How to Expand Your Sound Healing Collection

When I first started playing crystal singing bowls, I was curious about how to build my sound baths and make them a dynamic, immersive and multi-sensory experience. Beyond crystal singing bowls, it felt like a natural next step to look into other sound instruments used in traditional rituals. 

My first addition was Shamani Tingsha Chimes. Eventually, I started thinking about the other senses and how I could bring them into a relaxing sound ceremony such as the scent of incense. 

I’ve learned a lot about expanding and tailoring sound baths for your own personal practice and to enhance your client offerings over the years of exploring and experimenting myself. Here’s what I’d suggest if you’re thinking about adding to your sound experience to create an immersive ceremony. 

How to add to your crystal singing bowl collection

I usually recommend that people start with a set of three or more crystal singing bowls. I can help you find a set of three that play beautifully together and align with your unique vibration in a discovery call or in-person consultation. 

Once you’re comfortable with playing your set, you can add new bowls. See it like adding more keys to the piano. Picking the aligned notes will allow you to create new chords and add depth to your sessions. It really depends on what you already have (book a session with me for guidance) but here are some popular options.

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  3rd octave bowls - These types of bowls create a gorgeous, deep tone that seems to continue playing forever. You can really feel the vibrations beneath your body because they connect to the chakras below the body. 4th octave bowls usually work on chakras in the body and 5th octave, above. When deciding what note of 3rd octave bowl to go for, you could get the same note as one of your current bowls. Playing two of the same notes together in different octaves sounds amazing and adds depth to the soundscape. 

• Endocrine bowls - Going back to the piano analogy, most people start with chakra bowls. That’s your standard C,D,E etc notes. You can also get bowls in sharp notes (the black keys on the piano) so C#, D#, F# and so on. They are known as endocrine bowls because they are associated with the endocrine system (the glands). Their sound is generally more expressive, emotional and richer. Creating chords with your singing bowls and playing these notes together not only produces a beautiful sound but also expands the healing properties of the sound bath. 

• Practitioner bowls - Sound baths don’t have to be restricted to you sitting behind a set of bowls. You can make the most of the space and time in other ways. Practitioner bowls give you the freedom to move around while keeping the healing vibrations going. Using the handle, you can play them while walking around. It creates a surround sound effect and a tingling sensation when held over the body. 

Complementary sound healing tools and rituals

If I were to design my perfect sound bath, I’d add other elements to enhance the healing vibrations of the crystal singing bowls and take people on an immersive journey. Here are the instruments and rituals I’d add to the ceremony. 

Tingsha Chimes 

This was the first addition I made to my own sound collection. Tingsha chimes come from Tibetan sound healing, meditation, and space clearing. The clear, bright sound adds a top note to the soundscape, calling in grounding, centring and rebalancing. It’s a great way to start a session to cleanse the energy, end a session to bring focus or add a moment of clarity during the session. 

Shakers

Shakers have been used in healing rituals and ceremonies by indigenous cultures for centuries. They can be made completely naturally. Still today, you can find rubber seed shakers, nut clusters and gourd shakers. I love this connection to Mother Nature! The rhythmic sounds of shakers have been used to clear energy, connect to the spiritual realm and create a sense of peace and presence. The organic texture creates an alternative yet complementary sound to the crystal singing bowls. 

Cacao

Ceremonial cacao is a ritual in mindfulness, presence and connection. Originating from South American traditions, it invites us to open our hearts and minds and reconnect with our emotions, creativity and authentic selves. Having a multi-sensory ritual to do is a lovely way to ground the session at the beginning. It’s a physical transition, prompting us to set down the rush of everyday life and see what we can find in the here and now. 

Palo Santo & Incense

Both of these sensory rituals have a long history. Burning wood and resin from specific trees alters the space and how we feel through the scent connection. It can be relaxing, soothing, grounding and inspiring. Palo Santo in particular has been historically used for energetic cleansing. I like using Palo Santo and incense because it turns a sound bath into a multi-sensory experience. It’s another layer of immersion.

As you can see, there are so many ways to add to the immersion, journey and healing of sound baths, through crystal singing bowls, sound instruments and other rituals. They are all rich with ceremonial history and natural healing effects. 

As people come to me to start and expand their crystal singing bowl collection, it only seemed right to add these kinds of complementary elements to the I Know This Girl Shop. I’ve just released the first couple of items in my product range expansion through sound, sleep and ceremony. Shop the NEW I Know This Girl sound collection HERE.