How Are Singing Bowls Used in Meditation?
Meditation is a popular concept in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, apart from Hinduism and Buddhism.
Simply put, it’s the ability to maintain focus in the present moment without judging your experience.
So, can singing bowls help with meditation? How do you use it?
Yes, singing bowls can help with meditation as they can switch your brain activity to the theta wave mode, where you’re hyper-focused and calm. Thus, using a sound bowl helps you quickly get into meditative states.
We will teach you the elements of sound meditation, how to hold the bowl, and four steps to meditate today.
Ready? Read on!
Are Singing Bowls Good For Meditation? Defining Sound Meditation
Have you heard this quote by French Philosopher Michel De Montagne?
The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself?
While most folks know what meditation is, very few find out how to do it and continue doing it. It’s actually quite normal to get distracted if you’re just starting out. Maybe you think "I just can't get my mental chatter to stop."
If this is you, don’t blame yourself. With so many things happening around us, it’s hard not to be mindful of our surrounding reality!
Instruments like sound bowls can help your brain get into a deep meditative state by shifting your brain wave activity into theta mode. This is where your brain activities become slow, focused, and hyper-aware.
Monks use it to find themselves, and people like you and me use it to wind down after a stressful day, calm the mind chatter, or just to explore our spiritual side.
Whatever your reason, you don’t need to battle the distractions alone.
Sounds are more reliable than breath-work alone. Instruments like gongs, bells, metallic discs, and singing bowls emit overtones that lead you into a meditative state.
We love singing bowls because they offer a singular point of focus. It works so well against distractions because it’s external, unlike breath.
Elements Of Sound Meditation
Before we find out how to use sound bowls for meditation, let’s look at all the elements that can impact the meditative state.
The “set and the setting” are two crucial parts of consciousness. The set is your mindset that includes your state of mind, presence, belief, will, intention, openness, and imagination. On the other hand, the setting is your immediate vicinity with the physical and social environment.
Next comes stimuli such as touch, sound, light, and other senses that impact the meditative state. This is followed by visualization, listening power, and guidance (verbal or visual).
Learn To Hold The Bowl Before You Start
Before meditating with a singing bowl, you need to know how to properly hold it!
There are two ways to set your bowl.
You can either hold it in the palm of your hand or place it on a flat surface (like the cushion that probably came with your bowl).
In both cases, it’s better to keep a cushion underneath the bowl apart from gripping it to prevent the bowl from falling off.
If you’re holding the bowl in your hand, make sure to rest the hand on your knees or any other comfortable place to prevent elbow pain later.
When it comes to playing a singing bowl, there are two ways.
You can either strike the bowl’s rim repeatedly with the mallet or gently rub the rim in circular motions with the same mallet. Either way, the sound of striking is different from rubbing. So, it’s best to find out what affects your focus first before starting to meditate.
How Do You Meditate With A Singing Bowl?
Now that you know all you need to know about the tips and tricks of getting started with meditation, I’ll show you how to use a singing bowl for meditation.
Preparation
The first step to meditating is getting comfortable. To get comfortable, you can choose a yoga pose like Lotus Pose.
Toning
Once you’re relaxed, it’s time to get started with meditation.
I suggest playing the bowl in either of the two ways we explained above. If you’re feeling up to it, your can mix both the motions as you feel like. We recommend striking the bowl on it's side to "warm it up" before you begin playing around the rim.
Starting meditation
Most people close their eyes because it lessens distractions. But, there’s no hard and fast rule to keep your eyes open in case you’re uncomfortable with closing them.
Start the meditation session by striking the rim of the sound bowl once.
Next, continue doing the same while taking deep breaths.
You can also switch to gently rubbing the bowl’s rim in a circular motion during meditation.
Adding Water To Improve Focus
Another way to keep your focus with open eyes is by adding water to the bowl to enhance the focus. Afterward, you can focus on the wave interference seen on the surface of the water to establish focus. Finally, continue to do so until you feel you’re completely in focus.
Ending
You can stop the bowl from ringing by holding its rim with your hand when you’re done with the session.
Alternative: Guided Meditation
An alternative to singing bowl during meditation is guided meditation by asking someone else to guide you into the meditative state. The guide can also play the bowl simultaneously so that you can be completely focused.
Mantra And Chakra Healing Meditation With Singing Bowls
There are many ways to get into the meditative state with sounds. And one such way is by chanting mantras or affirmations. All you need to do is follow the above steps to start your meditation.
Midway, you can also start chanting affirmations or simply ‘Ohm’ slowly for awakening your meditative thoughts. Besides, Ohm is a powerful chant because it vibrates at 432 Hz.
The best thing is that this frequency helps you focus, increase concentration, and stay in the present.
Start Meditating With Your Singing Bowl Starting Today!
Meditation is a way to clean out the mental clutter and find yourself. If you find it hard to meditate on your own, rest assured because you’re not the only one. Most of us have a hard time focusing on a single thing like breathwork. There's many things to distract us!
That’s why combining the aspects of singing bowls with breathwork can be doubly effective. Check our in-depth guide to meditation to assist you on this spiritual journey!
Try our four steps to meditate or try the following guidance video that the Sonic Yogi put together for the Ohm Store Community.
The Ohm Store + The Sonic Yogi I 28 Minute Sound Immersion Meditation
