A sound-healing massage finally stopped the chatter in my brain - Sydney Morning Herald

[massage]

From the beginning of time, people have relaxed and meditated to calming sounds – think of waves lapping the shore or tinkling wind chimes. Sound-healing therapy, also known as vibrational medicine, uses chants and objects that vibrate, such as Tibetan singing bowls, tuning forks and gongs to encourage relaxation and healing.

Now, imagine sound-healing therapy combined with massage and, in theory, you get a double dose of wellbeing. It’s a theory I am about to put to the test. Tomoko Yano of Rakusha Healing is a therapist who focuses on sound-healing massage using special bowls called Singing Ring. These particular bowls are created in Japan and contain a vast range of frequencies, with beautiful harmonic overtones.

Singing Ring bowls are created in Japan and contain a vast range of frequencies, with beautiful harmonic overtones.Credit:Stocksy


Massage is important, Yano tells me, but sound goes in at a deeper physical and energetic level. Combine the two and you get a double dose of bliss.

I lie on the table and as she begins to massage it all seems straightforward. But at the first ring of the large bowl she has placed on my lower back, something astonishing happens. Immersed in a mix of soothing sound, gentle vibration and touch, I immediately fall into a deep meditative state.


As someone who struggles with meditation and has trouble stopping the chatter in my brain, this is impressive. With each strike of the bowl, I fall deeper; for the remainder of the massage, I’m in a dream state.

Yano glides the bowls over my body and listens to their sound. She explains that if your body is supple and flexible, she hears the purest sound, but if your body has inflammation or tight muscles, the sound is duller.

She uses only two bowls, one large and one small, that are tuned equally; they produce sound across a range of frequencies and are used to target different parts of the body.

“The bowls talk to me and I will use either the large one, so it can easily glide over your body, or the smaller one for a specific problem area where there might be congestion,” she says.

“I massage to dissipate the blockages and when the sound is clearer, I know the problem is gone. The bowls tell me where to work on the body.”