RESTORING HORMONAL BALANCE WITH SOUND HEALING
Three years ago, I participated in yet another a Sound Healing training in Goa but unlike most, this one lasted 12 days, which was... long. We played the Tibetan bowls from 8:30 am to 7Pm, relentlessly exposed to sound frequencies. Ensued a roller coster of emotions within the group: laughters, dramas, hyper-sensibility, tears and breakthroughs.
After the 3rd or 4th day, I almost had enough: I became so sensitive to dissonant sounds I could have hurt my fellow students for hitting the bowls wrongly or dropping a mallet on the floor. But I refrained from expressing my own anger (!!) and by day 7, I felt I was gliding on a cloud, I was kinder, lighter, I spoke softly, laughed loud and forgive my ex-boyfriend I thought I would resent the rest of my life. People seemed to be keen on interacting with me. I felt amazingly at peace, my libido increased, doubts and insecurities subsided. By day 11, I could not get enough of this peaceful feeling of “just being”. The transformation was even apparent to my peers: “Your chakras are soooo alined!”. If my alined chakras were responsible for this true wellbeing, well, I had never been more grateful to my chakras. These 11 days got me thinking about what was truly happening within me, what were the chakras really and how sound was affecting them?
I have already discussed how Sound frequencies have the power to eliminate bad cells, restore others and promote healthy ones (see the related posts in this blog) in our bodies. This is the science of cymatics. Through the phenomena of entrainment and resonance our body cells can be harmonised to the frequencies played. The same principle is to be applied to balancing our hormones and therefore our entire lives through sound healing.
Most of us have heard about the elusive and invisible chakras but less have realised that the ancient medical system from India refers to energetic centres, but truly, to our hormones. And so, balancing your chakras is actually balances your hormonal system.
Physical ailments can develop by chronical repeated blockages of pranic energy or life force. Ayurveda considers alimentary habits and lifestyle as well as Chakra massages to open and clean these energy pathways. But modern sound healing research starts to understand how frequencies through music and sound has a direct and effective impact on balancing the endocrine system. Not that this is real news too: the songs and rattles of the shamans, the new discovery suspecting that pyramid are actually frequencies factories or Nada Yoga which encompasses the practices of chanting, humming and voicing ( see related post) have already discovered the benefits of using sound and voice to heal, thousands of years ago. The very Sanskrit alphabet itself categorises letters according the area of the mouth that produces the sound (palatal sound, lingual sound, dental and so forth).and use this with healing in mind.
But for our modern science to start proving these facts is new and far-reaching.
So how does it work? and why should you trust sound healing to help you treat an immense array of issues?
Hormones and neurotransmitters
Hormones are crucial to our entire life, they organise EVERYTHING, from managing our breathing, to our heartbeat, our learning and concentration levels, happiness, calm, fear, joy, moods, pleasure. In essence, hormones are messengers controlling and coordinating activities throughout the body. They use neurotransmitters to convey the message. A neurotransmitter is a chemical signal that’s triggered by an electric impulse, and this impulse is nothing else but yet another frequency. Neurotransmitters are the body’s language and communication system: billions of them work constantly to send chemical messages from your organs to the brain and vice versa.
Chakras & Hormones
We are all familiar with the Chakras or Wheels of Energy, and we’ve heard how their alignment is responsible for our total health: be it a sense of mental, physical or emotional wellbeing. Each chakra relates to a particular organ and controls a certain psycho- physiological pathway. These invisible energetic centres are the Junctions between consciousness (mind) and the physical body. They transport neuro-electrical and spiritual energies and convey stimuli from the higher centres (e.g., brain, pituitary gland) to the lower organs in both directions – They correlates to the endocrine system, so when your chakras are not aligned, you can say that your hormonal system isn’t in balanced and vice versa. Eg., thyroid, ovaries…
The Endocrine System
Many parts of the body create hormones but the major glands of the endocrine system are the hypothalamus, the pituitary, thyroid, parathyroids, adrenals, pineal, ovaries and testes glands. These are affected by deep buried memories within the subconscious mind from childhood trauma or tension built at the chakras centres which can affect posture, metabolism, breathing, and emotional state.
Chakras correspondence to Organs and Hormones
Muladhara: coccygeal plexus, testes
• The root centre is at the base of the spinal column correlates to the network of nerves supplying electrical impulse/energy to the region of the external genitals. Its primordial element is earth. It concerns the testes and is linked to the Hypothalamus, the pituitary gland, the thyroid & parathyroid in the brain. This is the chakra for our basic needs such as food, water, air. This the centre where we ground ourselves and is responsible for our sexual energy. When imbalanced, Ayurveda sees problems in the legs, feet, rectum, tailbone, immune system, male reproductive issues, prostate gland, degenerative arthritis, knee pain, sciatica, eating disorders, constipation and emotions which relates to our survival (financial concerns, shelter and food) – When Balanced, we feel supported, connected, grounded and safe in the physical world. We have a clear awareness of having a healthy body.
