Let Me Introduce You to a Tibetan Singing Bowl

When you travel, you become more aware of different cultures and practices. The more you learn, the more you will benefit. When I first discovered a Tibetan singing bowl, it was no different. I was truly fascinated with the harmonious sound and vibrations is created. I wanted to know more about what it was, how it worked, why people use it, and so much more!

What is a Tibetan singing bowl?

It’s a bowl. And it’s a bell. It’s also a complex musical instrument, originating from the Himalayan countries, but most associated with Tibet. My Tibetan singing bowl is created from panchaloga, a 5-metal alloy of copper, zinc, iron, and traces of silver and gold. The presence of several different ores produces multiphonic overtones when the bowl is rubbed or struck like a bell. The “singing” sound is quite remarkable and can be both energizing and soothing at the same time. It can be quite large or small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. Its pitch can be low or high, depending on its size and other variables, like whether or not it is filled with water or the surface of the mallet.

What is the history of singing bowls?

Tibetan singing bowls go back over 2000 years. Originally hand-hammered, each bowl was unique in its tones and ‘singing’. Singing bowls have been used to aid in meditation, religious practice, relaxation, and healing. They have been found primarily in Tibet, India, and Nepal, but also in Japan, Korea, China, and Mongolia. There is a common association between singing bowls and Buddhism, but the use of singing bowls predates Buddhism. The first singing bowls are said to have been made in Mesopotamia over 5000 years ago, making them one of the oldest artisan crafts in human history.

Who uses a Tibetan singing bowl?

I was truly amazed at how widespread the use of singing bowls is. Certainly still a cultural practice in Himalayan countries, its use has spread to many people for many purposes. I was first exposed to a singing bowl by my husband’s aunt, who works as a music therapist. Today, you will find singing bowls being used in yoga classes, music instruction (they are a great way to teach about harmonics!), spas, meditation sessions, in sound healing, for stress reduction, and even just for entertainment. If you travel a lot like I do, you could use a singing bowl to calm your nerves before flying OR to keep your children entertained.

When I received my Tibetan singing bowl, I was with my three-year-old grandson. He was very interested in learning how to use it. For a young child, the easiest way to use a singing bowl is to strike it like a bell. He liked being able to make the bowl be “quiet” or “loud”.

As I learned how to make the bowl ‘sing’, my grandson immediately picked up on the tones it was producing. Notice how he tries to match the tone with his own voice. But it’s tricky because there’s more than one tone playing!

Tibetan Singing Bowl- Sound Bowl Meditation and Healing

Have you heard of the benefits of singing bowl meditation? In this post, we discuss recent studies that examined the effect of Tibetan singing bowls on our mood and well-being. The result of the studies has amazing implications. Read on to learn more!

In our modern world, stress and tension-induced diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, as well as addiction and mental illness, are becoming increasingly common. Meditation is becoming more mainstream and is often recommended to encourage relaxation, help alleviate anxiety, and improve well-being. However, many find meditation to be a challenging practice that can take many years if not decades to master. Fortunately, the benefits of meditation can be much more easily attained (or enhanced) by using a Tibetan singing bowl.

Tibetan singing bowls are metal bowls usually made from a combination of metal alloys and originally used by Tibetan monks for spiritual ceremonies. Over the past several hundred years, years, singing bowls have been used more commonly for sound healing.

But what is sound healing? When played, Tibetan singing bowls make a vibration or sound called resonance which is the frequency at which an object naturally vibrates. Our bodies each have their own natural resonance, and vibration medicine advocates suggest that disease is a result of those natural resonances becoming out of tune due to stress, illness, or environmental factors.

Interestingly, there is very little scientific research on the subject of sound healing. Accordingly, a team of researchers at the University of California delved further into the subject and recently published their findings.

They studied 62 participants, both male and female, with an average age of 49.7 years. Prior to and following the sound healing session, all participants completed standardized questionnaires to assess tension, anger, confusion, depression, anxiety, and spiritual well-being. Participants also completed questionnaires which included questions regarding any prior experience with meditation or singing bowls, substance use, medications, over-the-counter or herbal supplements, and whether they were experiencing any physical pain and to what degree.

