Written by Melissa Roloff, LMHC, LCPC
There are times when anxiety does not feel like thoughts at all. Instead, it shows up as a jaw that will not unclench, a chest that never quite fills with air, or a nervous system that stays alert even when there is no immediate danger. Many people describe feeling restless, on edge, or disconnected from themselves without being able to explain why.
For years, women in particular have described anxiety as something they feel in their bodies long before they can name it in words. Long before research had language for this experience, sound-based healing practices were already being used to meet anxiety where it actually lives: in the nervous system and the body.
More recently, scientific research has begun to reflect what many practitioners and clients have observed for a long time.
What the Study Explored
In 2023, a study published in Complementary Therapies in Medicine examined whether a sound-based, biofield-oriented healing intervention could reduce anxiety in individuals diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. The study took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when anxiety levels were elevated for many people.
Fifteen participants with moderate to high anxiety participated in the study. Each participant received three weekly, hour-long sound healing sessions over the course of one month. These sessions were delivered virtually by trained practitioners and used a biofield-based sound healing approach that aligns closely with tuning fork and vibrational sound work.
Researchers assessed anxiety, perceived stress, emotional states, spiritual experience, and quality of life using validated clinical measures. They also analyzed changes in participants’ language over time to better understand shifts in emotional processing.
What the Researchers Found
The results of the study were notable. Participants experienced statistically significant reductions in anxiety, perceived stress, and negative emotional states after completing the sound healing sessions. These improvements were consistent across multiple standardized assessment tools, suggesting meaningful changes rather than temporary or isolated effects.
In addition to symptom reduction, researchers observed a significant decrease in participants’ use of negative emotion words over time. This linguistic shift suggests that sound healing may influence not only how anxiety feels in the body, but also how individuals internally process and relate to their emotional experiences.
Taken together, the findings indicate that sound-based biofield healing was both feasible and well tolerated, and that it showed meaningful potential for improving anxiety and overall mental well-being. The researchers concluded that these results warrant further investigation through larger, randomized controlled trials.
Why Sound Reaches Anxiety Differently
Anxiety is not only a cognitive experience. It is also physiological and deeply rooted in the nervous system. When someone is anxious, their body is often bracing, scanning, or preparing for threat, even when none is present.
Sound works differently than talk because vibration reaches the body directly. Frequencies move through tissue, fascia, and fluid, and they engage the vagus nerve, which plays a key role in regulating the stress response. Rather than asking the mind to calm down, sound invites the body to shift first.
In real-life sessions, when energy begins to move, it rarely looks dramatic. It often shows up as a spontaneous yawn, a deeper breath that arrives without effort, or a softening through the shoulders and jaw. Sometimes laughter emerges and sometimes tears surface without a specific story attached. These responses are not emotional reactions that need interpretation; they are signs that the nervous system is beginning to regulate.
How Reiki Supports Integration
While sound creates movement, Reiki supports integration. Once vibration loosens areas of tension or stagnation, Reiki helps the body settle into the shift rather than returning to familiar patterns of holding.
Reiki provides steadiness and containment, which allows the nervous system to absorb change at a pace that feels safe. This combination often results in a deeper sense of grounding, clarity, and emotional ease.
Together, sound healing and Reiki address both activation and restoration. One opens the system, and the other helps it reorganize.
Why This Matters, Especially for Women
Women are more likely to experience anxiety somatically, meaning it is often felt in the jaw, neck, chest, belly, or hips. Many women carry emotional responsibility for others, remain highly attuned to their environment, and stay in states of quiet vigilance for long periods of time.
Sound healing does not require women to analyze or explain their anxiety. It does not demand insight or effort. Instead, it offers the body a way to release what it has been holding without force.
The growing body of research on sound-based healing reflects what many women already know from experience: when the nervous system is supported rather than pushed, healing becomes gentler and more sustainable.
A Gentle Invitation
If anxiety feels lodged in your body more than in your thoughts, there is nothing wrong with you. Your nervous system has been doing its best to keep you safe.
Sound healing and Reiki are tools that help the body soften and reorganize. They offer an invitation rather than a demand.
I offer 50-minute tuning fork and Reiki sessions for $100, available in-office or in the comfort of your home. These sessions are warm, grounding, nourishing, and deeply restorative.
You do not have to push through anxiety to heal. Sometimes, the body simply needs the right conditions to begin letting go.
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