Kathmandu:

We have seen the hawkers selling the singing bowls and it is amusing at times to watch these

hawkers run after foreigners in a bid to sell a bowl or two. Perhaps many of us have been fascinated by the sonorous and a kind of mystical sound that the bowls generate. And maybe we have also tried our hand at producing the vibrating music at one of the hawkers’ stalls.

The powers of the singing bowl does not just end with the music it produces; it also has healing powers. However, not all healing bowls available in the market have this power.

Apart from the fabulous golf course, the Le Meridien Kathmandu at Gokarna is also famous for its yoga sessions, art of living classes and luxurious spa. Their latest addition is the Planetary Singing Bowl Therapy providing meditation and healing classes for the masses conducted by Siefgried Mayer from Austria.

Mayer had been travelling around the Himalayas, Tibet, Bhutan and Nepal for the last 20 years (he has already visited Nepal 72 times), when his interest towards Himalayan medication and meditation took a fresh new turn when he came to know about planetary singing bowls and their healing powers.

Six years ago when he met Frank Plate from Germany, he was introduced to the magical music of the singing bowls. Mayer then started intensive training on the same, and has since then been training and providing the art of healing thorough singing bowl therapy.

“The Planetary Singing Bowl is totally different from the regular bowls available in the market. It’s not easy to find the one that is perfect for you. Once we collected 450 antique bowls belonging to families from all around the Himalayan region, and out of all these, only 19 were perfect ones,” said Mayer.

Planetary singing bowls are the ones that have the vibrations and sounds of planets, sun and moon. It is said that one single planetary singing bowl is made up of at least 12 different metals. The specific compositions are handed on from one craftsmen- generation to the next as a family secret.

In 1978, a music teacher from Switzerland, Hans Consto, octovated each measurement of the different planets, the frequency (hertz) of that planet has to match the sound and vibration

of the singing bowl, only then can the bowl be considered worth using for treatment.

“Our body is made of seven main chakras (cranial nerves) and each chakra is ruled by a different planet. The sound vibration works with each chakra and helps to open and heal the lack in these chakras, thus each singing bowl has a different reaction on each person. We here help them to realise that need of their body,” he said.

The vibration helps the body, mind and soul to harmonise with the frequency and vibration of the earth. “People who are not connected to spirituality, lose the vibration with earth and that can lead to instability of mind and mood. But the singing bowl therapy helps in regenerating the connection,” Mayer informed.

Not only through the chakras, but one can also choose the singing bowls according to one’s Zodiac sign as the signs are also ruled by certain planets. He added that using a singing bowl without knowing its planetary connection can lead to negative effects as one may end up focusing the bowl on the wrong chakra and receive negative vibrations.

Meditation on the vibrations of the signing bowls is being organised daily at Le Meridian, with Mayer and his junior partner Sarita Thapa giving classes. The meditation helps people

to cleanse their aura, helps in relaxing and increases personal wellbeing. If you want, they also provide individual sessions of relaxation, vibration scanning to choose the right bowl according to the need of your chakra. The therapy begins after that.

As Mayer visits Nepal only in January and July, Thapa assists in all the sessions. The session will run all year long. Meditation classes are open for all and are free of cost. For training on singing bowls, classes are organised only in January and July when Mayer is in town.

Workshop on the singing bowls starts from May 1, where one can get all the information regarding its work, instruction on using the bowl and history of the planetary bowl.

sacred Seven

Traditionally singing bowls were said to be made of seven sacred metals corresponding

to the seven sacred planets —

•Gold: Sun

•Silver: Moon

•Mercury: Mercury

•Copper: Venus

•Tin: Jupiter

•Lead: Saturn

•Iron: Mars

Zodiac and planets

•Aries: Mars

•Taurus: Venus

•Gemini: Mercury

•Cancer: Moon

•Leo: Sun

•Virgo: mercury

•Libra: Venus

•Scorpio: Pluto

•Sagittarius: Jupiter

•Capricorn: Saturn

•Aquarius: Uranus

•Pluto: Neptune