Think of this like a deep tissue massage at the molecular level.
I love it.
Yeah.
So excited!
Hi, I'm Briohny Smyth. I'm a yoga teacher, wellness influencer, and an entrepreneur.
I'm Natalie Valle and I'm a sound healer, meditation teacher, and reiki practitioner.
Today I'm gonna learn a new way to relax my mind and body.
Today I'll be teaching Briohny how to conduct a sound bath.
People recognize me by my love for arm balances and inversions on the yoga mat
as well as my passion for teaching students and yoga teachers how to really deepen
their mind-body connection. I personally love to practice meditation,
it's not easy, and I don't do it every day, but I try to.
And a sound bath for me is another skill that really helps with achieving
this meditative state and calming my mind and body.
Hi Natalie.
Hi Bri. So excited to see you soon.
Likewise, it's so nice to finally meet you. What are we doing today?
Today we're going to be doing just a little sound healing 101 for you to learn a little bit
more about how to integrate it into your own practice.
Oh my gosh, I'm so excited.
Yes, so you're gonna get to learn all of that, how to play the instruments, and, you know,
what different things are for, so you're gonna get new tools for your toolbox today.
Oh, thanks so much. I can't wait to meet you and to experience this.
Perfect.
I'll see you soon?
Sounds good-
Yay.
I'll see you soon.
Bye.
I have had sound bath experiences before in a group setting and so I'm really excited to experience it
one-on-one and learn a bit more about how to play the instruments as well as,
you know, how they can help me relax better.
Sound baths seem like a wonderful way to help me release anxiety, to help me prep my
mind for better sleep and relaxation, and share it with my kids or my students.
Hi Bri, so happy you could make it today.
Thank you, Natalie. I'm really excited to be here and learn all about this. Let's do it.
Perfect. So, to talk a little bit about sound baths, you know, they're really just a form of
meditation that utilizes sound to help us drop into a deeper state.
And when I listen to the vibrations, but also the sounds of all of these instruments,
I immediately feel a physical response before I even feel my mind clearing.
I feel it, almost goosebumps.
Think of this like a deep-tissue massage at the molecular level.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
Oh, I love it.
Yeah!
I'm so excited!
So, today we have the crystal bowls that are in front of you, each one has a different note.
So, each one is actually tuned to a different frequency of each different energy center.
So, the deeper the sound, the more grounding it is.
Much like a yoga class, you wanna ground them first
Yes.
and then take them on a
Yes!
higher journey.
Totally!
So I just hold it like... Oh, like a pen.
Yeah, like a pencil.
Pencil.
Beautiful and just go around it. And either direction works.
Does it represent anything? One direction versus the other?
You know, some have said that clockwise is to bring it into balance, the chakra.
Counterclockwise is to remove blockages.
Let's go counterclockwise.
Remove blockages!
This is beautiful.
Yeah.
You can give them a small strike with the suede part.
Oh, small.
Key word.
Yeah and just carry on the sound.
Wow.
And then it's nice to harmonize them with others.
Wow. Playing is just as meditative as listening.
Yes.
And then we also have the tuning forks, you have some to your right.
When you play them and hold them apart, you hear a note.
But when you place each one by your ears, you'll hear the two different notes,
so that is creating a binaural beat. So your brain can't hear both at the same time,
so what it's doing is it's finding the difference between the two.
And then this in the middle of us is a Venus gong.
I gravitated to her, really wanting to work in the divine feminine and it's very heart opening.
And just begin to get a feel.
And if you place your hand, above it, just hover it over, you can actually feel the vibrations.
Oh, yeah.
Like, over where the symbol is.
That's incredible.
So, you'll begin to get a feel for it. I like to think, like, dipping it in honey.
Ah, I see. Like that?
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Super calming. I love that visualization of the honey.
Yes!
That really slows everything down and makes you forget that you need to do
something right, like you said, intuitive. Beautiful.
Yeah.
Last but certainly not least, we have the ocean drum.
Oh, this one is very special.
In the theme of its name, you know, the ocean, the waves, they come in, they crash,
they slowly move out. That's how I like to think when playing this instrument.
Yeah. Just grab it, begin to tilt it.
It's so loud but super soothing.
It's almost mirroring my mind when I get impatient, it goes faster,
when I slow it down, it goes slower.
Yes.
I love it.
Yes.
This is my favorite.
Yeah?
Actually they're all my favorite. I think I said that about all of them.
Wow. So, how do you feel?
So many feelings, but all very grounded. I feel present, I feel centered, emotional,
you know, things come up, we store things all the time.
Absolutely.
It felt like it was a really safe space to just let go and feel.
Yeah.
So thank you.
Yes. You're so welcome.
What's the best way to close this type of practice?
Yeah. So one of my favorite ways is to just guide people to tune back into their bodies.
'Cause to your point, to ground back. So I love to just ask people and I would love to
invite you to place your left hand over your heart, right hand over your belly, and just close the eyes.
And as you breathe into the hands, notice the heart beat under the left hand and just tune into this body,
this vessel through which we experience life.
Maybe feel a little bit of gratitude for it.
And whenever you feel complete you can drop the palms back to your lap
and just flutter the eyes open.
Thank you. So much gratitude for you inviting me into your sound sanctuary.
Thank you so much, Natalie. True connection, I really feel that.
Agreed.
Thank you, Natalie.
Thank you.
What an amazing day I had. I learned so much from Natalie. I had a wonderful experience.
I felt grounded and enriched and excited to implement all of these different instruments
and modalities from the sound bath into my own wellbeing practice.
I'm beyond excited and happy with everything that came out of today.
What surprised me the most about today was that my stress levels
and my ability to relax happened immediately.
As soon as we played with any of the instruments, I felt really relaxed.
I think what this experience has offered me is a realization that it's important to
continue to learn and explore new modalities and know that, you know, whatever my routine is,
I should be open to changing or shifting based on, you know, what my interests expand
towards or even where I'm coming from on any given day.
If you have stress or anxiety in your life, it's so important to make the time
to really find something that works for you, whether it's meditation or even a few deep breaths
That releasing of tension can help you enjoy your life and be present more often.