Singing bowls are intimately linked to meditation, for the sounds produced by the bowls are “linear”. They facilitate the brain’s transition from beta waves, the cerebral state when one is awake and active or asleep, to alpha and theta waves.
The alpha rhythm corresponds to brain activity characterized by a transition to a modied state of consciousness, to the total relaxation that precedes sleep.
The theta rhythm, on the other hand, corresponds to brain activity characterized by a transition to deep relaxation while remaining awake.
The use of Tibetan bowls facilitates the transition into a state of deep meditation, owing in particular to the harmonic resonances they produce. It is a powerful tool to relax and let go. Shamans use the sounds produced by the bowls to enter a state of trance and have visions. By virtue of the combination of certain key frequencies, these sounds help enter a modied state of consciousness.
How to meditate with a singing bowl
Open the meditation space with the bowl
Once you have found your position, it is good to mark the opening of the meditation space with a sound. You can do so by striking the Tibetan bowl. Let it sing and resonate to open the space.
Once this space is open, stay still and breathe calmly to start your session.
Focus your attention on a single point with the singing bowl
Meditation is a quest for emptiness, nothingness. Yet thoughts, images and sensations may appear while one is meditating. Let them come and go, in a state of equanimity. You may choose to use the bowls when you feel that your focus is low.
The sound brings us back to the present moment; it helps us re-centre. Our attention focuses on a single or xed point, one of the oldest and most fundamental meditation techniques. Traditionally, monks practiced “single-point concentration” by staring continuously at the
ame of a candle.
You can focus your attention on the sound of the Tibetan bowl, and develop your listening skills. Pay attention to what is happening within you, physically, emotionally and mentally, without letting these feelings take over. Observe them and let them move along, like the sound of the Tibetan bowl.
You can also focus by rotating the stick around the singing bowl, maintaining an even sound and contact for as long as possible. This exercise makes it easier to focus without being distracted by external stimuli. Sound helps our concentration. It also allows us to appreciate the contrasting silence.
The rst note emitted by a Tibetan bowl is an anchor note, and the harmonic that follows is conducive to elevation.
If you wish to work on something painful or dicult with the bowls, you can bring the bowl closer to the area of the body concerned and make a circular movement, clockwise to provide energy or anti-clockwise to release pent-up energy. The sound emitted by the bowls helps to rebalance the energy body, restores a uid energy ow and allows one to re-centre. A subtle rebalancing process is at play
The therapeutic use of singing bowls
The use of Tibetan bowls can support a number of therapeutic approaches to help overcome addictions, sleep disorders, or a lack of drive and motivation. Practising listening to these frequencies can boost concentration, creativity and productivity.
In alternative therapies, Tibetan bowls are incorporated into various treatments to meet patients’ needs, for instance:
• to recover from trauma
• to recover from illness or surgical treatment
• to combat the eects of oxidative stress
• to help wounds to heal
• to prevent and alleviate diabetes and other endocrine diseases • to prevent and treat
hormonal disorders
• to develop greater resistance to disease, etc.
In order to maximize the vibrations’ impact, the singing bowls must be placed as close as possible to the part of the body to treat. With the patient lying down, the therapist places the bowls on the patient’s body, near or above the area to treat. They then make the bowls sing in order to emit the sound vibrations that will restore the body’s balance and energy, required for healing to take place.
When the bowls are too heavy, practitioners do not put them on the patient’s body; they place them on the table or on the oor. For the vibrations to have an eect, one must not only listen to them, but also try to feel them within oneself. Some therapists also suggest that the patient hold the bowls in their hand and bring them closer to the area to be treated. However, this is possible only with small bowls