Participants laid on yoga mats with their heads near the instruments and listened to the sound meditation for approximately 60 minutes. The musical instruments used consisted of Tibetan singing bowls, crystal singing bowls, gongs, Ting-shas (tiny cymbals), Borges (bells), didgeridoos, and other small bells. The Tibetan singing bowls were primarily played for 95% of the time during the sound meditation, while the other instruments were only played for 5% of the time.

Depending on the size of the room and the number of participants, anywhere from 30 to 80 singing bowls were played with at least two Tibetan singing bowls near each participant’s head. A musician leads the sound meditation using cloth-covered mallets to strike the bowls and rub the rims of the bowl.

The results of the sound meditation were striking. The researchers found a significant difference between pre-treatment and post-treatment in tension, anger, confusion, depression, anxiety, and spiritual well-being across participants.

We invite you to get your own Tibetan singing bowl or crystal singing bowl today!

Effects of Singing Bowl Sound Meditation on Mood, Tension, and Well-being

Poor mood and elevated anxiety are linked to increased incidence of disease. This study examined the effects of sound meditation, specifically Tibetan singing bowl meditation, on mood, anxiety, pain, and spiritual well-being. Sixty-two women and men participated. As compared with pre-meditation, following the sound meditation participants reported significantly less tension, anger, fatigue, and depressed mood. Additionally, participants who were previously naïve to this type of meditation experienced a significantly greater reduction in tension compared with participants experienced in this meditation. The feeling of spiritual well-being significantly increased across all participants. Tibetan singing bowl meditation may be a feasible low-cost low technology intervention for reducing feelings of tension, anxiety, and depression, and increasing spiritual well-being. This meditation type may be especially useful in decreasing tension in individuals who have not previously practiced this form of meditation.

Heart disease, diabetes, addiction, and mental health issues have all been linked to stress and tension. Meditation, including systems such as mindfulness-based meditations, has shown promise in inducing the relaxation response and helping alleviate anxiety and improve well-being. The relaxation response is the body’s physiological response in relaxation, including lowered blood pressure to counter the fight-or-flight response and activation of the parasympathetic nervous system. As promising as mindfulness and other meditation systems may be, a common complaint is time, patience, and discipline required to learn meditation. Thus, a form of relaxation and stress relief that does not require a steep learning curve or a great deal of discipline to utilize could potentially be a huge benefit to human wellness and health.

The authors set out to examine the possibility that merely lying down and listening to the high-intensity, low-frequency combination of singing bowls, gongs, and bells in a sound meditation could induce a deep relaxation response and positively affect mood and sense of well-being. Sound healing has been used for centuries and been utilized in various forms by cultures the world over, including native peoples. Australian aboriginal tribes have used the didgeridoo as a sound healing instrument for over 40 000 years. Ancient instruments have also been used for religious and spiritual ceremonies such as Tibetan (also called “Himalayan”) singing bowls. Tibetan singing bowls are metal bowls usually consisting of a combination of metal alloys and originally used by Tibetan monks for spiritual ceremonies.

While sound healing is not a new concept, there is a paucity of research in areas such as Tibetan or quartz crystal singing bowls. The majority of singing bowl studies relate to the physics of these musical instruments, including the sonic and wave properties, as well as attempting to model the singing bowl’s acoustic characteristics. In one study, singing bowls were used for emotional healing with high-risk youth as part of what was termed the best self-visualization method. The bowls were used in a psychotherapy model in combination with deep breathing, visualization, and loving-kindness meditation. The authors reported that this combination of healing methods may be a catalyst for emotional and psychological healing in counseling sessions.

The purpose of the present study was to further advance research in this area by examining the possible effects of singing bowls and sound healing on mood, anxiety, physical pain, and spiritual well-being, and to lay the foundation for a future more formal randomized control trial.

Tibetan Singing Bowl Therapy Reduces Stress, Physical and Emotional Strain

With busy schedules and hectic lives, it’s easy to feel overcome with stress. When you’re stressed, your brain sounds the “fight or flight” alarms, triggering a surge of hormones, an increase in heart rate, blood pressure, and blood sugar. It alters the immune, digestive and reproductive system and according to the American Psychological Association, chronic stress can cause tension headaches, migraines, increase the risk for hypertension, heart attack, and stroke, lead to stomach ulcers and more. The Mayo Clinic says it can also lead to anxiety, depression, sleep problems, weight gain, and impair memory and concentration.

