Physiological and psychological effects of a Himalayan singing bowl in meditation practice: a quantitative analysis.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the physiological and psychological effects of adding a Himalayan singing bowl (HSB) to a directed relaxation (DR) session.


METHODS
Randomized crossover study.


METHODS
Community-based counseling practice.


METHODS
Fifty-one participants completed two randomly assigned sessions beginning with either 12 minutes of HSB or silence, followed by a 20-minute DR session.


METHODS
Random order of HSB intervention/silence prior to DR.


METHODS
Blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) scores measured before and after both sessions.


METHODS
Analysis of variance (ANOVA) compared differences between variables over time between both study days, and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) analyzed changes from baseline, controlling for baseline, age, and sex.


RESULTS
Fifty-one participants completed both sessions. There was a greater decline in systolic BP (p = .044) and HR (p = .003) with HSB compared to silence prior to DR. Changes in diastolic BP were greater with HSB, with a nonsignificant trend (p = .073). Hypertensive subjects (n = 20) had similar and significant BP changes with HSB and silence when compared to normotensive subjects (n = 31). PANAS scores fell significantly with both interventions.


CONCLUSIONS
BP and HR responses were enhanced by HSB exposure. HSB may be used as an adjunct to DR to produce physiological and psychological responses prior to DR.
Jayan Marie
JM
Landry
D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology; D000368:Aged; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019122:Meditation / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged