Yoga offers us the notion that everything is made up of energy - in some form or another - and through practice, we can acquire the tools and awareness necessary to work with it. In our modern day yoga classes, we are most often guided to experience our own energetic makeup through the physical practice of hatha yoga, though there are many other avenues. One is through music or sound.

If you've ever been to a yoga class where the teacher had you chant the sound of "OM" or you've felt the vibration of a singing bowl ease you out of savasana, then you've experienced a little taste of sound healing in its simplest sense. Though it may take many forms, this type of healing practice is rooted in Nada Yoga, the ancient system of practice and study based on the idea that the whole universe, even human beings, are made up of resonance.

Among its many benefits, healing sound: 

-  encourages deep relaxation
-  stimulates the internal organs and immune system
-  reduces stress 
-  awakens creativity
-  facilitates connection with a greater level of consciousness 

Sound healers use either their voice or instruments like metal or crystal singing bowls tuned to certain frequencies which may correspond with the body's various energy centers (chakras). The vibrations produced help to move blockages or tensions held within. As you relax into the support of such healing music, you may open to the possibility that your ears are not the only sound receptors - every cell of your physical and emotional bodies are tuned to hear as well.  

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