Svadhishthana: lumbar plexus, ovaries and adrenals
· This the Chakra of procreation, its primordial element is water. It is related to the ovaries and the adrenals which produce hormones such as cortisol and aldosterone, regulating your metabolism, immune system, balance between salt and water (blood pressure), response to stress (fight or flight mode), glucose production, fat and muscle. When imbalanced, one suffers from sexual or reproductive issues, urinary problems, kidney dysfunctions, hip / pelvic and lower back pains. It prevents one from expressing one’s emotions, creates fears of impotence, betrayal and addictions. When balanced, we feel like taking risks, creative, passionate, outgoing and sexually confident.
Manipura: Solar, coeliac plexus, pancreas
· The pancreas has two main functions: it helps in digestion and has an endocrine function that regulates blood sugar. Situated at the navel centre or the umbilicus, it is situated at the solar plexus. Its primordial element is fire which is also our energy and ability to transform. When imbalanced, we experience digestive problems, liver dysfunction, chronic fatigue, high blood pressure, diabetes, pancreas and gallbladder issues, colon diseases as well as self-esteem issues, fear of rejection and criticism, and we are anxious about our physical appearance. When in balance, we feel strong self-respect and self-compassion, we feel in control, assertive and confident.
Anahata: Cardiac plexus. Thymus
The thymus gland is located between the lungs. It’s responsible for creating lymphocytes which are part of our immune system – it’s position between the 3 lower chakras and the 3 higher chakras makes it gateway between the gross and the subtle, between matter and mental. – its primordial element is air. It’s the chakra of devotion, love and trust.
When imbalanced, one might experience asthma, lung or heart disease, breast cyst and cancer, lymphatic system issues, upper back and shoulder problems, arms and wrist pains. Emotionally, it affects the heart, loving to the point of suffocating, jealousy, abandonment, anger, bitterness and fear of loneliness. When balanced, we experience gratitude, love and compassion, forgiveness and trust.
Vishuddha: Pulmonary plexus, Thyroid, parathyroid
Right at the throat, its primordial element is Space or Ether. It’s the chakra of communication where the inner meet with the outer. The thyroid gland produces hormones which regulates Agni, or our metabolism (the process of turning food into energy). The parathyroid releases calcium from the bones into the bloodstream, absorbs calcium from food and conserves it through the kidneys.
This is our aptitude to communicate who we truly are what we truly feel. Poor expression can block the chakra. When opened we feel love and connection to others which also helps creativity and make us thrive. When imbalanced, one experiences thyroid issues, sore throat, laryngitis, jaw and mastication issues, chin/cheek/lips/tongue problems, neck and shoulder pains. The imbalance manifests as well as poor written and oral self-expression, lack of choice, fear of powerlessness and a lack of willpower. When balanced, we enjoy a free flow of words, honesty, the ability of listening and being attentive, the acceptance of our true nature.
Ajna: Cavernous plexus, Pituitary gland, hypothalamus & the limbic system
This is what is called Trikuta, where Ida, Pingala and Sushumna meet. This where the individual soul meets with the higher self. It’s the centre of imagination and intuition.
It relates to the hypothalamus (body temperature, appetite, sexual behaviour) and the limbic system (memory, emotions). Based “a grain of rice above where the eyebrows meet”, when imbalanced one might experience headaches, sinus issues, blurred vision, eyestrain, seizures, hearing loss, mood swings, day dreaming, inability to face our fears and an exaggerated imagination. When balanced, our intuition is strong, we feel clear and focused, mentally fit, connected to our own self and able to distinguish between truth and illusion and are capable of receiving wisdom and insight.
Sahasrara: Brain, Pineal Gland
Rene Descartes described the pineal gland as the “seat of the Soul” and the Yogic texts as having 1000 petals. It secretes an essence called Tarpaka kapha in Ayurveda which is also called Soma. In western science it secretes Melatonin which conveys information about the dark-light cycles from our environment and regulates our sleep.
When imbalanced we experience depression, migraines, inability to learn, sensitivity to light sound and the environment and extreme fatigue. Emotional imbalances include rigids thoughts on religion and spirituality, constant confusion, we carry prejudices, insomnia and issues between self-knowledge and greater power. Truly our spiritual centre.
As one can see, the endocrine system rules over every aspect of our life. The communication between brain and organs happening through our hormone secretion is central to our overall wellbeing, and in that context, re-aligning our chakras is the same as balancing our hormones. This can be done through sound healing, singing, chanting, and humming. While humming for example, we don’t only hear sound frequencies but we feel their vibrational potency. Frequencies played vibrate the body and are enhanced by the water contained in our body (about 70%), increasing the cymatics effect, changing our neuro-chemistry and affecting the vagus nerve. The vagus stems at the head, runs down between the lungs linking all our organs together and interfaces with the parasympathetic control of the heart, lungs, and digestive tract.
In 2018, a study demonstrated and concluded that internal and external stimuli such as psychedelics and music alter harmonic brain’s state and these changes incited the brain to re-organise its activity as if to resonate with these altered frequencies. (PSIPOST: Selen Atasoy, PHD, computational neuroscience Sydney. Feb 27th, 2018).
Playing the gongs, the Tibetan bowls, using our voice through singing, chanting or humming not only involves our auditory sense and its ability to perceive frequencies but also our bones & connective tissues which allow these frequencies to travel through our whole body. All Ancient traditions involve these practices as a way to connect communities but also as healing tools while we are only starting to understand its benefits.
It’s as if there is a harmonic code that rules over all in the world through the principles of resonance and entrainment.
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