The journey to better physical, mental, and spiritual health can be an interesting one. Those of us who have been on the journey for a while have gotten used to a certain language and terminology. But if you are new to the whole wellness thing, you might be confused by terms like ‘mental healing retreats’ and ‘sound healing retreats’.
People use the terms interchangeably. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Still, ‘mental healing’ is a broader term than ‘sound healing’. Think of it this way: all sound healing retreats are also mental healing retreats. But not all mental healing retreats use sound healing therapies.
In a sense, a sound healing retreat is a specialized form of the mental healing retreat in which sound therapy is the primary focus. A more general mental healing retreat could use sound therapy along with meditation, yoga, mindfulness, and other therapies.
Sound Therapy: What It’s About
Sound therapy is one of the most popular mental and spiritual wellness trends right now. However, it is not new. Sound therapy has been a staple of natural wellness for thousands of years. Its primary goal is to help realign the body’s natural vibrations to restore spiritual and mental balance. Balancing the mind and spirit can sometimes lead to improved physical health.
The universe is alive with energy. All living creatures produce and consume energy. Some of that energy is manifested in vibrations. Believe it or not, the cells in your body vibrate. Various organs can generate vibrations as well. These are known as infrasonic waves. Physiological processes, including a beating heart and breathing lungs, generate the vibrations.
Sound therapy practitioners recognize that maximizing well-being relies on maintaining optimal body vibrations. Unfortunately, a tremendous number of external influences can throw off those vibrations. Sound healing is all about restoring them.
How Sound Therapy Works
A trained practitioner who uses a variety of instruments and other devices to generate particular sounds leads a typical sound healing session. The sounds are generally meant to be soothing and relaxing. They are designed to help participants achieve a calm and relaxed state. In that state, the vibrations from the sounds can begin to interact with the body.
If you are not sure sound therapy really works, consider how you respond to music. Don’t certain types of music put you in a better mood? Don’t you find certain songs or artists more relaxing while others get you excited? The different emotions and responses you experience with music are partially the result of how the vibrations interact with your body.
Sound therapy practitioners simply tap into how the body normally responds to vibration. They are trained to know how certain sounds affect people in a given environment. They are also trained to adapt sounds and vibrations to meet particular needs.
How It Can Help
Getting back to what we discussed at the beginning of this post, sound healing therapy is a particular type of mental healing therapy that uses sound to help participants feel better. Sound therapy is believed to help with:
- Depression and anxiety disorders
- PTSD and its associated symptoms
- Autism spectrum disorders
- Common sleep disorders
- Common aches and pains
Like any other type of therapy, there is never a guarantee that sound healing will work. Some people respond very well to it, while others do not. If you think it might benefit you, at least give it a try. As a form of mental healing therapy, sound healing therapy might be exactly what your body, mind, and spirit needs.
