- Zara Smith
- Jan 8, 2023
- 7 min read
5 useful ways sound therapy can help you recover from burn out symptoms.
In my own journey with recovering from burnout, one method I found really useful was sound therapy. So much so I started to train in it, to be able to help and support others with understanding its benefits. Sound therapy was widely used by the Greeks and Egyptians and a well established form of aiding the body to heal itself under the premise, that our emotions are energy in motion. If we want to feel lighter and more energetic we have to let heavier energy move out the body either through moving, expressing ourselves or being creative and sound therapy is great place to start if you're wanting to begin to lift yourself.
Sound Therapy works under the premise of sympathetic resonance. This means the bowls emit a frequency that is in resonance with the bodies healed natural frequency. Many times due to lifestyle and stress factors our bodies can be operating at a lower frequency. Sympathetic resonance means the highest frequency in the room forces other lower frequencies to match it.
Find some useful YouTube video links:
Tip #1 - Utilise the Solfeggio scale.
The Solfeggio scale is the frequency scale that is in harmony with your bodies natural frequency. Its important to note that its better to work your way up the scale rather than just go in at the very top of the scale, otherwise you may find it jarring. You can find music interwoven with solfeggio scales that you can play to raise the frequency of you and your home. You'll tend to find pets deeply relax with this type of music being played also. at:
396Hz - Is good for those being introduced to solfeggio scale and tends to soothe those who may be working through grief or feeling low mood. Use music woven with this frequency to meditate. This balanced the root chakra, helping us feel balanced and safe.
417Hz - Is a go to range for many who use solfeggio in their meditation practice. Its the scale most in resonance with the bodies natural frequency. Balances the sacral chakra and said to remove blocks around, fear, guilt and creativity.
528Hz - This is a good frequency to play in the house when you are cleaning to raise the overall vibration of your space. Its said to being peace, creativity, clarity of mind and love. This is said to unblock the solar plexus and is said to be the miracle tone giving us more optimism and confidence.
639Hz - This is the frequency of the heart chakra. Its a tone said to evoke more open communication, tolerance and love. Its a good tone to play if there has been an argument in the house to remove the negative energy and inspire more positive and compassionate communication.
741Hz - Is good for solving problems and awakening intuition. Its said to boost expression as it clears the throat chakra. It promotes finding solutions and creates more clarity and feeling safe to express yourself.
852Hz - This is the scale of third eye chakra. This is all to do with developing intuition, having more self awareness, developing inner strength. Its promoting the body to operate at a higher frequency, increasing our ability to visualise who and what we really are and what we can achieve outside of the man made restrictions we impose on ourselves.
963Hz - This is the scale of the crown chakra. This is the highest vibrational state. It reconnects you with spirit/source/universal energy. If you want to open your mind to clarity of mind, creativity and peace this frequency unlocks all blocks and infuses our energetic system with the highest frequency to allow up to break free of all resistance, cultivate peace and calm in our mind and therefore our outer world.
A recommended You Tube channel for solfeggio frequencies is:
Burnout can leave us in a fight or flight state. The only way our amygdala, frontal lobe and hippocampus learn that fight or flight is no longer required is through deep relaxation. You have to remember our burnout symptoms can come from living on the adrenaline created from being in fight or flight for too long. These frequencies support us while our mind is overactive from coming off the adrenaline drug we've allowed our bodies to become accustomed to. In todays easily distracted world we're often not relaxing deep enough to come out of the a fight or flight state and this hampers our performance over time.
Its interesting what actually happens to the brain when in fight or flight that you may or may not be aware of. But when the frontal lobe activates the amygdala, it produces a hormone to active the hippocampus. The hippocampus is one of the most primal parts of the brain and regulates the stress response. It will activate the Hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis which will release the glucocorticoid stress hormone. In fight or flight the body concentrates oxygenated blood to key organs required to get out of danger. These are the heart, lungs and legs. The rest of the body is still oxygenated but if you are stuck in fight or flight the rest of your body including your brain won't be receiving full levels of oxygen required for normal performance over longer periods of time. This puts the brain under stress and can actually shrink your amygdala causing PTSD type symptoms. The brain also prioritises brain function in fight or flight. The creative side of the brain is less active than normal meaning its harder for you to access your creative, problem solving and intuitive side of the brain.
