CRYSTAL
BOWLS
Extraordinary Bowls Produce
Powerful Healing Vibrations
Crystal Singing Bowls, once used solely for manufacturing computer chips, are now a very powerful healing tool which can transport you to a magical inner world.
These bowls, which are manufactured by a high-temperature fusion process that
forms solid bowls from powdered silica sand, are one of the most exciting
products of the relatively new field of vibrational healing. Essentially,
vibrational healing is the focused application of various forms of universal
energy to expand and activate one's energy centers. The vibrational healing
process helps us release places in the body where we're blocking the flow of
chi, the vital energy which flows through and around all of us. Blocked energy
keeps us from being our real and vital selves, and usually contributes to ill
health or even injuries. Part of the intent of ancient practices such as tai
chi, yoga and the martial arts, and virtually all modern exercise programs, is
to get the chi flowing in the body. When your chi is increased and activated,
old stagnant energy is freed up and released, making room for new chi to flow
into your body and energy field.
A Rapidly Growing
Field
Sound and energy practitioners and researchers are really just getting started
exploring the powerful effects healthy vibrations and tones can have on the
human physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual bodies. It's well-documented
today how loud and harmful sounds can negatively affect our bodies and our
emotional states. The vibrational healing field seeks to find ways to correct
these environmental imbalances with the beauty and power of healing sounds.
Among the primary tools of the vibrational healer are specially produced music,
vocal toning, nature sounds, and tones produced by new technology, whether these
products were intended to be musical or not. Perhaps, crystal bowls (also called
quartz bowls) fit best in this latter category. The sounds they produce are so
beautiful they must be considered music, yet they're certainly a technological
advancement.
Interestingly, these bowls are a by-product of the computer industry. It seems
that perfect quartz bowls are the prime growing environment for computer
microchips. If you're not in the computer chip business, you're probably
wondering how this growing process occurs. I know I was curious when I heard
about it. And I still am. But that's a subject for another article, by someone
who wants to research it. My interest is in the bowls as healing sound tools.
The Bowls are
'Discovered'
How did the bowls get from microchips to meditation circles? Well, if they
aren't perfect in size and thickness, they're not acceptable for growing chips.
Before the beginning of the vibrational healing movement, rejected bowls were
broken and ground back into quartz powder, which was used for new bowls.
However, as metaphysical healers became aware of the vibrational qualities of
these bowls, they began buying the "seconds" to use in their healing
practices. A reject bowl to the computer chip industry is, well, it's absolute
music to the ears and bodies of healers and their clients.
How do they work? Crystal bowls are, through size and thickness, naturally tuned
to the individual notes of the musical scale. These notes correspondingly are
said to resonate with the individual chakras, or energy centers, of the body.
For instance, the note of C is said to resonate with the first chakra, located
at the base of the spine; D with the navel chakra; E with the solar plexus; F
with the heart; G with the throat; A with the brow, or third eye; and B with the
crown chakra, at the top of the head. Each chakra is, in turn, said to resonate
with one of the body's major endocrine glands, so you can begin to see how
stimulating the vibration of the chakras can help the body heal and stay in
balance. Balancing and activating the chakras is a major focus of many ancient
health practices, including qi gong, reiki, tai chi, yoga, acupuncture, many
forms of massage, and others.
Tuning the Body
I'm not sure who decided which musical notes went with which chakras. But I know
the theory extends beyond crystal bowls to include all aspects of sound healing,
from tuning forks to human voice to synthesizers, so I'll readily accept it.
Besides being different notes, the bowls also vary in diameter, most commonly
from 10 inches to 24 inches, which varies the pitch of the note. My largest bowl
is 20 inches, and it has a wonderful deep tone that really resonates within the
listener. Bowls of this size actually need to be played in a large room for
maximum effect. Like, say, a cathedral, for instance. I haven't tried this yet,
but I hope to soon. For now, I play this bowl fairly quietly in my
less-than-cathedral-sized treatment space.
The most important thing about using these bowls for healing is that whatever
the size or pitch of the bowl, each one seems to open, balance, and tone all the
chakras. One bowl can be very powerful. When I play them all together, the
effect is magnified exponentially, the combined sounds providing a full range of
sounds that transport people on what I call a "Crystal Journey". My
clients report that they can feel the vibrations in different places in their
bodies, and that they're aware of new energy flowing into them. They usually
come back after a session feeling much more relaxed and recharged. It's not
unusual to hear them say something like, "Wow, this is the most amazing
thing I've ever experienced. I feel so balanced and relaxed!"
Deep Relaxation
Effect
I've found the bowl listening process is actually more direct experiencing than
it is listening. Most of my clients want to immediately lie down, either on one
of my bodywork tables or with a blanket on the floor. I call it a "lie-down
concert". As soon as I begin playing, everybody gets very quiet and begins
to access what's called a theta wave state, a place where genuine healing can
occur. Many tools used by sound therapists, including my sound vibration table
with its specially designed built-in speakers, elicit this strong theta healing
state. The bowls work as well as anything I've ever experienced, and the effect
is quite rapid.
When I play, I allow my movements to come through spontaneously. You might call
it an intuitive knowing process, very similar to the knowing process used for
channeling and for doing intuitive bodywork. Because of this intuitive process,
each bowl-playing session is very original. I never know which bowls or in what
way I'm going to play. I say that "the bowls are really playing
themselves". I'm just blessed to be the person holding the wands.
Allowing Tension to
Release
It's most common to play the bowls by rubbing the outside rim with the wand.
This action produces a whirring sound which can vary from fairly quiet to
downright loud, depending on how fast and with how much pressure one moves the
wand. Some of my clients enjoy this sound immensely, while others have had a
difficult time with the sensations it brings. And it can bring sensation,
sometimes in the form of pain or discomfort in a certain place in the body. This
pain will usually subside quickly if dealt with gently. I use both sound and
touch to release tension or emotion present wherever discomfort occurs.
For those who prefer it, I often play the bowls another way, rather than rubbing
the rims and producing the whirring sound. Instinctively, I've begun playing
them more like church bells, using a gentle striking motion on the side of each
bowl. Sometimes I play slowly, moving almost meditatively from bowl to bowl, and
sometimes I play quite rapidly, actually producing a melody of sorts. I'm
certain that the energetic clearing process is working for each client,
whichever way I'm playing.
Going
Beyond the Body for Healing
The important thing is the vibrational quality put
out by the bowls, and the sounds don't have to be loud to produce these
vibrations. Whether one is aware of the sounds or not, the body is still
receiving the positive effects. Much of the time, my clients aren't even aware
they're in the room after just a few minutes of an hour-long session. But I keep
playing instinctively, and they come back much later looking and feeling quite
refreshed, and usually thinking only a few minutes have passed. In fact, I often
have some difficulty getting them to come back at all; they're so comfortable.
Played with either method, or in combination of the two, crystal bowl healing is
a very real thing. Great for healing concerts and wonderful for all kinds of
bodywork. I've yet to find anyone who
isn't moved by them, emotionally and usually deeply spiritually as well. But
moving to them physically has been another story! I've tried it a few times;
encouraging folks to let their bodies move to the sounds, a process I lead a lot
with recorded music. But so far all they want to do is go into the deep
relaxation space. Difficult to move when one is flat on one's back in reverie,
covered with their favorite blanket. Oh well, I guess even crystal bowls have
their limitations.
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