Tibetan Bowl Sound Massage History

Sound therapy has long been used in the Far East, particularly in Nepal, India, and Tibet . The basis of the therapy is the effect that sound has on the body. According to Indian mythology, man was created from sound, and therefore IS sound. The practice of sound therapy was developed over five thousand years ago using what today is called Tibetan Singing Bowls. "Their origins are shrouded in mystery, but the antique bowls used today have a deep resonance, when struck properly." Their vibrations are compared to a pebble dropped in the water. The singing bowls with their rich overtones are placed at various points on the fully closed body or held near the body. They are then struck in a particular sequence. Different body regions resonate to different frequencies for example: the deeper sounding bowls are used with the lower body while the upper body and head benefit from the higher frequencies. A skilled practitioner is able to bring about deep relaxation in a short time by the method and force with which he or she strikes the bowl. Under such deep relaxation the body is able to absorb the benefits of the sound and physical variations that radiate out from the bowl.

Since the antique bowls are the only ones that provide the rich overtones for sound massage therapy Peter Hess realized that the supply would soon be exhausted just for his own sound massage center in Germany. With the Communist take-over of Tibet the techniques for making the bowl in the traditional fashion had been lost. For several years he experimented with metal bowls of similar weight and design with little success. On a trip to Nepal he discovered a 94 year old man who had been an apprentice to his father and remembered the formula for the twelve different metals used in making the bowls and the technique for their laborious manufacture. With the assistance of other artisans Peter Hess and the elderly craftsman were able to create a purity of sound found in the antique bowls. With this small cottage industry established in Nepal Peter Hess went on to develop his sound massage programs throughout Europe.