Ground Well Counseling is a practice devoted to facilitating every person’s healing and agency. Though most sessions are focused at an individual level, social justice, healing and environmental wellbeing are essential components of the practice.
In addition to counseling, I also offer sound baths…
I offer sound baths weekly from September to June at Merrymeeting Hall in Bowdoinham, ME. In the sound baths I use singing bowls, tongue drum, voice, and occasionally other instruments to foster mindfulness and relaxation. Sessions are typically on Monday evenings. Please contact me if you are interested in learning more.
Why Singing Bowls…
Using sound for relaxation and healing is an old practice in many cultures. In some Himalayan cultures, bowls made of a mixture of metals are made to be as resonant as bells. These singing bowls are either rubbed or lightly struck to create vibrations; the sounds they produce encourage the brain to produce the same kind of brainwaves as during meditation or deep relaxation.
Singing bowls are particularly resonant because they are made of a mixture of metals. The metals don’t necessarily fit neatly at a molecular level, which causes the multitonal resonance patterns of each bowl around a central note.
My Singing Bowl Journey
I am a student of the world, and I have many diverse interests. I was serendipitously introduced to Himalayan singing bowls while visiting my cousin in Tucson, AZ a number of years ago. We were wandering around the colossal Tucson Gem Show, and happened upon a vendor whose shop was filled wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling with singing bowls. The owner of the shop, Suren Shrestha, lived in Colorado and is originally from Nepal. He showed us how to play the bowls, and we spent several hours playing bowl after bowl until we each found one to take home with us.
At that time in my life I didn't have the time or any other reasons to spend at least a week in Colorado learning about singing bowls. I played the little bowl I had bought when meditating or just for fun, and read through Suren's book: How to Heal with Singing Bowls. Events in my life lined up in late winter of 2018, however, and I was able to get out to Boulder, CO, and take the 6-day training course with Suren, at his Atma Buti Sound and Vibrational School.
On March 6th, 2018, I completed the Level III training course, and received a Certification from the State of Colorado!
Science About Singing Bowls
The use of singing bowls in directed relaxation sessions has been associated with improvements in blood pressure and heart rate during the sessions (Landry, 2014). Singing bowl meditation has also been linked with a reduction in feelings of tension, anxiety, and depression, and an increase in feeling of well-being (Goldsby et al., 2017).
Scientists think the binaural beat effect created by the multitonal resonation of the singing bowls may send the brain into a beta- or theta-wave states, states of relaxation or trance (Goldsby et al., 2017, p. 404). Whatever the mechanism, I know that in my first few sessions when the singing bowls were played for me, I fell asleep within five minutes! After a week of training with the singing bowls, I felt both very alert and very grounded at the same time.
resources
Books
Healing at the Speed of Sound by Alex Doman and Don Campbell
How to Heal with Singing Bowls: Traditional Tibetan Healing Methods by Suren Shrestha
Articles
Goldsby, T., Goldsby, M., McWalters, M., & Mills, P. (2017). Effects of Singing Bowl Sound Meditation on Mood, Tension, and Well-being: An Observational Study. Journal of Evidence-based Contemporary & Alternative Medicine, 22(3), 401-406.
Landry, J. (2014). Physiological and Psychological Effects of a Himalayan Singing Bowl in Meditation Practice: A Quantitative Analysis. American Journal of Health Promotion, 28(5), 306-309.
Websites
http://www.atmabuti.org/
This is the website for the school through which I did the Himalayan Singing Bowl training and certification program.
