Did you know that you can use sound healing frequencies to enhance your overall wellness? We all love different kinds of music but there’s more to music than the genre and the instruments used to create a piece of musical art. One of the most important characteristic is sound frequency which helps in how we interpret sounds.
Sound Frequency Measure and Applications
Sound frequency is measured by the way in which sound waves oscillate. All sound waves travel at the same speed in the same medium. While they travel to our ears, they compress and stretch the medium (such as air) alternatively. The total number of waves produced per second is called the frequency of sound wave. The frequency is the number of vibrations per second. So 7 hertz (Hz) means 7 waves completed in one second or 7 cycles per second.
The lower limit of audibility is about 20 Hz. Low frequency sound or infrasound are all sounds around 500 Hz and below. These include the sound of waves, avalanches, earthquakes and sounds made by whales and elephants.
High frequency sounds are about 2000 Hz and above. These includes whistles, computer devices, glass breaking, nails on a chalkboard and mosquitoes.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), healing sounds are used in “toning” to help bring back balance of the mind and body. The method uses the voice to create different healing sounds for different body organs.
Sound healing also works with the Chakras, such as the Third Eye. Each energy center or chakra has its own mantra to help it go back to a balanced or active state.
Medical practices now include therapies such as music therapy, vibration therapy and brainwave entrainment to treat various health conditions and improve mental, physical and emotional health. This treatment option is slowly becoming popular as it is non-invasive, not expensive and easy to do.
In other healing modalities, it is used with crystals, plant medicine and other energy clearing practices to encourage healing in different areas of life.
Sound Healing Frequencies and Their Benefits
In sound healing modalities, different frequencies have different benefits and promote different kinds of healing. Most of these frequencies fall under the Solfeggio Frequencies* introduced in the 11th century by Guido D’Arezzo, a Benedictine monk. However, these frequencies were likely used in ancient times (in Egypt, in Sanskrit and in Medieval Gregorian chants, etc.) but records of their uses had been lost. The concept was reintroduced again by physician Joseph Puleo in the 1970s.
- 174 Hz* – relieves pain, migraines and stress, reduces inflammation, evokes feelings of love, courage, safety and reassurance
- 285 Hz* – heals, cuts, burns, tissues and organs, promotes cellular regeneration
- 396 Hz* – liberates the listener from fear and guilt, helps to balance the root chakra to make you feel more grounded
- 417 Hz – facilitates change, helps dissolve feelings of trauma and emotional blockages
- 432 Hz – targets the heart chakra, helps soothe the soul, encourages mental and emotional clarity and openness
- 440 Hz – also known as “cerebral music”, helps massage the brain for cognitive growth and helps awaken the third eye
- 528 Hz* – for transformation and DNA repair (known as the “miracle frequency” as well as the “love frequency”), promotes clarity, peace, ushers in love and confidence and balances the heart and solar plexus chakras
- 639 Hz* – reconnects and heals relationships, produces positive feelings, harmony and clear communication, self-reflection
- 741 Hz* – helps provide solutions and self-expression, improves emotional stability, encourages feelings of safety to reconnect to your intuition
- 852 Hz* – brings the listener back to a “spiritual order”, helps improve sense of self and inner strength
- 963 Hz* – encourages a sense of oneness and unity, helps wake up the intuition and awaken the crown chakra, raises positive energy and vibrations, helps you connect to your inner self
Sound Healing Instruments
We all have the capability to heal ourselves so the voice is one of the instruments used in sound frequency healing. Other instruments used for meditation and sound therapies are Tibetan singing bowls, crystal singing bowls, gongs, drums, tuning forks, chimes, didgeridoo, monochord, handpan or tongue drum, flute, rainstick, crystal harp, crystal singing pyramids, kalimba, cymbals, djembe, mouth harp and many more.
Binaural beats are also a popular way to elicit different brainwaves for better sleep (Delta), for meditation (Theta), reduced anxiety, (Alpha) better focus and learning (Beta), among others.
OM Chanting and Meditation
How do we start using sound frequencies to heal ourselves? We can start with using our voice to chant as preparation for meditation or as the meditation itself. The easiest way is to use OM to chant or meditate.
We often associate the sound OM as a chant used to start and end yoga sessions. It consists of four syllables: A, U, M, and the silent syllable. When pronounced correctly, it sounds more like AUM. One of the most well known and universal mantras, it vibrates at the frequency of 432 Hz but it can also be used at higher frequencies such as at 528 Hz. It is the sound of creation, causing energy to gather and flow upward and outward. Everything in the universe vibrates; nothing is standing still. Chanting OM helps us to physically tune in to that frequency and energy.
Listen to the vibration it creates as it flows throughout your body. Chanting OM is a calming and soothing mindfulness practice that helps to slow down your breathing and prolong your exhalation. It is a breathing exercise in itself that helps you to relax and tune in to your inner self. Don’t chant too loudly. Use the natural volume of your own voice and feel the sound vibrate throughout your body.
OM is the basic sound of the Universe. When we chant, it vibrates as the same vibrational frequency found throughout nature. Chanting it means that you are symbolically and physically connecting to nature and all living beings in the Universe. It is one of the best ways to help you find your inner peace.
Feature Image: Original Photo by Magic Bowls on Unsplash.