Crystal bowl meditation is a form of sound healing used for relaxation, stress relief, and pain reduction. The use of crystal tones from these singing bowls is an ancient practice that dates back to Buddhist meditation practices.
Everyone, regardless of age or fitness level, can enjoy the beneficial sounds of these healing tones. However, pregnant women and those suffering from seizures are discouraged from crystal sound therapy.
These alchemy bowls are manufactured with pure quartz heated with sand to about 4,000 degrees. This technique removes impurities. Striking this fragile equipment produces a beautiful sound with lasting vibrations.
You can enjoy this meditation session at home or in a yoga center. Use positive mantras if you like. This therapy can be live sessions or enjoyed through a recording; however, the former format is widely used.
A frosted bowl is one of the different types of instruments used for sound healing therapy. There are other types of equipment like the tuning fork, gongs, and other Tibetan bowls made of metal alloys.
The metal ones are known as Tibetan singing bowls. In this article, you will learn the similarities and differences between quartz crystal bowls and other types of bowls.
Ana Jones, a certified alternative health coach, prefers the crystal quartz bowl to other singing bowls because she believes that the sound is much more profound and easy to capture by the human ear.
How to use this device for meditation
To properly enjoy the benefits of this meditation, understand that healing starts with you. Prepare your mind. Be calm.
Lie down on a yoga mat or any comfortable platform. Use a pillow to ensure your comfort. Make sure you are relaxed.
Apply simple breathing techniques to quieten your thoughts if necessary. If this meditation takes place at your home, choose a quiet room with closed windows. Avoid all disturbances.
You can enjoy group meditation led by a facilitator in many meditation centers around you. Many prefer private sessions. Indeed today, this practice spreads across different cultures and religions.
The bowl practitioner strikes the crystal basin with a mallet. He or she can also manipulate the vibrations by whirling the mallet over the rim. This creates different sound effects.
The crystal singing bowl is unique in that each one usually produces a single note. Therefore, some trained alternative health practitioners assemble a number of them to produce different harmonies for their clients.
In this YouTube Video, you can learn how to play this instrument. What I like about this video is that the facilitator took her time to explain musical scales. She also labeled her gadgets with different musical notes.
According to Amy Hausman, a licensed acupuncturist and certified practitioner of integrative energy medicine and Sufi healing, “Crystal singing bowls can be purchased with specific musical notes, including sharp and flat half-notes, as well as different Hertz frequencies that are specific to different brain waves and other parts of the body.”
As evidenced in the YouTube video, I linked above, purchasing several types may serve a professional better. Different clients have different tonal needs. A beginner interested in simple meditation can simply test out different bowls and pick one with the sound that fits his or her needs.
How does crystal bowl meditation work
This therapy works with vibrations. Since ancient times, people have used sound vibrations for spiritual and physical healing. Moreover, our bodies are always in a state of vibration.
Scientifically, it is believed that the universe is in a constant state of vibration. The human body composes of about 65-70% water. This aids the vibration.
The cells in our bodies engage in this phenomenon. Diseases occur when this process malfunctions in any part of our body. The sound from this healing tool resonates with the natural body frequency.
Two ways crystal bowl meditation effect positive changes
By altering your brain waves
Humans make use of four brain waves. Beta waves are responsible for your waking consciousness. Reading this article right now, your brain waves are in beta.
Alpha waves kick in when you relax or meditate. Crystal quartz bowl vibrations help alter your brain waves from beta to alpha. In this mode, healing can occur.
Theta waves are responsible for slumber, while Delta waves are accessed when you slide into a deep sleep.
Distinctive sound waves induced by quartz crystal singing bowls directly relax your body by working on these brain waves. Each strike produces a beautiful, long-lasting sound.
Focus your thoughts. Feel the sound frequency relieve you from stress.
By unlocking your chakras
The chakras are the energy centers of your body. The word itself is the Sanskrit for “Wheels.” Many discomforts you suffer physically, mentally, and emotionally are due to the blockage of your chakras.
There are seven recognized chakras in yoga practice. Each chakra represents an energy center.
The vibrational sound from a crystal bowl therapy can unblock the chakra concentrations in your body. When this happens, healthy energy flows freely. Your physical, mental, and spiritual selves become more coordinated.
