What is a sound bath?

A sound bath is a relaxing, often meditative experience that is designed to help induce a deep sense of well being. This is facilitated by sound waves that can be produced by a variety of means and methods including the voice, drums, singing bowls, chimes or other instruments.   I offer two options for the sound back experience, either with singing bowls or the handpan.  The singing bowls are often used in sound healing and can create a powerful meditative experience.  They can help regulate your emotions and leave you with a clear-headed sense of well being.  Their connection to the chakra energy centers can be explored and enjoyed.  The other sound bath experience is unique in that it features a less well known but wonderful instrument, the handpan. The harmonious and resonant sounds of the handpan wash over and through you, creating a peaceful feeling of floating safely in your own space, helping you to live fully in the moment.

What can a sound bath do for me?

The beneficial effects of a sound bath have been identified in numerous scientific studies, but you have only to consider your own life experience to understand what a sound bath can do for you. You already know that sound and music can make you feel good. It has the power to calm and inspire joy. A sound bath can help you feel connected, and create a path to comfortable meditation. It can decrease anxiety and stress and bring about physical relaxation and mental ease. It's a time out for self-care that's sorely needed in today's world. It can be healing.

What is this sound bath experience like?

Before our session, I'd like to get to know a bit about you and fill out the contact information and consent form - this conversation can take about ten minutes. For our sound bath meeting, we will begin with a quick review of how you are doing, address comfort issues and selected points of your questionnaire.

Next, if you choose this option, we begin a five to thirty minute gentle stretch and yoga sequence. Breathing exercises are often included. This is designed to help ready the body and mind for the sound bath experience, connect with the breath and focus on finding yourself in the moment.  This will be modified for your comfort and ability, and an example of a flow can be found here.  The yoga portion can be tailored to fit anyone's comfort level.

After this, we will settle in and the sound bath will begin. 

For the singing bowls:  Once we settle in comfortably, some background nature sounds will begin.  Then slowly and softly, the singing bowls will be introduced, followed by a gradual increase in stimulation.  Melodic chords will vibrate around you, both from the major and minor blends of the C scale.  There can follow a deeper meditative experience, where harmonic fifths settle you in the background and their corresponding bowls are vibrated to highlight corresponding energy waves.  Focus can be on lightness, grounding and chakras.  The soundbath can also be geared towards slowing down and finding peace within.  The sound will conclude with a series of awakening tones, and there will be time set aside to reintegrate back into the waking, active world that surrounds us.

For the handpan: The first ten minutes will be accompanied by an Ambient Pad in D♭ Major/B♭ Minor by Odir Ruano, beginning with some words about the sound experience, the handpan and sound bath.  The handpan notes will help with centering, grounding and relaxation. There is more information about this wonderful instrument here. Once this segment has finished, the background sounds will change over to nature - water and wind.  The beautiful, resonant tones of the handpan will change through different melodies inspire a lighter, positive, good feeling that continues over the next ten to fifteen minutes.  As the music fades away, you will have a clear, verbal indication that it is time to slowly awaken and prepare for re-entry into the world we share with everyone else.