I LOVE entrainment! The one and only scientific term that I LOVE!

Since I started reading about entrainment, I can see it working everywhere!  And can see how important it is to know about it when it comes to giving birth and being a Mother.

What is Entrainment?

In 1666 Dutch physicist Christian Huygens, the inventor of the pendulum clock noticed that the pendulums of 2 clocks mounted on the same wall had synchronised! This was the birth of the term “entrainment”.

“Entrainment involves the ability of the more powerful rhythmic vibrations of one object to change the less powerful rhythmic vibrations of another object and cause them to synchronise their rhythms with the first object. Through sound it is possible to change the rhythms of our brainwaves, as well as our heart beat and respiration.”  
Jonathon Goldman, Resonant Sounds

Examples of Entrainment:

• women living together and their menstrual cycles synchronise;
• talking to someone who is anxious...you start to feel anxious;
• talking to someone who is very relaxed (monk / swami) brings you into a state of relaxation;
• listening to fast fitness music and you exercise for longer than if there was slow or no music;
• a baby’s heart beat will synchronise to the slow steady beat of a lullaby being sung to them.

How Does Entrainment Affect YOU Before, During and After the Birth?

“When we utilize singing bowls or practice toning, the fine, harmonious vibration instantly entrains us to the frequency of our own essence.”  Dr Mitchell Gaynor

Here are some examples:

• Baby in womb is being affected all the time by mother’s rhythms.
• Kangaroo care – preterm babies are encouraged to be held skin-to-skin with their Mother (heart-beat to heart-beat);
• When you need to relax during labour, breastfeeding or settling your baby, listen to relaxing music;
• When you need more energy to cope with contractions or a long labour, feeling tired after broken sleep or carrying baby all day, listen to energising music;
• When using a crystal singing bowl you can entrain brain waves to the Alpha state;
• Toning to slow down breathing and entrain brainwaves to the Alpha state (see below).

Brain Waves / Sound Waves, Same Thing!

I was SO excited when I realised that that brainwaves and sound waves  are both measured in cycles per second or hertz.  Here is why! 

Because of "entrainment", sound waves move or pull or drag our brainwaves into different states of consciousness.  As Jonathon Goldman points out above, "they  change the rhythms of our brainwaves, heart beat and respiration". This on it's own has huge implications!  When aware of this you can start using sound in your life to alter your own state of consciousness depending on what you are needing at the time....Thinking? Doing? Sleeping? Meditating? Birthing?

Here are the four main brain wave states:

1. Beta Waves – from 14 - 20 hz, This is our normal waking state of consciousness where we are talking, thinking, doing ... our busy state!
2. Alpha Waves - from 8 to 13hz, This is when we are daydreaming or meditating.  We feel; relaxed and alert at the same time. This is the state we need to move into and stay in during labour.
3. Theta Waves - from 4 to 7hz, This occurs in states of deep meditation and sleep.
4. Delta Waves – from 0.5 to 3hz, This state occurs in deep sleep and in profound states of meditation or healing.

You can hear a special sound called "Infrasound" when playing a crystal sing bowl and making a toning sound with it that is slightly higher or lower than the pitch of the bowl.  (I'll explain this in more detail one day...). When you do this you'll start to hear a "wah, wah, wah" sound.  This is the sound, the infrasound, that I was spinning out about during my SoundBirths and that was doing the magic of entraining my brain from Beta into the Alpha state.  It felt like magic...and it was fun...but really it was just plain old science. 

If you want to know more about the Science of Sound watch the videos or read any of these books below:

VIDEOS:
Shh Sound Health in 8 Steps... 
The 4 Ways Sound Affect Us ...
Good Vibrations: The Scienc...

BOOKS:
The Power of Sound – Jonathon Goldman
Healing at the Speed of Sound – Don Campbell
The Mozart Effect – Don Campbell

Enjoy!

And be aware of how your brain is being entrained from now on!

​Nicole

This picture is of my daughter who was 10 at the time playing my bowl at my Blessingway ceremony.  She also played the bowl while I was in labour with my fourth baby.  She took turns with my other daughter who was 8, my Mum, my husband and my back-up midwife. If a 10 year old can do it so can you!! (or your partner or mother or older child or midwife...)

It is important for both the partner and any other support person to know how to play a crystal singing bowl so that there can always be someone there playing the bowl for you (the birthing woman) during each contraction.  After all, if the sound of the bowl does indeed become the woman's favourite birthing ritual someone will NEED to be playing that bowl ... believe me!
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Make sure your partner practices playing the bowl whenever he / she has a chance BEFORE the birth. It’s NOT a difficult instrument to play but it is important to feel comfortable playing it and for them to get your feedback on how loud or soft you like it.
 
Here are some guidelines:

• Be present. - be aware of the present moment. Move out of your mind thinking about the past or the future.  Be here now with whatever is going on. You holding the striker and playing the bowl.
• Relax - take a few deep breaths before playing the bowl.  Consciously choose to relax.  Remember that through "entrainment" others can pick up on your energy ... so let them pick up on you experiencing slow, relaxed brain waves!. It's OK ... the sound of the bowl will soon relax your brain anyway!
• Feel grateful. - think of something you feel grateful for.  This just gets you into a "higher vibrational state" which is always nice to have around you when giving birth! Plus sound amplifies thoughts and feelings.  So think and feel good about something!! 

                         "Intention + Frequency = Manifestation" Jonathon Goldman

• Connect with the bowl you are about to play. Look at it.  Touch it. Feel how it is an extension of you.
• Rub the outside of the bowl using the rubber end of the stick (the striker or wand) slowly encircling the circumference, until the bowl sings at the level of intensity you desire.
• Experiment with loud and soft. The faster you move the striker, the louder the sound. 
• Stop dragging the striker when the sound is resonating at the volume the pregnant / birthing woman likes and enjoy the vibrations…as the sound fades away drag the striker around to once again give you the volume you require.
• When the contraction fades away take the striker off the bowl and allow the sound to also fade away.  This is the best part about experiencing a SoundBirth ... the sound accompanies the birthing woman's rhythm.  This allows them to feel held and supported and not alone. It's a beautiful thing.
• Play “windscreen wipers” style if you want to! Instead of going around and around and around your bowl you can just move the striker from left the right on one side of the bowl. This is particularly relevant if using a 16 inch or larger bowl. This will prevent your arm from getting tired!
• I recommend you pour water into the bowl during the birth. If you fill it up half way (don’t go any further than half way) the tone will go down one and a half tones (lower in pitch) but the sound won’t be as intense (which sometimes is a good thing!). If you don’t want to change the tone/pitch, add a jug full of water just because water is a beautiful element to include during labour. Recently a doula who had water in the bowl during the birth told me that when the baby had its first bath the couple poured the special, blessed, energised water into the bath tub. Beautiful. Another idea is to keep some of the water in a little bottle to keep as a special memory or naming ceremony or other ritual.

That's all for now!

Share this with your birth support team and give them a go at playing the bowl so they know they can make it resonate and can control the volume.  

If you would like to have a SoundBirth I'd be happy to teach you and your birth team everything I know in a  private session whenever you are ready!

Enjoy playing!

Nicole