Naad Yoga and the Healing Power of Sound

We live in a sea of sound.

Even in silence, we can hear the beat of our own hearts. How often have you used sound to uplift your spirits when you are feeling sad or bad? Do you sing a song, play a CD, call a friend and talk? How often have you brought yourself and others down by words used in anger and frustration? Can the sounds we utter heal ourselves and others?

The sounds we hear around us affect our health and vitality. The Universe is made up of vibration and sound is not only a most potent tool in maintaining and creating our sense of well-being, but also can be used to heal the body, mind, and spirit.

Naad means “the essence of all sound,” the vibrational harmony of the Infinite. Naad Yoga is based on the experience of how sound vibrations affect the body, mind, and spirit through the movement of the tongue and mouth, and changes in the chemicals of the brain.

When we consciously regulate the sounds we make through the use of mantra, breath, and rhythm, we can produce profound effects on our health and well-being. The ability we have to affect our immune system through our thoughts and emotions has been scientifically documented. Mantra, rhythm, and breath used together can create a healing response in the immune system.

Psychoneuroimmunology is the study of the connection between the mind and emotions, and the endocrine, nervous, and immune systems. The link between these body systems and our sensations, thoughts, and emotions, is the limbic system which is made up of the hypothalamus, pituitary, and pineal glands. Sound, breath, and rhythm are intrepreted like a code by the hypothalamus.

There are eighty-four meridian points on the upper palate. With each stroke of the breath and the tongue striking the meridian points, it is like a beat of a baton that releases waves of neuro-chemical messages to activate the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland commands all the other glands, which in turn, regulate our immune function and emotions.

There is a special connection between the higher functions of the pineal gland and the use of the breath. When the breath is very slow (4 breaths per minute or less), a channel is opened by the hypothalamus between the pituitary and pineal glands. This releases an “inner nectar” or amrit that activates and accelerates the entire nervous system. Vitality and healing cascade through all levels of the mind and body. Nerves, muscles, and glands are at peak performance.

It’s as if mantra and breath are the conductors of a symphony and you are the composer. You can change the notes of the symphony, to create chords of happiness, sadness, vitality, or calmness. This capacity is inherent in our design and requires no special drug or belief. This process of creation exists because every one of our molecules is in communication with every cell and thought. The power of mantra uses sound, breath, and rhythm to command our mind, brain, emotions, body, and actions.

Excerpts from The Aquarian Teacher Level 1 Training Manual

(from: https://www.3ho.org/articles/naad-yoga-and-healing-power-sound)