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All Of Your Questions About Singing Bowls, Answered By Sound Healing Experts

Author:

Sarah Regan

May 10, 2023

mbg Spirituality & Relationships Editor

By Sarah Regan

mbg Spirituality & Relationships Editor

Sarah Regan is a Spirituality & Relationships Editor, and a registered yoga instructor. She received her bachelor's in broadcasting and mass communication from SUNY Oswego, and lives in Buffalo, New York.

What is a singing bowl?

How they work

Benefits

Potential risks

Tips for getting started

May 10, 2023

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Singing bowls have been around for thousands of years, and they are a common fixture in sound healing practices. From Himalayan singing bowls to crystal singing bowls, these instruments create enchanting sounds that can accompany a variety of rituals and practices.

Here's everything to know about singing bowls, including the benefits and how to use them.

What is a singing bowl?

Singing bowls are instruments that produce different sounds and tones, depending on their size and material. You play them by striking them or swirling their perimeter using a wooden mallet.

As sound therapist and meditation teacher Sara Auster tells mbg, there are a number of kinds, namely Himalayan singing bowls (also called "Tibetan singing bowls" or "metal singing bowls"), made from metal, and crystal singing bowls, made from silica sand.

She notes that while the exact history of singing bowls is unclear, they have certainly been around for thousands of years. Today, you'll find them in spiritual centers, yoga studios, sound baths, and more.

How singing bowls work.

You can play a singing bowl in a group setting, such as a group sound bath, or on your own.

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According to reiki master and sound healer Susy Schieffelin, these bowls are popular in sound healing because their unique vibrations "have the capacity to shift energy, clear blockages, and restore the mind, body, and spirit to a balanced state," she explains, adding other instruments (and even singing and chanting) are also used in sound healing "to create healing frequencies that can have a relaxing and restorative effect."

As Auster adds, the beautiful sounds created by singing bowls are both meditative and relaxing and can elicit a parasympathetic response in the body. "Waves made by striking or singing the bowls produce harmonics that can move you into different brainwave states," she adds.

While research on singing bowls is limited, there is some scientific evidence that certain tones and frequencies have the ability to calm the body and mind.

5 benefits of using a singing bowl:

They are relaxing.

First and foremost, singing bowls (and sound baths more generally) are most often used to help guide the body and mind into a state of relaxation.

As Auster explains, sound baths can offer a "deeply immersive, full-body listening experience that can bring balance, relaxation, and a sense of calm to your whole being." And as Schieffelin adds, you can feel the relaxing effects even with a short sound bathing session featuring this special instrument.

They stimulate calm brain waves.

According to both Auster and Schieffelin, there is a theory that singing bowls stimulate alpha and theta brain waves 1. "These waves are associated with deep, meditative and peaceful states that are highly conducive to healing," Auster notes, adding their sounds can also slow the heart and respiratory rate, which creates a therapeutic and restorative effect.

They may help reduce pain.

Auster notes that in a small 2016 study by integrative health research psychologist Tamara Goldsby, Ph.D., participants who attended singing bowl meditations and sound baths reported a reduction in pain 1 following these ceremonies. However, more research is needed.

They may help improve mental health.

In that same 2016 research, Goldsby and her team also observed that singing bowls reduced feelings of tension and anxiousness in the 62 men and women who participated.

They can boost overall well-being.

Lastly, Schieffelin notes singing bowls can offer a renewed sense of well-being, happiness, and calm, and promote a sense of ease and inner peace.

If that seems too good to be true, Goldsby's research did indeed find that participants' feelings of spiritual well-being increased significantly following the study. The researchers write, "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."

How to use singing bowls safely.

Auster and Schieffelin both note that the use of singing bowls and sound bathing, in general, are gentle and generally safe for everyone. That said, here are some things to keep in mind:

Don't get too close to the instrument: Schieffelin says you should never put your head inside of a singing bowl or too close to a gong, as it can damage your hearing and shock your central nervous system. Additionally, if you're particularly sensitive, you may not want to lie too close to the bowls, as it can feel intense and overwhelming, she notes.
Listen to your body (and gut): Always listen to your body and your needs, and if something doesn't feel right, Schieffelin notes to "honor that and adjust your position, speak up, or leave if you need to."
Avoid if pregnant: Listening to singing bowls is generally safe for all points of pregnancy, but Schieffelin recommends avoiding sound baths that use gongs for the first 120 days of pregnancy. Pregnant people should also lie in a position that is safe for the baby (not lying down flat after the second trimester) during sound healing, she adds.
Use caution if you have a pacemaker: Those with pacemakers can attend sound baths with the permission of a licensed medical practitioner, but according to Schieffelin, should not lie within 20 feet of the bowls or gong while the instruments are being played.
Talk to your doctor if you're unsure about anything: As Auster notes, if you have any concerns about your physical and emotional safety, you'll want to consult your doctor. With that being said, she adds that singing bowls and sound healing "can be a beautiful and complementary practice alongside physical or psychological therapy."

Tips to get started & how to pick one.

Auster explains that working with singing bowls requires a degree of intentionality and mindfulness, as well as consistency, "to gain a better sense of the sounds you and your instrument are capable of producing together."

You can start your singing bowl journey by attending a sound bath guided by a sound healer. If you like what you hear, both Auster and Schieffelin offer online trainings to help get you started facilitating your own sound bathing journey.

"If you feel called to work with crystal bowls," Schieffelin notes, "studying with a qualified teacher and becoming part of a supportive community of sound healers can have a profound impact on helping you feel empowered, confident, supported, and successful on your path."

One of the first questions you might ask when looking to start playing your own singing bowl is how to pick one. According to Schieffelin, you want to find a bowl that's ethically sourced and made. Your best bet is to work with an experienced sound healer who can help educate and guide you to the bowl(s) that will best support your personal practice, she adds. She personally recommends Crystal Tones singing bowls.

The bottom line.

Sound is one of the many powerful tools available today to help us relax, release tension, and raise our vibration. Whether you opt for a group sound bath or work with a singing bowl on your own, the benefits of sound healing are both potent and accessible, wherever you are in your own spiritual practice.