How To Use Your Crystal Singing Bowls For Sound Baths

Mindfulness is the key to living a peaceful and healthy life. With the ever-growing methods available to us in ensuring we stay in touch with our overall wellness, knowing what techniques could be the most effective for us can become overwhelming. 

However, a well-known fact is that through the healing power of sound, we can achieve a deep relaxation of the mind, body, and soul by playing various sound healing instruments on and off the body. 

In this article, we will share our top tips and tricks on how to use your crystal singing bowls for sound baths so you can reap all their amazing benefits and refresh your client’s energy during your sound healing sessions.  

What Are Crystal Singing Bowls? 

Crystal singing bowls are wonderful sound healing instruments that can heal and transform the body and mind. They can be played by striking them and swirling around their rim using special mallets. 

How Do Crystal Singing Bowls Work?

Knowing how to choose a crystal singing bowl can be quite tricky, however, it doesn’t have to be! There are plenty of courses that can teach you everything you need, from beginners to advanced practitioners, such as our Crystal Singing Bowls Courses. 

One thing to remember is that you can play singing crystal bowls in a group setting, such as a group sound bath, or on your own, and 1-2-1 with clients. The reason why singing bowls are so popular and powerful in the world of sound healing is because of their unique energetic vibrations. They can shift stuck energy whilst clearing blockages and restoring the mind, body, and soul into a more balanced state. 

However, never rule out the many other sound healing instruments that are most commonly used in sound healing practices, as, especially when combined, we can create healing frequencies that can have a very relaxing and therapeutic effect. You can read our blog, A Guide To The Best Sound Healing Instruments For Beginners, to find out more. 

What Is A Crystal Sound Bath?

Let’s start from the beginning with what sound baths are! 

Sound baths are a powerful form of sound therapy, achieved through the emission of high vibrational frequencies, meant to guide the mind, body, and soul into deep relaxation, where healing can take place wherever necessary. They’re a transcending way to relax that can help participants de-stress, refresh, and let go of all that no longer serves them. 

As known by many, there are plenty of crystal bowl sound bath benefits, however, we decided to talk with one of our amazing sound healing teachers, Kayce Laine, to find out first-hand about her journey and her recommendations on how to best use crystal singing bowls for sound baths. 

As a lifelong musician, Kayce began studying energy healing while exploring ways to overcome the well-known “creative block” as a songwriter. After finding the powerful effects of vibrational healing, she embarked on a journey of learning with us by studying our Level 1 courses in Foundations Of Integral Sound Healing, Sound Healing With Crystal Bowls, Sound Healing With Tuning Forks, and lastly, our Level 2 course in Sound Healing With Crystal Bowls.

A Talk With Kayce Laine About Crystal Singing Bowls

How do you hold space for your clients? 

For my group sessions, I always spend the first 10-15 minutes speaking to the group: telling them a bit about myself, offering them a brief overview of what sound healing is, and different things they might experience during the session.

This is followed by connecting with the breath and body through gentle movements like neck rolls and a guided body scan. It’s important to give the participants time to fully arrive in the space and get grounded before taking them on a sound journey! 

During the sound bath, I walk around at least once with an instrument like a wind gong or chime to connect with each participant individually, so they have their special moment. This is a great opportunity to check in on everyone to be sure they’re doing ok.

Depending on the size of the group, I may save time to have people share their thoughts and experiences or save time after people start packing up and leaving to allow them to come to speak to me privately once they’re done, so I can support them and answer any questions they may have. 

Can you share 3 tips on what to do with crystal singing bowls in a sound bath?

1. Mix them up! If you’ve been playing with your bowls for a while and have difficulty breaking certain patterns and habits, experiment with the order in which you place the bowls around you. This can help open you up to new interval possibilities that you might not have thought about before whilst keeping it interesting for yourself and your clients. 
2. Be fully present when setting/packing them up. When setting and packing up your crystal singing bowl set, it is extremely important to be mindful and not distracted. I’ve learned from multiple heartbreaking experiences that you can break a bowl without being super present with these beautiful and fragile instruments! That said, give yourself plenty of time to set up before people arrive. Because people often want to talk to you about their experiences and ask questions after a sound bath, consider standing or sitting away from the bowls to have conversations with people, and always wrap those conversations before packing up. 
3. Try different mallets/wands. There are several different types of wands that you can use to play crystal singing bowls, and they all have different sounds/feels. I use lightweight silicon wands to sing the bowls and suede wands to tap them (so I always have 4 on me) because that’s what I think feels and sounds the best for my practice. If you’ve only been using one type of wand in your practice, consider purchasing something else to see how it might affect your sound bath experiences.

