We all have our own rhythm, and like a fingerprint it is completely unique to us. When we are in good health, the rhythm of our body is synchronised like a symphony; our energy system is in a specific homeostasis where the vibrations and frequencies within the body are in harmony with each other. When we are suffering from dis-ease, that rhythm is disturbed and chaotic.
Modern scientific theories such as string theory and the holographic model align with the idea of using vibrational methods as a way to bring the body into greater harmony and alignment. Healing with vibration; whether it be sound, Qi gong, Reiki, crystals, aromatherapy can influence and synchronise with the body's energy fields, promoting healing and coherence; turning chaos into harmony, illness into wellness.
The Principle of Vibration
The hermetic principle of vibration states that “everything vibrates and is in constant motion. Nothing stands stills; everything moves”.
Liquids, solids, gases; all contain particles that vibrate. Just think of the model of the atom we were taught at school; the one with protons, neutrons and electrons flying around the outside. Quantum physics is now starting to prove that everything in the universe is made up of particles or waves what are in constant movement, vibrating at different frequencies. Every atom, every cell in our body, every lightwave emitted from the sun, every soundwave we hear (and even the relatively static desk my laptop is currently resting on) is in motion.
The only difference between two objects are their rates of vibration. My desk is vibrating at a much slower rate than the air around it, hence it is able to stand up and be a nice and sturdy desk. Our bodies vibrates at an extremely high rate; a healthy body has a frequency range of between 62-70 MHz. Our vibration can be affected by the frequencies of our environment, our nutrition, sound, food, other people, our thoughts, our feelings, scents, the list goes on.
The Law of Entrainment
Entrainment is defined as “a synchronization of two or more rhythmic cycles”
The Law of Entrainment was first discovered in 1666 by Dutch Physicist and inventor of the pendulum clock, Christian Huygens. He noticed that the sway of his pendulum clocks would synchronise if left long enough together, despite starting at a different swing. This experiment is extremely repeatable; you just need two pendulums and you can verify Huygens’ findings.
Since 1666, the principal of entrainment applies not only to inanimate pendulum clocks and mechanical physics, and has also been scientifically validated in a vast number of disciplines, namely chemistry, pharmacology, biology, medicine, psychology, sociology and more.
The definition of entrainment can be explained universally, that is, “any two vibrating bodies will entrain (synchronise) if exposed to each other long enough”. This phenomenon occurs because resonating particles will influence each other; there is an exchange of vibrational information and energy is transferred between the two systems, changing each other’s beat into a harmonious and energy efficient rhythm. The system with the greater / stronger frequency will slow down / weaken, and the other speed up / strengthen so that the energetic difference between them will be zero i.e. the vibrational frequencies of the two systems fall into synchronicity, into resonance.
Examples of Entrainment
As discussed, the pendulums of grandfather clocks in a clock shop will swing together in unison overnight. There are other examples of entrainment in nature:
Women’s menstrual cycles will synchronise after spending a long time together
Phases of the moon impact hormonal cycles
Shoals of fish or flocks of birds swim / fly together in unison
The energy of a room will affect you: yours will lift automatically when you enter a room full of laughing, happy people
A group of musicians playing in time together. (Just listen to an orchestra tuning before a performance and you can experience this first hand)
People clapping in a full room will synchronise their claps given enough time (Wait until the end of an orchestra performance to experience this one)
Two people walking next to each other will fall into step with each other
Our circadian rhythms keep us entrained to the rhythms of the earth relative to the sun
People clapping in a full room will synchronize their claps given enough time
A heart transplant must entrain to the frequency of the new body
Social groups will dress and think similarly, often entraining to a more dominant personality
Our breath influences our heart beat and respiration
A therapist / healer with a calm countenance can help to regulate their client’s nervous system through just being in their presence
Entrainment, Sounds & Brainwaves
Entrainment is what separates sound healing (or therapy) from listening to music.
Sound healing is a specific type of frequency medicine. Sound healers use entrainment tools such as Tibetan bowls, crystal bowls, bells, tuning forks, gongs, and binaural beats to adjust their clients’ internal vibrations and rhythms using waves of sound.
A slow and steady drumming pattern can entrain the heart and brain to relax and enter altered states of consciousness. In fact, experiments on groups of drummers, published in the journal Scientific Reports discovered that the time interval between individual beats (IBI) — synchronised.
Brainwaves will entrain to sound frequencies when an external audio stimulus is repeatedly played, this is also known as Frequency Following Response (FFR). Different conscious states can be associated with different brainwave frequencies, and these can be induced through different acoustics.
Beta (13-40Hz) is recorded when we are awake and alert
Alpha (8-12Hz) is the brainwave state exhibited during deep relaxation
Theta (4-7Hz) is the brainwave state generated during REM sleep and hypnosis
Delta (1-4Hz) is the brainwave state we exhibit when we are in deep sleep. Researchers have found, that sound-based entrainment of delta waves in slow wave sleep had the functional effect of improving memory in healthy subjects.
When the brainwave state of an individual is more aligned to the applied sound stimulus then entrainment works more efficiently. This is why a sound bath is layered with different instruments, sounds, tones, frequencies; so that the practitioner can effectively journey their clients’ brains from a waking Beta Brainwave State into a much slower one over the course of their session, creating a state of deep relaxation and healing within their body. Conversely, the opposite needs to happen so that they can safely bringing them back of that state at the end of their session.
Entrainment & Energy Medicine
The law of entrainment has most recently been applied to energy medicine; alternative healing therapies that use energy (in all its forms e.g. reiki, aromatherapy, sound healing etc.) rather than medications to influence the client’s body and energy field. During these sessions vibrational frequencies are used to remove energetic blockages and balance the client’s energy system, with the aim of promoting physical, emotional, mental and spiritual wellbeing.
Although these ancient healing methodologies are re-emerging and becoming more mainstream; classical scientific proof of their effectiveness is lacking. From the perspective of quantum physics, and what we understand about the law of vibration and the law of entrainment it makes logical sense as to why and how such therapies work.
Physics and biology both agree that the body’s energy systems can be influenced by external energies. The exposure to beneficial frequencies can lead to a synchronisation and thus harmonisation of the client’s energy field, promoting healing. There are many beneficial frequencies that the client’s energy bodies may have entrained to during such a holistic session, towards a more balanced state:
· The practitioner’s energy field – including their thoughts
· The crystals used in the space
· The practitioner’s ability to channel and transmit Reiki / lifeforce / pranic energy
· The music being played and sound being used (frequency of sound)
· The length of the session (a longer session gives more time for entrainment to happen)
Summary
By understanding and harnessing the power of entrainment, and the effect it can have on our being, we can use it to harmonise and heal our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual bodies. As Einstein famously wrote; “the medicine of the future will be frequency medicine”.
Many struggle with the concept that something we cannot see, such as light or sound waves, can impact our wellbeing and physical bodies. Although entrainment is a well-studied phenomenon in the modern sciences, more is to be done with regards to more commonly known as “metaphysical” studies. As the bridge between science and spirituality grows, I have no doubt that we will start seeing more “evidence” of simple vibrational healing methods creating harmony and health.