People who tend to practice more meditation and deep relaxation have an easier time finding creative solutions and allowing themselves to be high performance rather than just high functioning.
Tip #2 - White and Brown noise
White noise tends to be low frequencies played at a louder level and high frequencies played lower. White noise is suspected to stimulate dopamine production in the brain and a study found that 38% of people listening to white noise fell asleep faster than without. White noise is used to aid sleep and is suitable for all age groups.
While brown noise is all frequencies played the same. This noise tends to be relaxing and good to play for babies as it mimics the noise heard in the womb. It helps to ease anxiety and from doing so can actually improve focus and concentration as it helps to block out other distracting sounds and is known to improve cognitive performance.
So if burnout is leaving it hard for you to relax or sleep these two noises can help you.
Tip #3 - How does a sound bath work
Sound baths are group sound therapy sessions with 7 large quartz crystal bowls. There are different types of quartz singing bowls including the chakra set which are coloured coded to the chakra system. Frosted white sets are different sized bowls depending on the note. Both are effective and produce the same quality of sound.
Quartz bowls are played in sequence and emit a loud tone and vibration that can be felt across of group typically of 8-12 people. Using the process of sympathetic resonance the higher frequency of bowls raises the bodies natural energetic frequencies, helping stuck energy to be moved and ultimately released from the body. Its a pleasant meditative experience that consists on laying on a mat and meditating to the sound of the bowls and allowing yourself to relax as the bowls are played.
It's recommended to drink water and ground your bare feet to the floor afterwards as many people can experience light headedness afterwards. However many people feel lighter and can even feel like they need to move, become emotional or feel creative afterwards when stuck energy has shifted and is ready to be released. Again this deep relaxation helps burnout by taking us out of fight or flight response.
Tip #4 - Using Tibetan bowls and tuning forks
Tibetan Bowls and Tuning forks tend to either be used along the chakras or meridian lines.
The principle is the bowls or forks are struck at key energy points on the body. If they do not vibrate for long on a key point such as chakra on the initial body scan then there is likely an energy blockage. Therefore the bowl will be rung or the tuning fork is struck on the concentrated area until the vibration improves and the energy is shifted.
They are effectively moving stuck energy from energy centres in the body by using vibration to shift the energy and forcing it to move. Its a similar principle to acupuncture but without the needles and using vibration to release energy rather than a needle. It is quite an intensive therapy as the vibration can be quite powerful. Therefore its not suitable for people who are epileptic, pregnant, fitted with a pacemaker or have metal plates.
Tip #5 - Understanding brain waves
Theta - This is the brain state most children are in between the ages of 0-7. This is the brain state that absorbs and learns everything. At this age this is where children develop their thinking patterns about the world around them, who they are and the people around them. Adults can still access a theta state when using meditations with a theta wave in it. These are good to play when you may be ready a self development book, studying or any form of learning and it invokes the mind to be adaptive and take in more of what you are trying to learn.
Delta - These waves encourage REM sleep. If you struggle to relax or enter a deep sleep playing these waves can really help to slip in this state naturally. REM sleep is the restorative deep sleep our body actually needs to recover. If you can hit 2-3 hours a uninterrupted REM sleep then you body can recover enough from the day before. This is why 8 hours is always necessary. Its the quality of the sleep that counts, not the quantity.
Other states of brain consciousness include:
Alpha waves - these show a brain that is in a resting state.
Beta waves - these are when your mind is focused and problem solving.
Gamma brain - these are the fastest and associated with vigilance and concentration.
Don't forget our body is 70% water....
That means it reacts really well to sound and vibration. Check out this experiment from Masaru Emoto about the effects of positive and negative intention on the structure of ice in water and to apply this yourself if you want to see positive effects.
I hope this inspires you to use sound therapy to improve your self care plan and live your life happier and with more positivity.
Until next time, all the best.
Love Zara