Improve health and wellbeing with a form of therapy that dates back to ancient times

Picture the scene. You’re in ancient Tibet, surrounded by the snow-draped Himalayas. Strings of prayer flags hang from stupa to temple and a spring sun is thawing the icy air. The only thing you can hear – and feel – are the vibrations of singing bowls and gongs being played by Buddhist monks. As these gentle yet deep echoes reach your core, you feel a sense of peace, wonder and rootedness – it’s as though everything is connected in this moment.

Luckily, you don’t need to travel to Tibet to experience the age-old tradition of sound healing. It’s a practice, or rather experience, that’s been gaining popularity in the last decade. Although it’s thought that sound healing dates back to ancient Egypt, Tibetans have also been using this technique during spiritual and healing ceremonies for centuries. Other cultures have, too, including Indigenous Australians – some believe that the didgeridoo has been used as a sound-healing instrument for as long 40,000 years.

Cellular experience

It’s only recently that research has suggested the sound of certain frequencies can support your body on a cellular level. Sound healing is usually conducted in a one-to-one or group sound-healing session. The length of a session varies depending on the practitioner, but it’s usually between 60 and 90 minutes. This is how sound healer Paulina Jones likes to work, as she believes it allows the body time to surrender, let go and rest in the alpha-brainwave state. ‘The body is [about] 70 per cent water and the brain is comprised of [about] 90 per cent water, and because water is a good conductor, sound frequencies can easily reach the brain and body’s other organs on a cellular level,’ she says. ‘In fact, within your brain, sound frequencies can easily travel through the body, shifting out blocked energy [and] realigning your cells as the vibrations flow.’