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Introduction Scientific evidence has established the benefits of meditation and sound vibrations on emotional and physiological health. Aim of the Study The study explored changes in mood and Heart Rate Variability (HRV) after HSB Sound Bath Meditation on healthy individuals. The objectives of the study were to understand if a 40-minute-long seated HSB Sound Bath Meditation results in changes (a) in mood measured via Positive And Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) and Abbreviated Profile of Mood States (POMS) Survey and (b) in physiological parameters, as measured by HRV. Methods The psychological parameters were measured with PANAS (N=77) and Abbreviated POMS, (N=17). The physiology was measured with HRV parameters such as Heart Rate (HR), Stress Index (SI) and Root Mean Square of Standard Deviation (RMSSD) using the EmWave Pro device (N=15). HRV data analysis was conducted with Kubios HRV Premium and analyzed using a paired T-Test. Results All the subjects after meditation showed improvement in Positive Affect (PA) and a reduction in Negative Affect (NA). The HRV parameters showed a trend showing overall relaxation with a significant reduction in HR, SI and an increase in RMSSD. Consistent with changes in positive, negative mood and HRV, all the participants showed a reduction in tension, anger, fatigue, depression and confusion and improvement in esteem related affect and vigor. Conclusion The findings show that seated HSB Sound Bath Meditation session has a positive impact on mood-related measures and physiology. Future work in this area could explore comparison with a control group and a longer study duration comprising multiple sessions.
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.