Sound therapy for children
As a great freebie for you:
Here you can download the fantasy journey “The coconut birth” from the book Fanello – Sounding fantasy journeys for children by Emily Hess for free.
Fantasy_Journey_Coconut_Birth_Fanello
Children are also attracted to harmonious sounds. The sound and gentle vibration of singing bowls can be used in a variety of ways to promote perception, relaxation, increase concentration and strengthen social skills. Therefore, singing bowls and forms of sound therapy for children can be found today in many families, kindergartens and schools, in children’s yoga and occupational therapy practices.
The most important facts in brief
- Sound therapy for children aims, among other things, to promote relaxation, concentration and attention.
- Children get to know singing bowls best through play. These offer a lot of potential for this.
- Just as for adults, there are also singing bowl massages for children.
- In the pedagogical context, singing bowl games can take place with children in the most diverse ways.
What is the goal of singing bowl therapy for children?
Peter Hess, the founder of sound massage with singing bowls, developed the further education system “KliK® – Sounding Communication” together with his wife Emily Hess. With this, children learn how to relax. Singing bowl therapy for children trains sensory and body awareness, promotes attention and concentration, and practices mindfulness. In this way, children are provided with important resources that enable them to meet the diverse demands of our fast-moving times, remain healthy both physically and mentally, and retain their zest for life and creativity.
Sound therapy for children can have multiple goals. For example, the promotion of:
- Relaxation
- Concentration
- Attention
- Motivation
- Imagination and creativity
- Sensory and body perception
- Perception of own needs and those of others
- Expression of feelings
- Self-confidence and joie de vivre
How can I introduce singing bowls to children?
Children often perceive singing bowls as something special and valuable – especially when they are presented accordingly by adults. For example, one way to introduce a singing bowl to children is to hide it under a cloth in a special place. First, the children are allowed to reach under the cloth with their eyes closed and guess what they can guess there and what can be done with it. Once the secret is out, together you try to make the bowl sound.
Sing, nudge or fill
Children are often wonderfully informal and unprejudiced when dealing with singing bowls. The instrument can be made to sound in many different ways and not only with a mallet, as is traditionally the case. Children can also sing to singing bowls and she sings along; you can gently nudge her with your fingers and she sighs softly; you can fill beads into her that rush back and forth like the waves of the sea. And the great thing about it is that it always sounds different. Sometimes the sounds are low and long lasting, sometimes they are high and sound only very briefly.
“Children are our future. If we treat them with respect and appreciation and offer them opportunities to develop joyfully and freely, the foundation for a peaceful future is laid.”
(Peter Hess)
Apply on the body, put inside or fill with water
Children can also place a singing bowl on their stomach or another part of their body, and if the bowl is large enough, you can even stand in it. When it is then sounded, it tingles. If you are quiet and listen carefully, you will notice how long a singing bowl can sound. It’s also fun to fill the bowl with water and strike it vigorously – then a real “sound fountain” is created.
Experiments with fingers and mallets
What does it sound like when you bump the bowl with the heel of your hand or when your fingernails dance over it? What about tapping it with a felt mallet, or rubbing it with a rubber mallet, or swirling grains of sand or lenses back and forth in it? There are no limits to the imagination here, try whatever comes to mind for you and the kids. Everything is allowed – except pointed or hard objects that could damage the surface. After some time, let the singing bowl sound properly for the first time and ask the children to listen to the sound – not only with their ears, but with their whole body.
Are there singing bowl massages for children?
Yes, just as in a normal sound massage, so-called therapy singing bowls are positioned on or around the body and gently tapped according to a certain system during a singing bowl massage for children. Adults as well as children usually enjoy the fine tingling of the sound vibration and the soft fading of the harmonic sounds during a sound massage from the very first moment, which quickly leads to relaxation. Often feelings of contentment, serenity and inner peace set in.
What happens during a singing bowl massage for children?
During a singing bowl massage for children, the body is loosened by the sounds and the mind comes to rest – the soul experiences space to unfold. The vibrations emanating from the sounding and thus vibrating bowls gradually spread through the skin, tissues, organs, body fluids and body cavities throughout the body. Our body, which consists of about 70 percent liquid, reacts accordingly sensitive to this fine stimulation. The sounds literally get him moving, flowing. The fine vibration impulses very gently loosen muscular tension, adhesions in the fascia tissue and stimulate blood circulation and lymph flow.
Many people describe their experience during a sound massage as “a kind of very fine cell massage” that has a soothing effect deep into the body. For children, the sound massage sometimes feels like the “tingling of a thousand rays of sunshine in the belly”. In general, the following effects can be summarized.
