You’ve probably seen them before — sitting in a mind, body, spirit fair between the crystal jewellery and the incense, or tucked on a shelf in a little gifty shop next to the tarot cards. Beautiful, sure. Novel, definitely. But what are they actually for?
If you’ve ever picked one up, given it a curious tap, and put it back down without really knowing what you were meant to do with it — you’re not alone. Singing bowls get sold as ornaments a lot of the time, and it’s easy to assume that’s all they are. It’s not. Here’s what they can genuinely be used for.
1. Meditation
This is the big one. A singing bowl gives your mind something simple to follow — the sound rising, spreading, and slowly fading to nothing. For anyone who’s tried to meditate and found “just watch your breath” a bit too abstract, following a bowl’s tone is a much easier place to land. You strike it, and for the next thirty seconds or so, there’s nothing else to do but listen.
2. Sound healing and sound baths
You may have come across “sound baths” — sessions where a practitioner plays a series of bowls (sometimes alongside gongs or chimes) and you simply lie down and let the sound wash over you. This is where singing bowls really come into their own. Different bowls produce different frequencies, and many practitioners work with the idea that these frequencies interact with the body in different ways — helping shift you out of a stressed, wired state and into something calmer.
3. Yoga and movement practice
Bowls are often used to mark the beginning and end of a yoga class, or a transition between poses — a single strike as a cue to settle, breathe, or move. If you teach or practise yoga at home, a bowl can become a simple ritual marker: this sound means we begin, this sound means we’re done.
4. Personal grounding and stress relief
You don’t need a class, a practice, or any particular belief system to get something out of a bowl. Some people simply keep one on their desk and give it a strike when they need a reset — a moment between meetings, or a way to signal to themselves that it’s time to stop and breathe. It takes ten seconds and no experience at all.
5. Gifting, and marking a space
This is where a lot of people actually encounter bowls for the first time — as a gift, or as something to bring a room a particular quality: a therapy room, a yoga studio, a quiet corner at home. Even used this way, they’re not just decorative. Most people who receive one as a gift end up picking it up and playing it — and then wanting to know what else it can do.
So — how do you actually use one?
This is usually where people get stuck. Do you tap it or circle the rim? Metal or crystal — does it matter which you buy? How do you even choose, with so many sizes and price points out there?
That’s exactly what we’ll cover in the workshop.
Singing Bowl Workshop
Monday 24th August, 7–9pm
Stone Rose Crystals, Stonham Barns — Healing Room
£10
We’ll go through:
- The difference between Himalayan (metal) and crystal singing bowls, and why you’d choose one over the other
- What to look for when buying a bowl
- How to care for your bowl
- Techniques for playing — you’ll get hands-on time with the bowls, practising different ways of using them
Bowls will be provided, but bring your own if you have one — we’ll help you get to know it better.
Message me to book your place. rosiedhoopun@gmail.com
