Last weekend, I treated myself to my first-ever in-person sound bath. 

Since then, I’ve had several people ask me:

What is a sound bath and what are the benefits? 

So, I thought I’d jump on here to explain.

A sound bath isn’t the type of bath that involves being in water. Although it can have a strange effect on the water inside your body, but I’ll come onto that.

During a sound bath, you’re encouraged to lie down with your eyes closed. Although encouraged lie on your back, you can also take part sitting up. The important thing is that your comfortable.

Once everyone has settled into a comfortable position, the sound healer creates a series of soothing meditative sounds.

These sounds generally come from Tibetan singing bowls, gongs and other calming percussion instruments, such as chimes or bells. 

The vibrations from the sounds help put you into a relaxed meditative state. They can also help to clear blocked chakras. Click here to find out more about what chakras are.

How to find a sound bath near you

Sound baths don’t have to take place in-person. In fact, since the pandemic, it’s quite common to find them online. Last year, I attended one online. Whilst it was a pleasant experience, I knew my body would benefit more from feeling the vibrations in-person. 

So, I added ‘attend an in-person sound bath’ to the list of things I wanted to do this year. 

I began my search online, for an in-person sound bath. I jumped onto Google and searched for ‘Sound healing baths near me’, and hundreds of results came up!

To my surprise, it didn’t take long to find somewhere local that held weekly sound baths. I am lucky that I live in an area popular for wellbeing activities. I was spoiled for choice. 

In my search, I found one that was being held in a local wellbeing studio that I knew well.

Alcheme Wellbeing is just a short walk from me. I’ve been to their café many times, but I’d never been to one of their wellbeing sessions. Whilst Alcheme Wellbeing hosted this particular event, it was Karen from Lavender Oaks Healing who facilitated the session.

Karen runs sessions all over Surrey, so it’s worth checking out her events page.

For £22.50, I experienced a full hour of meditative sound healing. 

What are the benefits of a sound bath?

Whilst the impacts of a sound bath will differ from person to person, sound baths have been reported to:

• Reduce stress and anxiety levels
• Lower the heart rate
• Give a sense of wellbeing and a positive mood
• Increase energy levels
• Put the recipient into an induced state of meditation
• Unlock of emotions
• Reduce muscle tension
• Improve sleep quality
• Provide peace and tranquility
• Give some pain relief

The more you throw yourself into a sound bath and let yourself go, the more you’ll gain from the experience. 

My experience

Armed with my yoga mat and blanket, I arrived at Alcheme Wellbeing in plenty of time ahead of the session. 

Karen was running another workshop before ours, and they were over-running, so there was a small delay in getting started.

Whilst I waited, I sat chatting with Emma who was also waiting for the sound bath. We had a lovely conversation and soon discovered that we’re practically neighbours!

After 20 minutes or so, we entered the studio to get ourselves comfortable, ready for the session to start. 

I lay my yoga mat on the floor, and grabbed another blanket from the studio to use as a pillow. Unfortunately, it was a freezing cold day outside, and the floor in the studio was concrete! Although there was supposed to be underfloor heating, I’m not sure it was working.  But I got myself as comfortable as possible, laying my own blanket over the top of me. 

Karen carefully explained the technique she would be using and then eased us in with some gentle breath work. 

Putting the ‘sound’ in sound bath

After the breath work, she started to use the instruments to send us into a relaxing bliss. Except, intrigue took over! I had to fight the urge to open my eyes! I was desperate to know what she was using to create the different sounds!

My favourite sounds were the Tibetan singing bowls and the gong. I could easily have listened to them all day had I been more comfortable and not so chilly! Unfortunately, the cold from the floor was rising through my yoga mat. I don’t think we were even a quarter of the way through when I convinced myself I was seizing up! Sadly this had an impact on my experience as I struggled to stay focused as I tried to find a comfortable position

Despite the discomfort, I still felt some of the benefits. 

Ripple effect

Part way through, I felt my insides shuddering. I thought it may’ve been from the cold, but it felt different. It was like waves were rippling through my bloodstream. Afterwards, Karen asked us for feedback on the experience, and Emma explained she had experienced a rippling sensation too. To explain why this feeling occurred, Karen took one of the singing bowls and filled it with water. She then used a mallet on the bowl to demonstrate the effect the sound waves have on water. She explained that humans are made up of 70% water, so our bodies were experiencing the exact same thing. Click here to watch a short video showing the effects of sound waves on water. 

During the sound bath, I also felt my throat clear. I’ve suffered with a blocked throat chakra for years! Afterwards, Karen said a lot of us had had blocked throat chakras. Whilst ours had all cleared, she could now feel a blockage in her own throat.

The most intense experience for me was when Karen placed a singing bowl near or on each person. She placed one of the bowls on my chest and used a small mallet to chime the bowl. The vibrations coursing through my body when she did this were something else. I can’t even really explain it. It just felt magical.

Would I do it again?

100 times yes! I would definitely go to another sound bath in the future. Although Karen runs weekly session I’m not sure I can justify the expense of going every week. But, if I can find something more comfortable and warm to lay on, I might make it a monthly treat!

If you’re a Sound Healer or a Holistic Wellbeing Practitioner, and you need some help with social media, I’d love to hear from you. Get in touch here.