The ancient practice to heal and set worries aside gets modern-day approval
A friend sent me a text recently to which was attached a New York Times article with the headline, "Can a Sound Bath Wash Away Your Worries?"
Before I opened the article, I asked him curiously, "what do they find, can it or can't it?"
"It can," he answered.
Phew. I know this, firsthand, as maybe you do also if you've come to my Sacred Bloom sound bath or gone to a sound bath with someone else. It is the reason I started learning how to facilitate sound meditations, as the myriad of other ways I've tried to help myself and others not to worry have not been nearly as successful.
There is just something about sound. The Times nods to some research that shows how relaxing sound baths are, suggesting they have been around "for decades." Ha. Try centuries. Sound and vibration has since the dawn of time been used to calm and restore the nervous systems of humans and other beings. We have used our voices, our hands, crafted crude "instruments" to entrain the mind and pull it away from our more worrisome thoughts. Song and sound have been employed to give slaves moments of freedom, to heal sicknesses of the mind, body and soul.
Pythagoras in 550 BC began to understand the power of harmonic intervals as medicine, and conducted musical "soul adjustments" to align people to their "divine nature." As usual, we think because we have discovered something, it is new, but it is actually the case that using sound to feel connected to ourselves and the Universe is an ancient practice, proven time and time again on every continent during every century. Every culture has created its own musical healing traditions, many of which have been decimated over time by the changing of the guard, by shifts in land ownership and leadership. But they surface anew, like now, necessary and effective.
So, if you were wondering, as the NY Times was, "do sound baths work to stop worrying?" the answer is 'yes,' especially the more you incorporate them as a regular practice in your life. We learn, when we stop to take an hours' long repose to tune in to ourselves with the help of the vibrating voice, with bells, bowls, drums and chimes, to focus on what we want, and tune out what we don't. It is a practice.
There are a few spots left in my monthly First Friday Sound Bath at YogaSole in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, this Friday, May 3rd. Visit their website at yogasole.com to register.
Or join me on the third Thursday of the month, on May 16th, at my home salon for a 7 pm sound bath. Sacredbloomtribe.com/events.
If neither of these dates works, reach out to schedule a private individual or group session. stephsthompson@gmail.com.
I have recently created events for birthday parties and upstate retreats. It's a lovely way to gather with friends!! I can come to you, or host.
In Peace and Harmony. Find a moment to take a deep breath in, and out, and in and out. Repeat. You can always come back to the rhythm of your own breath.
XX
Steph
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