You know those days when you feel frazzled and stressed? When your regular routine is thrown into the wind and you need to find a few moments of peace and calm but don’t have the time or inclination to do a yoga practice or a short meditation? The days when even a walk in the park feels unachievable?
On those days, you need to find simple, short practices to get grounded and better focused on the present moment. Simple mindfulness practices (try any of these) can help you to do this and to train yourself so that present moment awareness becomes your nature.
And here’s a very easy way to find peace and calm, to feel more balanced in just a few minutes: ringing a Himalayan singing bowl. The beautiful sound and the feeling of the vibrations capture my attention and help anchor me to the present moment. Experiencing the sounds and vibration of a singing bowl becomes a mini meditation, with very little effort.
Himalayan singing bowls have been used for centuries as part of the Buddhist meditation culture, in monasteries and in private homes. Sometimes called Tibetan bowls, there is actually no proof of the exact origin of these objects, but the tradition certainly began in the Himalayan region. And these bowls have become a quintessential part of our modern yoga and meditation practice.
The highest quality Himalayan singing bowls are hand made using a traditional process. Each one will create beautiful, long-lasting vibrations and a deep musical tone that can help to bring balance to your body and mind, influence the flow of energy within your chakras, induce a state of deep relaxation and a clear mind ideal for meditation, and even stimulate creative thinking and intuitive messages.
Did you know? Each hand-made Himalayan singing bowl is completely unique. Seven different metals are fused together, poured into a flat sheet. When this is cool, it is hammered into the shape of a bowl, a technique that requires expert hands to do it without cracking the metal. When you see a hand-hammered bowl you can see small dents which are the marks of the hammering process. The seven different metals are chosen and combined for the best quality sound. It’s said that each of the seven metals symbolizes a different planet:
This unique metal combination and the hand-hammered quality produces a deep, harmonic sound and rich vibrations that can go on and on for many minutes. Each bowl sings a different song, creates a different note, depending on the thickness of the walls of the bowl.
The note that each bowl creates corresponds with a specific chakra: seven tones for seven chakras. So if you are interested in using your singing bowl to work with a specific chakra you can choose a bowl that rings in a corresponding note:
Many people attest to the healing benefits of these bowls, although the reasons behind the healing effects are not fully understood. Is the sound altering your brain waves? Are the vibrations interacting with your body’s energy field? Nobody knows exactly. So you just need to experience the other-worldly sounds and the rich vibrations of a Himalayan singing bowl meditation to see how it feels for you.
TWO WAYS TO USE YOUR SINGING BOWL AND TO MAKE IT A MEDITATION
1. Hold it on the palm of your hand and, with an even pressure and a full-arm movement, rub the ringing stick clockwise around the outside edge of the rim of the bowl. It is the pressure you apply and the speed of the movement you make that creates the vibrations of the metal and allows the bowl to sing. Or simply tap the side of the bowl with the ringing stick. Listen with your ears, your hand, your entire body. The sound and the vibration can serve as a focal point for meditation.
2. Place your singing bowl on your chest or abdomen and tap the bowl with the ringing stick to create a beautiful, vibrant sound. Feel the vibrations flowing through your entire body, even your bones, sort of like a “sound massage”, helping you to relax, creating harmony in body, mind and soul.
FIND YOUR OWN PERFECT SINGING BOWL
I personally chose a collection of beautiful quality, hand-hammered Himalayan singing bowls while I was in Kathmandu. See our collection, all hand-made in Nepal, available in three different sizes and various notes.
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