Sound is energy that we can hear. This energy takes the form of pressure wave, or vibrations. When these vibrations hit your body they can create sympathetic resonance. If you have ever stood in front of a speaker at a concert and felt the bass in your chest you will have experienced sympathetic resonance on a physical level (deeper sounds resonate more closely with the physical body). If you have ever been moved to tears by sound or music, such as birdsong or sacred chant, or perhaps a piece of Mozart then this is sympathetic resonance on an emotional level, and if music or sound has triggered mental imagery such as memories or colours this is mental level sympathetic resonance.
Once sympathetic resonance is present there is a possibility for a process called 'entrainment', when two objects or rhythmic bodies lock into phase and there is an 'agreement' between them. Sound therapists use entrainment to create a relationship between the sound and a client's brainwave state. By playing sounds in such a way, over a prolonged period of time, a person's brainwave can be altered and different states of consciousness reached.
There are 5 main brainwave states and we need all of them in varying amounts during the day. Promoting a certain brainwave state ahead of another can affect how relaxed or stimulated a person is and that will affect how their mind and / or body heals, their sense of awareness or self-introspection. And that is when healing or the road to healing begins.
It has been scientifically proven that there is a strong connection between the mind and physical illness. If you have an ache or a pain, it often eases if you are distracted, especially by something that makes you laugh. If you are at ease, then you are not DIS-eased. Therefore, if brainwaves can be manipulated in certain ways, almost anything can be healed. Which may be why sound has been used as a therapy in nearly every culture for over 40,000 years.
