Namaste

As I said earlier this week, I’m going to cover a little more in depth the finer points of: how, why ,and (spiritually) to what end, the singing bowl functions.  This begins with a study of what a singing bowl is definitively.  From a structural standpoint it is basically an inverted bell.  The vibration of the metal creates the sound we hear when the bowl is struck or a steady pressure is established with either the bare wood or cloth-covered end of a dowel-esque mallet.  The position of the bowl in the hand is critical in creating the proper conditions for the most resonant sound to be created.  Each bowl has a hollow at the center of the bottom portion which should be placed at the base of the fingers (upper-palm if you will) so the bowl maintains minimal contact with the hand (to vibrate as much as possible)

The bowl may be struck for a clean note, or pressure around the rim with the mallet will cause a different type of sound all-together.  The metal used in antique and high quality newer bowls is a 7 part alloy; whose chief distinction from modern alloy used is the absence of gold and/or silver.  Old or new, these items acquire a fuller and more rounded tone as they age.  The seven metal alloy aspect is key as the different metals used, vibrate at different frequencies (thus producing different notes).

The origins of their ritual use in buddhism are up for debate but for most modern practitioners they are used as an aid in meditation and to open one’s chakras.  Bowls are tuned to different pitches in order to correspond with the varying charkas of the metaphysical body

High quality singing bowls can be found in our shop, open your chakras and deepen your practice of the dharma!

Look tomorrow for our new item of the week!