Aerial Yoga and Sound Healing

Have you ever come to the point where everything feels so heavy and you just want to let it all out but cannot find a way to do so?

Don’t you feel so helpless whenever this happens? But wait, you remember your comfort song and thought, “Why not listen to it?” Voila! It helped you to let out the emotions you have been struggling to release and lifted your spirits.

Music has been proven to provide a lot of benefits to us humans. Music has allowed us to foster our creativity by being able to create it – helping songwriters and artists turn their emotions, feelings, and thoughts into lyrics accompanied by their uniquely made melodies.

Most importantly, music has helped even the most troubled human to cope with whatever they are feeling whenever and wherever — it is literally a free medicine and therapy!

In this blog, we will be talking about the beauty of music therapy and sound healing, all that you need to know about it, what could you benefit from doing it, the different styles and the incorporation of aerial yoga and sound healing that you will love.

 

Getting to Know Music Therapy and Its Beauty

Music can be healing in more ways than one: simply listening to it already give us a freeing feeling. Yet, sometimes, you may not feel like it is not freeing especially if it is the type of music that you would cry to as it addresses the emotions that have been bottled up inside, but after the crying session, it feels lighter, right?

Music heals us in ways that we do not even notice: letting your feel-good song play in the background while doing your morning routine perks up your mood.

Singing along to your favorite karaoke playlist and hitting those crazy notes while taking a shower power up your self-confidence. Walking, driving, or even cycling to work while a piece of happy music like A Thousand Miles play puts you in a positive disposition and gets you all set to face the day.

Aside from these, you would be familiar with music being incorporated into exercise whether its at a Zumba class, at the gym or in a cheezy 80s Jazzercise routine! But did you also know that music is now being incorporated into specialty classes for the purpose of deep healing and relaxation?

You might have already heard of it or even tried it especially those exercises that involve a lot of movement and repetition, but therapeutic music and sound therapy is now also incorporated in slow and controlled practices like meditation and aerial yoga.

 

A brief history…

According to healthline, music therapy dates back to the time of the ancient Greeks as an attempt to then cure mental illnesses. Throughout history, it has also been used to boost military troops’ morale, improve work efficiency, and in traditional aspects such as rituals and chants to pray for prosperity or to ward off evil spirits.

The most recent linkage of music and health development is its contribution to improving one’s immune system and the capabilities of coping up with stress and one’s external environmental factors.

 

Sound Healing and Sound Therapy

Although used interchangeably a lot of times, sound therapy and sound healing are basically the same with a few slight differences: sound therapy is done in one-on-one sessions while sound healing could also be done individually but more often done in groups. Sound therapy healings can also be referred to as a ‘sound bath’ or ‘gong bath’ and more.

To differentiate, sound bath involves the use of a typical or a specific-to-practice track while doing exercises or even just a few stretches. A sound bath is often observed in easygoing practices like yoga or meditation.

On the other hand, a gong bath is when we listen to the sounds of various sizes of gongs played live, but this can also be singing bowls and so on.

The sounds produced by these instruments have been proven to induce relaxation and help our mind go into reset thus resulting in it clearing up and making better decisions. We immerse ourselves in it, hence the term ‘bathing’.

In an article published by Harper’s Bazaar, sound therapist Farzana Ali stated – “Sound healing is a holistic practice that allows you to sink into a deep state of meditation using therapeutic-grade instruments to create calming soundscapes.”

Here enters the reason why most people tend to feel a sense of relaxation when hearing the various therapeutic equipment that we use in sound healing or therapy: Resonance.

The resonance produced by Himalayan singing bowls, crystal singing bowls, drums, and most particularly, gongs are said to promote calmness and relaxation. Incorporating these into one of the most soothing practices of all time which is yoga, it would definitely take anyone to the next level!

 

How does it work?

Similar to the principle of Chinese acupuncture, sound healing or sound therapy is done to unblock and soothe the parts of our body where our Qi, Chi, or energy is being blocked. The sound waves or frequencies are like breathes that travel all throughout our body and clear its path allowing for improved circulation and overall better functioning of all your internal systems.

Sound healing activates the parasympathetic nervous system which is the opposite of our flight or fight responses. The parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for when you need to lower down your heartbeat, stabilize your breathing, and achieve rather a tranquilizing disposition.

A calm practice leads to both a calm body and a calm mind!

 

Who can do sound therapy or sound healing?

Anyone can do it! This practice can be done by all ages regardless of gender or any other factors one could think of. Yet, if you have a pre-existing condition prior to choosing this as your therapy, it is vital to check in with your doctor first before proceeding.

People who struggle with anxiety and depression could also try doing music therapy. If you are one of these people who experience it, doing even the simplest of things could prove to be difficult since you do not have the mental space to do it at the moment – sound healing or sound therapies could possibly help.

This therapy is also used for kids who are having developmental issues, trouble adapting to changes, or those who are having a hard time speaking.

Best of all is that music therapy is free! You can put on your headphones whenever you feel the need for some solace, at any point of the day, and wherever you may be. Just press shuffle on your playlist of choice and let your thoughts, may they be negative or positive and drift off with the rhythms.

Also, this can be an inexpensive way by joining in an immersive group experience somewhere where everything is taken care of for you. Simply find a yoga studio that is hosting a regular sound healing session and enjoy!

