1 week Ago By Janice Sim
“I would like to encourage you to repeat these statements after me,” gently urged Cathy Lee, my sound healer just yesterday afternoon during a session. What ensued was a series of declarations that affirmed the power of my manifestations into the universe. Lee’s beginning approach to a sound bath involved nidra yoga, a guided meditation practice that prepares the body and mind for relaxation, with the participant consciously and willingly entering a state of lull.
In that moment, one feels complete control of the body and soul but yet what follows next is to relinquish all that by ‘letting go’. A process that’s invigorating and subjective to the individual’s thoughts, consciousness and feelings. For myself, in that 40-minute sound bath, my mind travelled to many places.
Eyes closed the entire time, my mind felt conscious but yet at certain points, alpha waves were part of my transition as I found the room entirely quiet and still, despite the bowls singing softly in the background. When it was all over, my body and mind was sated—almost in the same way as how one would feel after a full-body massage. Of course, the experience and aftermath differs for everyone—depending on your intention for the session.
As someone with a busy work schedule, I relished the moments when my mind was drained of all thoughts. When intrusive ones did eventually come through, I shunned them away and recentred my mind to be emptied. “Sound healing can activate our rest and digest system and hence affect us at a physiological and emotional level.
While many people feel relaxed or even fall asleep, it is also common for physical or emotional sensations to come up. Furthermore, at an energetic level, the vibrations can help restore balance in our energy, based on the fact that everything vibrates and emits frequencies that interact with one another,” explains Lee. Her calling with the practice started years ago; feeling lost and in the midst of finding herself after leaving her corporate job, she attended a couple of sound healing sessions while on a solo trip to Bali.
“I still remember to this day the vivid dreams I had, as I floated between states of awake and asleep as the sounds and vibrations went through my whole body. What I saw was vivid but also inspiring as I was able to tap into my deeper subconscious, and understand better what was causing some of my resistance to change. Some old knots and wounds felt softer as well, and that night I had one of the most peaceful sleeps I had in a while.
”That sparked a curiosity to learn more, which led Lee to acquire her first bowl and soon after, her certification. Undoubtedly, she isn’t alone on our shores, where burnt out city-dwellers seek out sound healing as a form of therapy. It’s a wellness phenomenon that has gradually picked up stead these past years, with many others, like Lee finding their own place in the practice.
Below, Lee alongside two other sound healers share their journeys. The post 3 sound healers on how the meditative practice can impact lives for the better appeared first on Vogue Singapore..