The sound massage:
- is a holistic method that addresses body, soul and spirit
- causes deep relaxation
- strengthens the original confidence of man
- facilitates “letting go” – of worries, fears and doubts
- contributes to the promotion of health: Harmonization, regeneration and vitalization
- supports and improves body and self-awareness
- Contributes to the activation of the self-healing powers
- Enables access and use of own resources
- strengthens self-confidence, creativity, creative power and motivation
How long does a sound massage for children last?
A classic sound massage lasts about an hour with preliminary discussion and after-rest. Various short sound massage offers have been designed for working with children – depending on the age and personality of the child. Such sound massages for children are taught, for example, in the seminar “Sound Massage with Children – Experiencing the Touch of All Senses with Children in a New Way”. The seminar builds on the training seminar “Sound Massage I – Strengthening your own center” and teaches many variations of the classic basic sound massage especially for children. But of course, children or teenagers can also give each other a little sound massage – or their parents, which especially fills the little ones with pride.
Many adults are always amazed at the sensitivity and attentiveness that children display when giving a sound massage. Again, each experience is individual and can vary greatly from child to child.
Sound and fantasy journeys with children
Children love sounds and children love fantasy journeys and stories – so what could be more natural than to combine these two elements into sounding fantasy journeys? Children usually reach a state of deep relaxation much faster than adults and at the same time follow the text very consciously. They often experience and live through the imaginative stories entirely in the moment.
The sounds not only promote relaxation and strengthen attention, but also have a positive effect on concentration, memory and endurance. Selected fantasy journeys can help children to better process inner states of tension, fears and experiences and thus become a valuable resource in terms of coping with life and self-confidence.
“Imagination is more important than knowledge, because knowledge is limited. Imagination, however, encompasses the whole world.”
(Albert Einstein)
For those who want to delve deeper into the topic, here is inspiration for sound and fantasy journeys with children.
Here you can download the fantasy journey “The coconut birth” from the book Fanello – Sounding fantasy journeys for children by Emily Hess for free.
Fantasy_Journey_Coconut_Birth_Fanello
Singing bowl games with children in an educational context
The wide variety of singing bowl games with children, sound exercises and sound settings can be ideally integrated into educational and training plans as well as curricula. They enrich the respective pedagogical concepts and, as a non-verbal medium of communication and expression, help to overcome linguistic or cultural barriers in a playful way. Accordingly, they have also proven their worth in integrative facilities as a complementary offering. Educators, teachers and parents appreciate not only the beneficial effect on children and the general atmosphere, but also that they themselves benefit from the sounds. The singing bowl games with children also become valuable periods of relaxation for them in the often stressful and noisy everyday life.
“In order for the vast potential of interconnectivity in the brain to be stabilized as well as possible and for the talents inherent in our children to come to fruition, we need to provide them with opportunities to play for as long as possible.”
(Gerald Hüther)
Soundful breaks in the kindergarten
Children are often exposed to many stimuli that they cannot always filter or process adequately. In kindergarten, a relatively high noise level is part of everyday life – some children cope better with it, others less so. Large groups of up to 25 children present a challenge, especially for the little ones. Educators who face these stressors on a daily basis know a thing or two about this. Here, small sound pauses that repeatedly lead to calm, focus attention and bring all participants into contact with themselves are particularly beneficial.
Extensive information and practical tips are offered in the intensive training to become a KliK® expert/practitioner – Sounding Communication with Children, which is primarily aimed at pedagogical or therapeutic professionals.
Sound as support in everyday school life
The desire to learn and grow is inherent in all of us from the beginning. Maintaining the natural joy of learning is not always easy, because early on, societal influences and thoughts of achievement affect the learning process. Lack of concentration, high expectations and pressure to perform show their effects on students, parents and educators and quickly lead to dissatisfaction, tension and stress. KliK® aims to create a counterbalance here, offering relaxation, supporting the joy of learning and helping to strengthen concentration and stamina. The focus is always on the personal development of the children and young people, on finding and cultivating resources that can sustainably support them on their path through life.
Singing bowl games with children and other sound offers can be used not only in the classroom, but also in the context of work groups, in after-school care, school social work or by school psychologists.
Whether at the elementary or high school level, experience shows that sound methods are a useful addition to the teaching process. Their targeted use can be in different situations and with different goals, for example:
- Use of singing bowls for learning motivation and better learning
- Learning with all senses
- Sound rituals and sound innovation (at the beginning of class, during class, during breaks, before class tests or exams, as an end of the day)
- Promote concentration
- Supporting integration and inclusion with sound
- Strengthen social learning and mindfulness
- Accompany dealing with conflict situations
The continuing education system of Peter and Emily Hess enables sounding and vibrating communication in the family, in daycare centers, schools and at work. Here you can find out more about the seminars offered in the field of sound pedagogy.