Can you share 3 tips on what NOT to do with crystal singing bowls in a sound bath?

1. Don’t over-sing/tap them. Once you hear and feel the bowls start to buzz under your mallet or wand, allow the bowl to resonate out for a bit. That buzzing signifies that the bowl has “maxed out” volume-wise, so let it sing! You can even risk shattering the bowl if they’re overplayed for an extended period, which is awful to imagine! Similarly, try not to over-tap them. It’s okay to give your bowls a few quick taps in a row, but be mindful not to play them like you’d play the drum! The beauty of these instruments is that they can sustain beautiful, pure frequencies for your clients, allowing that effect to wash over the room. 
2. Don’t lean on one bowl too much. Because of so much of what we learn about the different intervals of notes, it can be easy to default to playing one bowl, specifically your C bowl, for much of the sound bath to achieve some of the desired protocols. However, playing one bowl for a very extended period can be distracting and even irritating to clients. Take the time to learn all of the different combinations of notes that you can play with the notes that you have to achieve the results you want. So always make sure there are plenty of variations! 
3. Don’t get caught up in the music. Because singing bowls can be melodic if we allow them to be, it’s important, especially if you’re a musician, to try not to be TOO musical with your sound baths. This is something that I’ve struggled with myself as a musician, so I try to be very conscious of it with each group or private sound bath. Allowing yourself to tune into the moment and your intuition, instead of the musicality or “performance” of the sound bath, will help the participants disconnect from the notes being played and instead go on a deeper healing journey.

What are the benefits of crystal singing bowls from your experience?

Crystal bowls are my favourite sound healing instrument because they look so lovely, and their pure tones and frequencies have a unique way of penetrating one’s energetic field. Plus, you can create beautiful intervals and triads with them that can evoke different emotions and feelings in your clients. Because of their volume and the way they feel as much as they are heard, they have a unique way of calming one’s nervous system immediately upon tapping and singing them. They provide instant stress relief! 

What are your clients saying about their sound bathing experiences with you?

Outside of the most common experiences of relaxation and stress relief, I’ve had lots of clients share visual images in their mind's eye - whether that be seeing lots of colours or going on a journey through space. Of course, I’ve also had people release different emotions, whether that be through crying or laughing. And I’ve even had a few reports of having pain relief from chronic issues like arthritis.

And lastly, how has your experience been since training with us? 

Being an Associate Teacher and Tutor for the Sound Healing Academy opened many more doors for me than I could’ve imagined when I first began working with them just a year and a half ago! I have continued to expand my knowledge and experience to be the best sound therapist I can be, and I’ve also established connections and relationships with students from all over the country that I cherish so much. 

Our Top Tips On How To Use Crystal Singing Bowls

When participating in or hosting a sound bath, one of the best things to do is to focus on the breath by inhaling deeply and focusing on being present by blocking all distractions. 

However, remember that every sound healing practitioner will have their methods of conducting a crystal bowl sound bath whilst using many other sound healing instruments, each with their tone and purpose.

Crystal singing bowls are among the most commonly used for sound baths. To create a powerful sound bath with crystal singing bowls that your clients will remember, try to: 

1. Cleanse your space.
2. Take a crystal singing bowl, and before creating any sound, hold it in your hands and set an intention for your session 
3. Then, gently strike the edge of the bowl with a mallet
4. Allow your mind to focus on the sounds and the intention you set as the notes gently fade away
5. Repeat striking the bowl throughout your sound bath session, and try to follow a slow rhythm, as it’s much more effective in calming the mind and body
6. Intuitively, you can also play the bowl around its rim gently 
7. After finishing, allow a moment of silence whilst focusing on the breath once again 
8. When finished, cleanse your sound healing instruments, your space, and yourself, and try to maintain a state of gratitude throughout the rest of your day and towards anyone you meet

Final Thoughts

Sound baths with crystal singing bowls are the most natural and primal form of alternative healing. 

It is a powerful practice that we encourage you to explore to bring a sense of relaxation and peace into your and your clients' lives. It is a great opportunity to rejuvenate the mind, body, and soul, and the best part is that you can create a sound bath from the comfort of your home! When doing so, let anyone present lay in the savasana position while you play your singing bowl. All you have to do is to allow the healing vibrations to flood the space! 

If you want to learn effective techniques for sound healing with a wide variety of singing bowls, now is a perfect time! You can join one of our many Crystal Singing Bowls Courses at a discounted price as part of our October 2022 Sale! 

Alternatively, if you have any questions about our Sound Healing Online Courses, In-Person Sound Healing Training Courses, or anything else, please contact us, and keep an eye on our social media channels, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, to deepen your journey with healing sounds along us!