Sound Bath

A sound bath is a deeply soothing, meditative pratice where a sound healer bathes attendees in sound waves, created by using ancient instruments such as singing bowls, percussion, gongs, rattles, tuning forks, chimes and sometimes the voice itself. The sounds are carefully played to create waves of sound vibrations that wash over attendees, at a particular resonance.

Sound baths are suitable for all students of yoga, no matter their age or ability. It is practiced in a reclined position and is accessible for anyone who is interested.

What to expect from a sound bath session

Sound baths are widely believed to offer a practice known as “sound healing”, an ancient remedy used by many cultures around the world for centuries. Usually, at a sound bath you are invited to lie down in a reclined position such as savasana. This may be after a yoga class or meditation practice. You may be offered bolsters and cushions to ensure you are completely comfortable and can remain in stillness throughout the sound bath.

Once everyone is settled the sound healer or practitioner, who has received specific sound healing training, will begin to produce waves of sound using the ancient instruments, creating calming loops of sound. The resonance of the sound vibrations help you relax into a deep state of meditative, disarming your body’s fight-or-flight reflex. At the end of the sound bath, your practitioner will slowly lead you back into the room and into a state of conscious awareness, much like at the end of a savasana.

You can find sound baths in person at yoga studios, parks, churches and other community spaces across the country, but if you are physically unable to get there, there’s many to experience online, which are believed to be calming and effective.

Benefits of Sound Baths:

As well as helping the body relax, most sound healers believe that sound baths can improve physical healing. Waves of sound from ancient instruments produced by singing bowls, percussion, gongs, rattles, tuning forks and chimes at the sound bath are thought to deepen relaxation, improve sleep, lower stress and anxiety, improve mood and well being, heighten focus and energy.

As stress is linked to other conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, sound baths are often considered as a preventive strategy to reduce the risk of chronic conditions. Sound baths aren’t a replacement for medical treatments, but are a low-risk complementary healing pratice that can accompany treatments prescribed by your doctor.

At A Sound Bath:

As well as public / group sound baths, booking yourself a 1:1 sound bath session, particularly if you have a specific injury (physical or otherwise) that you want to address and heal, comes highly recommended.

As with all yogic practices, it is recommended that you don’t eat for an hour prior to a sound bath. Small sips of water are fine before a session, and drinking a lot of water and herbal teas after the sound bath is recommended also.

Wear comfortable clothes that you can recline and meditate in.

Teacher training:

The College of Sound Healing was set up in 2005 to provide a comprehensive training in Sound Healing and Sound Therapy. The College is a non-profitmaking organisation and is a member of the Therapeutic Sound Association and the Complementary Medical Association.

The College offers the following courses:

• Sound Healing with the Voice (CoSH)® Practitioner Training

• Gong Practitioner Training

• Sacred Drumming Practitioner Training

• Bowls Practitioner Training

Reference books:

• The Ancient Language of Sacred Sound : The Acoustic Science of the Divine by David Elkington (2021)

• Sound Bath: Meditate, Heal and Connect through Listening by Sarah Auster (2019)

• The 7 Secrets of Sound Healing by Jonathan Goldman (2008)