What is Brain wave?

Brainwaves are produced by synchronised electrical pulses from masses of neurons communicating with each other. The different frequencies of brain waves correspond to different states of thought or experience. Our brainwaves change according to what we’re doing and feeling. When slower brain waves are dominant, we can feel tired, slow, sluggish, or dreamy. The higher frequencies are dominant when we feel wired,  or hyper-alert.

Brainwave speed is measured in Hertz (cycles per second) and they are divided in terms of frequency bands:

Gamma greater than 30(Hz):

(40 Hz and above: highly focused attention)

Gamma brainwave states are the most rapid in frequency. Gamma has long been considered the brainwave that is able to link and process information from all parts of the brain. It is the frequency that brings with it the ability to process large amounts of information in relatively small amounts of time.

Unfortunately, Gamma brainwaves have received the least attention and research, although more attention is currently being paid to them.

Gamma activity is linked to focused attention and the processing of information, and it is still being actively researched.

BETA (13-30Hz):

(14 to 30 Hz alert, focused)

Beta is the most common brain wave pattern: Beta brain waves are produced when we are wide awake, alert, and active and engaged in mental activity, usually involving more the rational, reality-oriented left hemisphere of our brain. When beta wave activity becomes very intense, our brain hemispheres become less synchronized. Beta state is required to function properly in your everyday life.

Features and Benefits of a Beta State

• This is the brainwave for the fight-flight response
• Increased concentration and alertness
• Improved logic, reasoning and critical thinking
• Feelings of anxiety, stress, scatty unfocused thought

NOTE: Excessive Beta brainwaves are also a feature of insomnia

ALPHA (8-12 Hz):

(8 to 14 Hz relaxed yet aware)

These are lower frequency waves: The state is generated when our thoughts are really not concentrated and our minds wander freely, or we are in a relaxed state such as meditating or daydreaming. We also experience Alpha Brainwaves when we are gently busy with routine tasks like pottering in the garden, taking a shower, putting on makeup, doing light housework. Alpha is considered to be the bridge between the conscious mind and the subconscious mind.

Features and Benefits of an Alpha State

• Our brain hemispheres become naturally synchronized or in-phase with each other.
• Relaxed detached (absent-minded) awareness and daydreaming mind.
• Enables us to remember our dreams and meditative states.
• Link between conscious and subconscious mind, gateway to meditation.
• Receptive to casual and auto – suggestions (hypnosis state)
• Increased vividness benefits creative visualization and triggers imagination
• Increased  memory retention, concentration & focus for super learning

THETA (4-8 Hz):

(4 to 7.9 Hz deep relaxation,mediatative, twilight state)

Theta brainwave states have been used in meditation for centuries: It is common for people to feel as if they are in a trance, where the mind feels as though it may have gone to sleep although it is conscious of what is happening around it. Theta induces a capacity for prolonged daydreaming, where a loss of time may be experienced.

Theta waves are also conducive to visualisation and creativity and the mind in this very relaxed state is highly receptive to direct suggestion under hypnosis. As with Alpha, in Theta our brain hemispheres are synchronised and we experience whole brain functioning.

Features and benefits of Theta brainwaves

• Increased sense of inner peace and emotional stability
• Deep relaxation
• Improved memory
• Heightened intuition and inspiration
• Calms the chatter of your mind
• A greater sense of spiritual connection

DELTA (less than 4 Hz):

(0.1 to 3.5 Hz deep sleep)

This is the slowest band of brainwaves, and it dominates during deep, dreamless sleep. Deep sleep is when the body does much of its physical repair, and it is also when much of the day’s growth hormone is released.

Delta is the deepest state of rest. In some contemplative traditions it is also described as a gateway to the unconscious mind.

Singing Bowls and Brainwaves: What We Know

Sound has been part of meditation and ritual across many cultures, through chant and instruments such as Tibetan Bells, gongs and singing bowls. Using singing bowls specifically for relaxation and sound therapy is a relatively modern practice that grew mainly from the 1970s onward, drawing on older Himalayan metalwork traditions.

A 2017 study of 62 people (Goldsby et al., Journal of Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine) found that participants reported less tension, anger, fatigue and low mood after an hour-long sound meditation in which singing bowls were played for about 95% of the session. People new to sound meditation reported the largest change. The study had no control group, so more research is needed before firm conclusions can be drawn.

Brainwave patterns shift naturally as we relax, from the busy beta range towards slower alpha and theta activity. Some small studies have measured changes in brain activity during sound meditation, but there is no reliable evidence that a singing bowl moves the brain into a particular state. What many people do notice is that the long, fading tone of Himalayas Singing Bowls gives the mind something simple to rest on, which can make it easier to settle into meditation.

Singing bowls are not a treatment for anxiety, depression or any other medical condition, but many people find them a calming part of a regular meditation routine.

Singing Bowls and Chakra Practice

In yogic and tantric traditions, chakras are described as centres of subtle energy along the spine. In chakra-based practice, a free flow of energy through these centres is associated with harmony of body, mind and spirit, and a “blocked” chakra with a feeling of being out of tune, much as a musical instrument can drift out of tune.

In many modern sound practices, singing bowls are used to bring attention to each energy centre in turn. The sound acts as a focus for the mind, much as a mantra does, and many practitioners describe the experience as re-harmonising or re-tuning their energy.

In contemporary chakra systems, each centre is linked with an area of the body, a colour and a musical note. These note pairings are a modern convention rather than part of the original yogic texts:

Used this way, the bowl is a support for attention and intention rather than a treatment: a simple, peaceful way to begin or close your meditation.