The Healing Sound of Love
- Ashana

As a musician, performing artist and sound healing practitioner working with tone, voice and crystal singing bowls, I have learned through the years that the only true gift we have to offer others is to see them as whole, loved, forgiven and accepted for who they are. Within this holy relationship, in a place of tranquility, gentleness and peace, they can safely relax, open and enter into the divine stillness in which all deep healing takes place.

My work with crystal singing bowls has, in no small way, led me to this understanding. For the last decade, I have worked with these extraordinary instruments as part of my toolkit of toys on the journey of remembering the Love that I Am – the Love we all are. Along the way, I am learning to quiet my mind, connect with an expanded sense of Self, and continue to release of layer upon layer of patterns of fear and contraction in mind, body and spirit.

I have had many moments of profound healing, both personally and in my work with others, when using these beautiful instruments.

-- A client experiences a profound and tearful release as two rose quartz bowls are played -- one on the solar plexus and the other above the crown, allowing her to experience more peace and self-acceptance.

-- A hospice patient, very near the end of life, experiences profound agitation causing tremendous physical and mental distress. Medication is given but proves ineffective. The hospice nurse recommends to the family that they play one of my CDs. Shortly thereafter, the patient begins to relax. After 24 hours, the patient is free of pain and singing along with the music. At his request, the family continues to play the CD, until at last, a few days later he gently and peacefully leaves his body. 

-- The sister of one of the members of my crystal bowl meditation group passes a large mass from her body during a group toning meditation where prayers and intentions for her healing are made. At the time of the meditation, she was living in another state. The following day, she called her brother to share the good news. She was completely unaware of the prayers offered on her behalf during the ceremony held the night before.

Incorporating Crystal Bowls into a Healing Practice

Because of their crystalline structure, crystal singing bowls are powerful tools for amplifying, storing and transmitting intentions of healing, peace and well-being. Played gently and prayerfully, the sound of a crystal bowl is profoundly soothing and peaceful. Thus it follows, when used sensitively and with intention, incorporating a crystal bowl into a healing practice can be a great blessing for both practitioner and patient.

With laser-like precision, crystal sound penetrates the auric field, helping to dislodge vibrational patterns held in the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual bodies. As mind and body relax and open, patients may experience relief from pain or release of held trauma. Heart and breath rates decrease, the nervous system begins to relax and brainwaves shift into alpha, theta or delta states. As body and mind begin to attune with the pure-tone frequency of the bowls, both patient and practitioner may have a visceral experience of the peace that is our innate state of Being.  Occasionally, some patients find the sound frequencies disturbing or jarring, so the practitioner must be sensitive and alert to this possibility. The bowls are “shiva medicine”; they are powerful and potent tools for healing and must be used wisely, with awareness and care.

Bowls may be integrated at any point during a healing session and used both on and off the body, or experienced in audio recordings.  For those who incorporate counseling in their practice, the bowls can be a powerful tool to help patients connect with, express, and move through their feelings.

Types of Crystal Singing Bowls

Learning to play a crystal bowl is both simple and easy, requiring little skill and no musical background. There are several kinds of bowls available, for every type of practice, practitioner and budget. There are even bowls designed specifically for use by practitioners, which are mounted on a crystal shaft. I especially love using the alchemy bowls developed by Crystal Tones™. Made of pure quartz crystal infused with precious minerals, metals and elements, these bowls are smaller and lighter than the traditional classic frosted crystal singing bowls and have a more penetrating, resonant ring, rich in musical overtones. Energetically, the alchemy bowls can help entrain us to higher, more refined, vibratory frequencies. In my experience, they are a kind of homeopathic sound medicine. When played, the vibrational essence of the gemstone or mineral (rose quartz, platinum, gold, ruby, citrine, emerald -- to name a few), permeates the energetic field, entraining us through sound and resonance, to its particular attributes.

A Crystal Bowl Meditation Practice

Before using a crystal singing bowl in your healing practice, I highly recommend spending a significant amount of time meditating and playing with the bowl on your own. In closing, here is a simple meditation practice to get you started:

Create a time and space where you won’t be disturbed.
Place the singing bowl on the floor in front of you, with the bottom center of the bowl on top of its rubber O ring. If you have a small alchemy or ultra-lite bowl, balance it  in the palm of one hand.

Take several deep breaths. Focus your mind on the center of your body – on the naval point, or the tan tien. Hold the mallet in your other hand. Inhale and exhale. Inhale, and as you exhale, gently strike the side of the bowl. Listen fully, with all your senses, to the sound of the bowl as it chimes. Follow the sound until you cannot hear it anymore. Repeat the process for as long as you wish – inhaling and exhaling – inhaling and chiming – listening deeply until the sound is no more. When you feel ready, strike the bowl again, and this time, gently begin to move the mallet around the rim, catching the vibration until it grows and the bowl begins pulsing with sound. Without pushing, follow the sound with your breath and your body. Feel the breath pulsating with the rotation of the mallet around the bowl. Feel the vibration of the sound in your palm, your hand, your arm. Feel it as it moves into your torso, your heart, your belly, your legs. Feel the sound fill your ears, your skull, your throat. Feel the sound vibrating through your entire body; feel yourself dissolving into the sound – breath and tone – movement and sound – and feel that sound expanding out beyond your body, into your energy field and beyond. You are the breath and sound of infinity. Release the sound. Softly, place bowl and mallet down and rest. Sit quietly. Be present. Rest in the infinite presence of the Love that You Are. And give thanks.

Ashana is a musician and sound healing practitioner who has been playing crystal singing bowls since 1999. Her CDs, “All Is Forgiven,” “Jewels of Silence” and her latest release, “Beloved” are internationally acclaimed for their breathtaking beauty and transcendent healing sound. She tours the US, Canada and abroad, offering concerts and sound healing workshops with voice and crystal singing bowls. To learn more about Ashana’s music and the crystal bowls, visit her at www.AshanaMusic.com or join her online communities at www.myspace.com/musicofashana or Ashana on Facebook, www.facebook.com.