muscle strength.

There are more benefits to sound baths:

·      Deep relaxation to counteract the effects of stress.

·      Meditative practices bringing the brain wave patterns to a slower more contemplative state we experience just before sleep (alpha waves).

·      Lowering blood pressure caused by stress.

·      Lowering heart rate.

·      Lowering the stress hormone cortisol.

·      Improving the symptoms of anxiety.

·      Helping heal traumas of life by inducing calm and is a great aid to mental health practitioners.

·      Frequencies of the sound have deep effects on blood flow.

·      Cellular movement and biorhythms are improved.

·      Help with focus, brain wave patterns and the meditative state is induced to improve health and wellbeing on all levels.

Sound baths use gongs, tuning forks and Tibetan singing bowls to surround the receivers in different sound frequencies and vibrations, the sound resonates strongly in the ears and washes over the body. 

I experienced the vibrations throughout my body and mind, and I went into a deep meditation, where I was completely relaxed and then fell asleep each time.  I awoke feeling relaxed, refreshed and so calm it was amazing!

Meditation.

It has long been known and practiced over thousands of years, and meditation in our busy frenetic world has the benefit of bringing us into the present, into the here and now.

When we are in this state, the brain waves slow down to the Alpha brain pattern, which we experience just before we sleep (as mentioned above).

This is when we are at our most relaxed and creative state of mind, we calmly solve problems without the worry and anxiety, and we benefit from this calm in lowered blood pressure, reduced stress hormones in the blood stream like cortisol, and we sleep better (with regular practice).

I have spent the latter 20 years of my life practicing meditation and mindfulness meditation during my yoga and yoga-teaching journey.

When in a meditative state, we are in the present, therefore we let go of past worries, and we stop worrying about the future or what it may bring.  This is very powerful to help us live a calmer and more balanced and productive life, whilst helping keep our health and wellness balanced at the same time.

I always stress how meditation is very powerful and helpful, and the sound baths add sound vibrations to the mix that are very relaxing and calm.

Happy pain-free month!