Synchronized Activation of Brain Waves by Singing Bowl Beating Sounds

This study aims to verify if the beating sound of a singing bowl synchronizes and activates brain waves. The singing bowl sound used in this experiment strongly beats at the frequency of 6.68 Hz, while it decays exponentially and lasts for about 50 sec. Brain waves were measured for 5 min at the F3 and F4 region of the 17 subjects who heard the beating singing bowl sounds. Experimental results showed that the increases (up to ~ 251 %) in the spectral magnitudes of the brain waves were dominant at the beat frequency, compared to those of any other clinical brain wave frequency bands. The observed synchronized activation of the brain wave at the beating sound frequency supports that the singing bowl sound may effectively facilitate meditation and relaxation, considering that the beat frequency belongs to theta waves which increases in the relaxed meditation state.

A Comparative Study of the Impact of Himalayan Singing Bowls and Supine Silence on Stress Index and Heart Rate Variability

Introduction Sound vibrations have a profound impact on the body and the mind with evidence confirming reduced anxiety and increased wellbeing. The likely reason for driving the benefit is relaxation. The Himalayan Singing Bowls, used for therapeutic intervention to enhance the individual’s emotional & physical wellbeing, may facilitate faster and deeper relaxation as compared to simple, supine relaxation. Aim of the Study The study aimed to validate the hypothesis that short 20 minutes sessions to relax with the help of the Himalayan Singing Bowl (HSB) could provide better depth of relaxation as compared to Supine Silence (SS) based on the objective assessment of physiology parameters i.e. Stress Index & Heart Rate Variability (HRV). Methods Seven metal Himalayan singing bowls were used in a particular sequence learned from an expert teacher for 16 subjects. The SS group consisted of 17 subjects. The HRV data was measured by the Emwave Pro device and analyzed using Kubios HRV Premium software. The analysis compared key HRV parameters within and between the groups. Result Overall, as expected, both groups achieved relaxation as measured by changes in HRV parameters. However, further analysis confirmed a more consistent relaxation, as measured by a statistically significant reduction in stress index and an increase in HRV, for HSB group. The HSB group achieved more consistent depth of relaxation during each subsequent 5 minutes interval throughout the session as compared to SS group. Conclusion The study confirms that singing bowls sessions can be leveraged as a tool for inducing good quality relaxation response (increased parasympathetic tone, reduced stress) to facilitate healing and energy recovery in just 20 minutes and achieve significant health benefits. More comprehensive studies must be conducted to further evaluate the findings with more sample size, different methods of relaxation and varied demographics.

Vibration modes and sound characteristic analysis for different sizes of singing bowls

The singing bowl is used not only for the instrument of Buddhism but also for musical therapy. This work aims to investigate the correlation of vibration modes and percussion sound for singing bowls. A typical singing bowl is first selected to perform finite element analysis (FEA) for theoretical modal analysis (TMA) as well as experimental modal analysis (EMA). Modal parameters of singing bowl, including natural frequencies and mode shapes, can be obtained from analysis and experiment, respectively. Singing bowl FE model can then be updated and verified by adjusting material properties and used to predict structural vibration modes. The percussion sound of singing bowl is also measured to obtain its sound spectrum. The peak frequency response of singing bowl sound can be interpreted and contributed from circular vibration modes of the bowl. With the knowledge of sound generation mechanism for the singing bowl, this work also studies the percussion sound characteristics of seven different sizes of singing bowls. Results show the fundamental frequency and overtone frequencies of singing bowl percussion sound are higher for the smaller size. Interestingly, that the peak resonant frequencies have near the integer ratio relationship makes the singing bowl revealing harmony sound effects. The radiated sound spectrum can be well calibrated and predicted for different sizes of singing bowls. This work shows the analytical and experimental approaches in studying the singing bowl percussion sound that strongly correlated to structural vibration modes and can be adopted for future development of singing bowls.