I am extremely excited to announce that I will be offering crystal sound baths for pregnancy! Sound baths using bowls to create sound and vibration is an ancient form of healing, and more recently the introduction of crystal sound bowls have gained popularity for healing and relaxation. This form of therapy works in perfect complement to hypnobirthing practices, which teach expectant parents to calm their nervous system in order to facilitate the production of oxytocin (the hormone necessary to facilitate birth) and reduce the fight or flight response responsible for triggering adrenaline (which can stall/stop labour).
So how does it work?
In hypnobirthing we teach about the importance of the autonomic nervous system, and it’s stress state (sympathetic nervous system) and calm state (parasympathetic nervous system). Our nervous system influences how we behave, the production of our hormones, and how we respond to a situation. Part of this system is a nerve called the vagus nerve, which runs from our throat area all the way down to our pelvic area. Tension in the vagus nerve stimulates our sympathetic nervous system (and in turn our freeze fight or flight “high alert” state), and conversely relaxation in this nerve causes us to trigger our parasympathetic nervous system and our relaxed state. This is of particular importance during birth because tension in the jaw area replicates as tension in the pelvic floor which is not helpful in labour. In fact it’s one of the things I remind clients to be mindful of in labour. High pitched noises ie screaming causes tension in the vocal chords and triggers the sympathetic nervous system and adrenaline, and humming low noises trigger the parasympathetic nervous system and a relaxation response and release of oxytocin.
Practicing techniques to trigger our parasympathetic response during labour gives us a short cut to a relaxation response in labour, which is vital to help facilitate birth. Some also argue that the close proximity of the vagus nerve to the ear, and that sound therapy can influence this nerve and trigger the relaxation response.
Other theories are that our bodies are largely made of water, and silica, and the vibrational frequencies created by crystal bowls resonate within the body, triggering relaxation and healing. Each bowl is tuned to a specific note, which relates to a chakra in the body, and can help heal or activate that chakra. This may be beneficial in pregnancy when triggering the heart chakra (love, bonding), sacral chakra (reproduction) and third eye (intuition and instinct).
Come along to my introductory Crystal sound bowl relaxation session
You can register to attend my first crystal sound bowl session which will be held on Saturday 18th September at 8pm over zoom. Tickets are £5. You can register and purchase tickets via the events page here.