Sound therapy is an ancient practice that is becoming popular again.
Struggling With Stress and Anxiety? Try Sound Therapy to Calm and Heal the Mind (Picture credit: Pexels)
Today, more and more people are dealing with stress and anxiety. All of us could benefit from taking a step back and investing in our mental health. One way to do this is to surround yourself with sound.
What is sound therapy?
Sound therapy is an ancient practice that is becoming popular again. It uses healing sounds to improve your mental and physical health. It can change brain function and even treat several mental health problems, such as depression.1 Sound therapy is all about bringing balance and harmony to your life with the help of soothing sounds. From listening to nature sounds and music to chanting and visiting a trained practitioner, sound therapy can help.
Types of sounds and their benefits:
Nature plays a vital role in our health. In the ‘80s, Japanese researchers discovered the healing benefits of spending about 40 minutes in nature, leading them to promote spending more time outdoors.2 Nature sounds can help reduce stress levels and give a feeling of calmness and relaxation, while also improving your mood.3 Now, since we all can’t run away to the hills, visiting your neighborhood park or even listening to artificial nature sounds via mindfulness apps can help. One such app is Ruhgu, which has a large library of nature sounds.
Chanting specific phrases, singing devotional mantras and saying seed sounds form the cornerstone of many religions. This ancient practice, first thought only to bring us closer to the divine, also has many mental health benefits. It can decrease stress and anxiety and alleviate depression. 4 So even if you aren’t religious, you can still take a deep breath and say phrases and words such as Om, Allaho Akbar, Om Mani Padme Hum, Amen, Wahe Guru or any other chant or mantra that you wish. Alternately, turn on a mindfulness app to passively listen to these healing words.
Another ancient method that has health benefits is generating sounds using singing bowls, Tibetan gongs, tuning forks and even drums. These instruments are hit or circled in a particular sequence by a trained therapist and placed around you to create certain sounds and vibrations. These vibrations release tension, reduce anxiety and depression and increase spiritual well-being.5
In the past few years, music compositions, such as meditative music, white noise and binaural beats–hearing a different tone in each ear at slightly different frequencies–have become mainstream. These soothing beats at a slow tempo can relax your mind and muscles.6
Ruhgu, a mindfulness app created by global award-winning artists, contains a large library of audio content, including simple meditations, sleep music, awakening audio stories, nature sounds, and chants.
(Inputs by Dhruv Patel and Dr Batul Patel (Founder – Ruhgu)
Published Date: February 22, 2022 9:21 AM IST