Many of us have go-to stress reducers like exercise, spending time outdoors, socializing, massage and maybe meditation. Another option, although not new, is the ancient practice of sound therapy.

For years, people have used soothing sounds to assist in meditation, relaxation, or even sleep. Sound therapy, a healing practice used in many ancient cultures, takes these healing sounds a step further, using vibrations to possibly heal physical aches and pains, reduce stress or other mental and emotional issues. It also is believed to relieve a blockage of the chakras or the energy points in the body.

“So many of us need to slow down and relax,” said Maria Dummermuth, a fitness instructor and certified Tibetan singing bowl healer who has been using singing bowls for healing for the past two years.

Dummermuth, 42, earned her certification in singing bowl therapy from the Atmabuti School of Vibrational Healing in Boulder, Colo., in April of 2016 after teaching fitness classes- from yoga to BodyPump and everywhere in between- for years.

When we are in pain or are ill, she said it may be because our cells have “vibrated out of balance.”

“Sound and vibration bring you into a more centered space,” she said, explaining that the therapy can release pain and tension by vibrating those cells “back into balance.”

Tibetan Singing Bowls In Meditation Or Yoga Practice

Explore the history of using Tibetan singing bowls in meditation as well as research results pointing to the benefits of sound baths. Discover how the sound of singing bowls can influence your body and mind and calm your mind with popular audio singing bowl pieces.

Tibetan singing bowls, or sound baths, in which one is immersed in the sound of bowls and gongs, provide relaxation and have been shown to reduce anxiety, stress, and depression. The sounds of a Tibetan singing bowl offer respite from the everyday churning of the mind, and so does meditation and yoga. Thus it’s not surprising that these practices are frequently co-mingled. Explore the benefits of using singing bowls in meditation practice.

The History Of Making The Bowl Sing

Despite marketing claims to the contrary, the use of bowls, or standing bells as “singing” instruments, by running a mallet around the bowl’s outer rim and edges, is a decidedly Western practice.

While the standing bell dates back thousands of years to the geographical regions of China and Mongolia, it was historically used as a gong, by striking the bowl with a wooden or felted mallet. Some Tibetan Buddhist monasteries used the bowls in this way to mark time or the end of a meditation.

The method of making the bowls “sing” by gliding a mallet around the bowl’s upper rim is relatively new. While musicians have been playing the rim of crystal glasses, or the glass harp, since the 14th century, historians point to New Age music recordings from the 1970s as the point in time when the popularity of singing bowls began to sharply rise.

Today, sound bowls come in all shapes, materials, and sizes to provide a range of tones and frequencies. There are crystal bowls and metal alloy bowls, the latter of which are often marketed as Himalayan bowls, or Tibetan singing bowls. While these metal alloy bowls are sold at souvenir shops in Nepal, India, and Tibet today, this phenomenon is more in response to Western demand, than out of historical context.

Ever Tried Sound Therapy with Tibetan Singing Bowls?

It’s a widely known fact that classic will always stay in fashion- and we’re not just talking about clothes. In the realm of health and wellness, traditional therapies have become increasingly popular. Recently, we’ve had the opportunity to try acupressure treatments- treatments that Tibetans have been using for hundreds of years.

According to many philosophies of Eastern Medicine, happiness is when the cells and the organs of the body work on the same rhythm. As such, diseases are often caused by the imbalance of ‘chakra’ energy in the body. That’s where Tibetan Singing Bowls come in. These bowls are used to help fine-tune the rhythm of the organs back to their original state.

How do Tibetan Singing Bowls work?