Aside from being free or extremely inexpensive, sound healing is also relatively easy. Sound therapy is also a form of guided therapy meaning it should really be done with a professional so that they can guide, dictate, and help you get much more immersed in the practice. It can be done on a yoga mat and doing some stretches comfortably with some good music of your choice or your that of your trainer’s.

Or, you can also just do it alone, at your own time and pacing. Because sound healing therapies usually involve just relaxing comfortably and allowing the resonance to work its magic on your energy system, it can be as simple as laying down with a heavy blanket and allow yourself to totally relax. It is so much better when you are not thinking of everything as your responsibility, especially if you are planning to do it alone.

 

Why should you do sound healing or sound therapy?

Probably the most significant reason is that, like we said earlier, too much stress might cause your energy to get blocked in certain parts of your body.

In alternative medicine, one of the best options that you could do is to engage in natural traditional practices such as sound healing and exercises such as aerial yoga.

Or… why not both?!

 

Aerial Yoga and Sound Healing

Aerial yoga in itself is already an intensely soothing activity but to pair it with sound healing is a totally different experience. Aerial yoga is a practice that uses a yoga hammock or yoga swings to execute poses whilst in mid-air. This makes certain poses a lot more possible and easier to do compared to the traditional floor yoga that we know, and also adds an extra challenge to other poses.

Aerial yoga is also great for people who are aiming to find or improve their balance. Practicing on the yoga swing helps you get used to gravity and your own body weight that it manifests especially when you are standing or sitting upright but, of course, that is with continuous practice.

In extension to improved balance, aerial yoga also aids in one’s posture. There are certain poses in this practice that are restorative, particularly to your spine. These stretches such as aerial inversions help relieve the compression in your backbone providing relief and realignment.

Aside from balance and posture, aerial yoga also helps in relieving body aches such as those felt in the shoulders, arms, legs, neck, and other parts of the body that may feel strained after a long and strenuous day.

Guided Meditation

We believe that aerial yoga works best when done with the guidance of a professional yogi since some asanas could be tricky especially if you are a beginner and the music could also distract you at first so we highly recommend doing aerial yoga and sound healing with guidance to maximize and reap the relaxing and restorative benefits they both have.

However, the best is simply dimming the lights, laying suspended in floating Savasana, closing your eyes an being transported to another realm of peace and healing. Its becoming a very popular way to connect in groups with like minded people and also to get a well deserved relaxing experience, with the healing benefits to boot.

There are now group sound healings taking place all over the world, and you will certainly find a group aerial yoga sound bath meditation near you.

 

Here are some of the combined benefits of aerial yoga and sound healing:

Reduce Stress

Aerial yoga in itself, as we have been saying, can be a relaxing and freeing activity. The asanas that we do here target certain parts of your body that you never know needs the stretch and might even be the cause of your stress. It is not only mental and external factors that cause stress but also body aches!

These aches often last for quite a time and we unknowingly mind it and it greatly contributes to the stress that we are accumulating. So, stretch the stress out while your feel-good music is gently playing in the background!

Additionally, just being suspended in the aerial hammock and using it as a meditative practice will be the most effective stress reduction, especially with the healing frequencies and soundscapes.

Improve your memory

With the hustle and bustle of our modern world, oftentimes we tend to get overloaded with all the things that we need to finish may it be due at the end of the month or even within the day. More often than not, too much information could also lead to our memory being less functional or not as sharp as it was before.

Taking some time to exercise and give your brain some quiet and peace with music and stretching should help restore your brain’s function, of course, with proper rest too.

For Personal Growth

Exercising is a form of self-care and that is already given, but incorporating the “me time” as we call it, or listening religiously to our favorite songs in the practice could help you give some time for yourself to reflect and recharge.

There are songs in our playlists that hits so close to home that we automatically go into reset mode once it plays — this could be great, especially for those people who are trying to find their purpose in life or just simply wants to reflect on their day before hitting the bed.

Again, using the combination of aerial yoga and sound healing together in meditation is a great way to do some soul searching nad integrate deep healing which will benefit you along your personal growth journey.

Get better sleep

Since you have reflected and perhaps even let go of some heavy emotions, hopefully, it would now be easier for you to doze off assuming that you are now at ease with yourself and your thoughts after an aerial yoga and sound healing session.

Sleep is one of the vital things to consider and practice, especially when it comes to healing. Sleeping is our body’s natural way of resting for repairing what needs to be repaired.

Additionally, if there comes a day that you are not in the mood for aerial yoga, you can still do music therapy and listen to your favorite songs to sleep. Don’t we all do that, at least, sometimes?

 

The Healing Quality

Our lives are already hard enough in uniquely different ways and it is up to us how are we going to cope with it. For us, exercising and adding modifications and improvements here and there such as aerial yoga and sound healing is the answer.

Aerial yoga is a superior practice particularly if you want to defy heights and feel the freest you can be but why not add some invigorating music to tone things up or some simple healing soundscapes to tone things down?

Here at Gravotonics, we pride ourselves on our high-quality yoga hammocks and yoga swings that surpass the standards and are authentically made by Bali artisans.

Rest assured, you are being nurtured and supported for healing naturally with aerial yoga and sound healing.