The Healing Power of Sound

These days, we travel inward – here, we dive deep into the world of sound meditation to discover powerful healing elements

- Kimberly Ong

My first sound bath experience went like this: I lay flat on my back for an hour, as I let the resonant sounds of gongs wash over me. To my surprise, I shed a tear that night, heavy with emotion. But in the ensuing days, this weight was lifted – I felt lighter, as if a live serenade had lifted the tension straight out of my body.

As the years went on, each session was a completely different experience. Once, I felt anxiety build up over me, and another time, an immediate, quiet sense of calm. Whichever the case, the result was the same: I felt unblocked from whatever was bothering me at the time, like I was better able to handle every task or worry that was thrown my way. Was this some kind of cosmic transmission?

A popular form of sound meditation, a “sound bath” uses Tibetan singing bowls, crystal singing bowls, gongs, chimes and bells to guide you through a meditative state. It has witnessed a rise in interest in Singapore today, thanks to its purported benefits in soothing stress and tension – common ailments of modern living, only exacerbated by the events of 2020.

As it turns out, turning to sound for healing is nothing new. Sound is a universal language, it transcends culture, time, space and language. “Since ancient times, sound was used as a tool to bring us from a place of imbalance to balance, internally. Physically and emotionally.