Understanding Sound Baths: The Healing Power of Sound Therapy

The sky was brilliant blue and clear on a February day as Lord William and I raced into the open desert in our rental car somewhere north of Joshua Tree, California. 

The destination: a legendary (in certain circles) structure known as the Integratron. The goal: a sound bath in an acoustically perfect space. 

As we neared the tiny town of Landers, we could see in the distance a gleaming white dome in the distance. The Integratron. A place we knew of only from the show Ancient Aliens and several pop culture references, we were finally going to be able to experience this mysterious place.

Welcome to the beautiful and mysterious Integratron. 

The Integratron was built by George Van Tassel in the 1950’s. Van Tassel claimed to be a ufo/alien contactee who had the plans for this structure downloaded into his head by Venusians. Yes. This is the story. The design was also influenced by the Tabernacle of the Old Testament and some of the theories of Nikola Tesla. It is a two-story dome of sorts made completely of wood. There are no metal fasteners in the building. The Integratron was created to be a time travel and rejuvenation device and originally contained all kinds of machinery also built by Van Tassel. Right as the Integratron was completed and to be turned on, Van Tassel had a mysterious death while the government simultaneously confiscated all of the equipment inside, leaving only the structure. 

The structure then was owned by several different individuals and was at risk of falling into disrepair beyond repair. Eventually, three sisters purchased the property and restored it. Now you can go to the Integratron to experience the grounds, which are supposedly located on six ley lines, the structure, which has amazing and bizarre acoustical properties, and a sound bath, given by one of the sisters or other caretakers of the property. 

So what is a sound bath? In this case, a sound bath consisted of I would guess between 30-40 individuals filing into the upper chamber, the dome, of the Integratron and lying down on mats and bolsters. For an hour, the waves of frequencies from a large number of quartz crystal singing bowls wafted through the space and penetrated our bodies, souls, and spirits. During this time the participants are encouraged to stay utterly still and silent and become one with the sound as much as possible. This, it was said, had the possibility of inducing different brain waves, different states of consciousness, and states of deep clarity. 

The upper chamber of the Integratron is filled with light from windows all around. The yellow glow of the wood construction provides a warm ambience. Billy and I found our spots along the wall of the dome and settled in with our blankets, trying to be as still as possible. Truth be told, trying to be still and silent, and being told not to cough or sneeze was a bit anxiety-inducing for both of us. But I had heard Anthony Bourdain explain this sound bath experience on his show, and I was determined to experience it in its fullness.

The upper chamber of the Integratron is the ultimate location in which to receive a sound bath. 

Soon after settling in, one of the employees and caretakers of the Integratron, a man whose name I cannot bring to mind at present, started playing the crystal bowls. The frequencies of the sounds were amplified significantly by the shape of the structure, and the sound itself started to feel like it was inside my body. This provoked more anxiety, initially, as I had never experienced sound quite in this way. I was tempted to run and to leave and was having a strong internal dialogue with my racing heart. But I chose to push through the uncomfortable feelings with the hope there would be something placid on the other side. 

And there was. In fact, I would describe it as a state of perfect clarity, perfect harmony, perfect peace. I felt relaxed and energized at the same time. I spoke prayers deeply from my heart that needed answers, and I received them (actually within days of this experience). 

As the man played the bowls, he said he would go through the frequencies corresponding to the seven chakras of the body four times. As a musician, I easily followed the pitches of this progression—but only remember two times through that series. The other two, I cannot say where I was except in a state off complete clarity.

Crystal bowls have the potential to help us reach a greater sense of clarity from a place of calm and stillness. 

What was close to an hour of time felt like minutes. As the last vibrations of the crystal bowls began to disintegrate around us, people began to stir. All around us and on our own faces was the light of joy and peace. Everyone quietly left, some continuing to enjoy the grounds around the building that are filled with art and hammocks and fountains. 

This sound bath was deeply transformative for both myself and for my husband. For me, I was able to feel directly in communication with God without anything obstructing that communication, and I received my answers back from God quickly—in fact, God showed up for me in a big way at another weird place called Salvation Mountain…but that story will have to wait for another time. For Lord William, the fruit of this experience has been getting in touch with his creativity again and putting long-held dreams into action. For both of us, it has meant letting ourselves live more fully into who we are created to be and the work we are here to do.

Salvation Mountain in Niland, California

This is one sound bath experience. But having it made me NEED to know more. As an aromatherapist and herbalist, I have walked in circles of healers for some time now. But as a musician, I had never experienced sound itself as an instrument of healing in quite this way. And many things about this felt like coming back to myself—to the fullness of who I am, not leaving anything out. I decided to get some training in sound healing. 

I completed forma sound healing training from Sunreed Instruments and The Center of Light Institute as well as attending multiple Globe Sound Healing Conference, and I have learned SO much about how sound can affect us physically, mentally, and spiritually. I was surprised to learn the richness of human tradition in sound healing from a wide range of methods, and I was also surprised to learn about all of the scientific research being done on sound and its potential to heal and restore the body, even from the level of DNA.

The day I received my crystal bowls felt like an auspicious day. More of these to come in future offerings. 

I have learned that sound is the organizing principle of the Universe, that sound has the potential to impact our health in a wide scope of areas, and that we can even use our own voice to release traumas from our nervous system and cellular memory. I talk all about this in this podcast, so I will not delve into all of this here. 

The Health Benefits of Sound Baths

The main reason that sound baths themselves can be so powerful is that they have the potential to bring us into a very deep state of relaxation that is even more restorative and nourishing than just our typical “rest and digest” response. I personally feel that a 20 minute sound bath can do more to lift my spirits, clear my mind, and restore my body than two weeks of vacation. 

Sound also has the ability to create a state in our brain called “coherence.” This is a state being studied extensively by the Heart Math institute. A simple way to explain coherence is that it is a state that our brain can get to in which all parts of the whole are working in perfect harmony with one another. Coherence feels a lot like what I described in my experience at the Integratron—perfect clarity, perfect stillness, perfect peace, perfect amount of energy. It is a state that our bodies crave to be in, but, because of all of the over-stimulation in our modern environments, we rarely achieve. Even in meditation alone, it can be difficult to reach coherence because of the over-activity of the “monkey mind,” your running to do list, your list of “shoulds,” your shame spirals—all of it. 

Sound has the ability to short circuit the monkey mind and allow us to reach coherence quickly and easily. When this happens, our body and brain begin to restore and rejuvenate themselves in deep and long-lasting ways. 

Different types of sounds can also produce different results. Tuning forks can be used to mitigate pain conditions.Crystal bowls have a clear sound that often produces a relaxed sense of clarity. And instruments that “sound like the Universe,” such as Tibetan bowls or gongs, instruments that contain all possible frequencies, allow us to fully unplug that monkey brain for those very deep relaxation experiences. 

So I encourage you to try a sound bath. It doesn’t need to be a woo-woo experience at the Integratron. It can simply be you allowing yourself to be relaxed while waves of a crystal bowl or a gong or even a flute waft over and through you.

A single instrument can help to bring mindfulness to your devotional practices. 

I offer sound baths every month in my community. To be notified of when those are available and to learn how to get your own monthly subscription, make sure you add yourself to my mailing list below.

Have you had a sound therapy or sound healing experience before? We would love to hear about it below! Until then, I challenge you to express your feelings using your voice. When you feeling a feeling, make the sound of that feeling, and see if you don’t feel better.