Health benefits of singing bowl meditation
Clients of Kayce Laine, a certified sound healer and crystal quartz bowl retailer, reported relief from many chronic ailments. She agrees that stress and anxiety relief is top of the list for the most effective healing benefits.
Although not much empirical research back up these claims, I will list a few that exist. Day by day, many practitioners report the healing quality of alchemy crystal bowls.
Psychologist Heidi Dalzell noted that natural elements like pure crystals, including quartz, work on the body’s bioenergetics, enhancing growth on a personal and spiritual level.
Improves your general well-being
A 2017 study about the effects on mood, tension, and well-being showed a significant improvement among participants.
There was also a significant difference between those who have prior experience “Bowl Experienced” and “Bowl Naive.” So the more you practice this relaxation therapy, the more healing benefits you get.
Reduces preoperative anxiety
Patients waiting for surgical operations experience heightened feelings of fear, tension, and nervousness. According to this 2018 study, listening to Tibetan music played with singing bowls helped patients relax.
Improves Sleep
Just like a professional massage puts you in deep relaxation for needed sleep, this instrument can also help you doze off immediately. However, acceptance plays a big role here. You have to relax your mind.
If you are agitated, incorporate a slow breathing technique, then gradually ease in. The unique tone of this specially crafted gadget does the rest.
Healthy Respiratory Rate
Aerobic exercise increases your respiratory rate and makes your heart stronger.
General well-being entails both the physiological and the psychological. This sound healing meditation can normalize your breathing rate.
This helps blood flow efficiently to your whole body, increasing your life span.
- Heals Depression
Some of the causes of depression are rooted in an individual’s psyche. It could be due to trauma or other unpleasant circumstances. Striking the equipment with a mallet produces vibrations that seep deep into the person’s mind.
The individual can then easily process these layers of mental gridlocks.
This does not replace medical advice. Always contact a doctor. However, a stimulated mind in a relaxed state can activate positive feelings of energy and excitement.
Many depressed victims, after this therapy, approached life with a healthier mindset.
- Reduces Pain
This form of meditation alleviates physical pain. Patients seek this therapy to complement treatments from their doctors. Smaller bowls placed on the body emit vibrations that dull the distress in that area.
Eliminates Stress
Most of these benefits have a placebo effect. If you believe this meditation can help you relieve stress, instantly it happens. Doubt might delay the rewards of this therapy.
Healing starts from the mind. This meditation can be accompanied by a massage. The sound healing sessions last from 5 minutes to an hour, depending on your choice.
Lots of people confess the beneficial effects of a few minutes of daily practice.
Differences between crystal singing bowls and Tibetan singing bowls
The major difference between the crystal bowl and the Tibetan bowl is the raw materials used in manufacturing each one. The former is produced with pure quartz heated with sand to about 4,000 degrees. Tibetan ones are usually manufactured with alloys of Mercury, Iron, Gold, Silver, Copper, etc.
A major advantage crystal quartz bowls have over their metal counterparts is that our body vibrations react more naturally to their tones. Metals are foreign to our body systems. Human cells contain silica which reacts to quartz.
The geometric crystalline structure of the body cells easily matches the frequency of the instrument’s vibrations.
The disadvantage compared to the Tibetan style is its fragile nature.
Metallic products are more durable and can survive more handling over a long period.
Also, crystal bowls produce only a single tone while the different alloys of the Tibetan basins give off harmonic notes. To counter this, different designs can be used to produce different sounds.
What to consider when buying your crystal quartz bowl
The “voice”, that is, the unique tone of the instrument, matters. Different notes match different chakras.
Consider the size and weight also. Larger ones produce deeper sounds and resonate more strongly. Thinner bowls can easily be transported. The purpose determines what you purchase.
When possible, choose hand-hammered gadgets over mass-produced ones. The former has better vibrations.
These instruments come in different colors. Blue has the most calming effect for most people. The choice is yours.
Conclusion
The positive results from this form of meditation encourage people to try it out. Here are some quick points to note.
- Many people seek this alternative health therapy to reduce stress, connect with their spiritual selves, and relax.
- The vibrations from this particular style are more natural to our body systems than Tibetan metal basins.
- The average price for an affordable singing bowl set goes for $100, depending on the size, color, and programmed tone.
- Although this tradition started with Buddhist monks, it has spread to every culture and religion.
Share your stories about this marvelous healing experience. We would like to hear about your experiences.
