Explainer | How sound healing can help stressed city dwellers relax, improve their mental health and lower blood pressure – practitioners explain

Depression and insomnia are common stress-related ailments for those of us living in big cities, but the ancient practice of sound healing can provide relief

With the help of practitioners, we look at its mental and physical benefits, how it uses vibrations to help us ‘sense our bodies’ and how to pick a singing bowl

Reading Time:4 minutes

A sound-healing session in Hong Kong led by Tibetan singing bowl master Tsering Ngodup. We look at how the ancient practice works and how it can help relieve stress and related ailments for city dwellers. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Published: 6:15pm, 14 Jul 2023

Sleepless nights, anxiety and depression are common among modern city dwellers.

Sound healing, an ancient practice that uses sonic vibrations to balance the mind and body, can help alleviate these problems.

According to practitioners, everyone experiences sound healing differently.

“Some people have a more physical reaction and notice points of pain and numbness in their bodies, while others have a more emotional reaction to it,” says Lawrence Tai, a Hong Kong-based freelance wellness instructor who teaches yoga and holds sound- healing sessions using singing bowls, gongs and crystal bowls.

Hong Kong-based wellness instructor Lawrence Tai holds sound healing sessions with a multitude of instruments. Photo: Lawrence Tai

Tai explains how he once had a client who had difficulty falling asleep after her husband died, because she was worried he would appear in her dreams and she was not emotionally ready to see him again.

“She was able to deeply relax when she joined a sound-healing session, and felt a sense of connection with her late husband during it. This helped her with her sleeping problem.

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