The sound waves that they produce will modify your brainwaves on a theta level- the wave that enhances instinctive awareness, and keeps your mind clear and focused. By restoring the waves’ normal rhythm, your body’s energy system will be reinvigorated too. Unsurprisingly, this method is used by Tibetan monks during meditation. Moreover, many therapists and clinicians also use Tibetan Singing Bowls because it helps control one’s heart rate, stimulate the immune system and relieve pain. Acting as a diagnostic tool of sorts, the bowls can detect if and when there is a problematic area in your body: the signal? A distorted sound. This is just one of many alternative therapies for cancer patients and patients dealing with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Of course, we are also aware that the term “alternative therapy” can and should be controversial. Those who are interested in such methods should depend on their own judgment and experiences. We at L’Officiel had the opportunity to try Tibetan Singing Bowls at the Asaya in Rosewood Phuket and we highly recommend it. As well as emerging energized and refreshed, it also proved an interesting experience. Here, you’ll have a choice of many alternative treatments addressing almost every component of holistic wellbeing. That being said, the key to achieving holistic wellbeing will always start with self-understanding: taking a good look at oneself and figuring out what the problem is that you’d like to resolve. Only then would we suggest choosing the appropriate treatment.

“We as a society are trained to get rid of symptoms without ever asking why they’re there in the first place. This isn’t the right approach,” Harvey explains. “We want guests to learn how to listen to themselves and to their bodies again, focus on understanding yourselves instead of relying on the judgment of other people. That is the key to healing and we, at Asaya, are but companions to help you on your way.”

This is the concept behind Asaya, the Sanskrit word for ‘understanding our past.’

Healing Effect of Tibetan Singing Bowls

Singing bowls are made either from bell metals or crystal and played with a mallet by gliding it around the bowl to produce sound. The bowls are often referred to as Tibetan Singing Bowls or Himalayan Singing Bowls by Westerners. However, the use of these bowls originates in China. Tibetan Singing Bowls have been used in both Buddhist and Taoist practices for meditation purposes.

What's in a singing bowl

At one time they may have also been used to place offerings at altars for worship. In the West, the use of Tibetan Singing Bowls is largely relegated to “new age” spiritual practices. Although they are most commonly associated with Eastern spiritual traditions, research indicates that Tibetan Singing Bowls have a positive impact on health, even to the extent of promoting healing from various illnesses.

Sound healing therapy

Tibetan Singing Bowls have been used in several studies to investigate their usefulness as tools in sound therapy. Sound therapy includes but is not limited to, music therapy, meditation, vibration work, and brainwave entrainment. Sound therapy is a popular method of alternative medicine that has evidence-based efficacy in treating a multitude of illnesses.
Sound therapy can be used to lower blood pressure, reduce pain, treat neurological disorders, and improve sleep. It is also an effective method of therapy for anxiety, stress, depression, mood disorders, and developmental disabilities. Sound therapy is often used in rehabilitation settings for catastrophic injuries and mental disorders.

While studies have focused on how patients with various health conditions respond to sound therapy, the widest body of evidence on sound therapy is based on its ability to lower stress, reduce tension, and improve mood. Since many illnesses arise or are worsened due to stress, this is a major implication in the justification of more widespread use of sound therapy.

In addition to treating ailments, sound therapy can also be used to promote general physical and mental wellness. Those wanting to reap the benefits of sound therapy can do so at home or under the guidance of a practitioner as part of regular meditation practice. Tibetan singing bowls are a particularly attractive form of sound therapy as patients can also learn to use the sound bowls themselves.

Sound bowl healing

Tibetan sound bowls are used by tapping the bowl gently with a mallet and then circling the bowl with different amounts of pressure and speed to vary the sounds. Sound bowl healing works when the bowls are played to elicit prolonged sounds that emit varying vibrational frequencies. Some sound bowls are made from metals similar to church bells, while others are made from crushed crystals.

Whether metal or crystal, the sound bowls may also be filled with water while they are played. The musicality of the singing bowl itself is relaxing and can induce a meditative state. Once in a meditative state, stress levels are reduced, which can improve hormone levels, blood pressure, and even blood sugar.

The symptoms of mood disorders may also be interrupted or reduced in this state. Increased mental awareness and deeper sleep are also effects of meditation. Additionally, the sounds emitted from Tibetan singing bowls allow the person listening to benefit from sound frequency healing. As described by experts in sound healing, each part of the body has its own frequency. Accordingly, sound frequency healing allows the body to harmonize any out-of-sync frequencies to a healthy state.