Maritime Heritage Park has become home to a sound meditation every third Friday of the month.
Kristi Lee Moseley, one of the session’s meditation leaders, explained that sound meditation is extremely restorative. She began a daily practice after meeting two instructors at a meditation training in Greece. The couple gifted her a singing bowl and instructed her to integrate it into her daily meditation.
“Having the bowl in the palm of my hand, with the sound and the vibration, it set my day up,” Mosley said. “It’s very bright and soothing, it gives me a sense of joy.”
Moseley does both sound baths, which include different instruments, and gong baths through her business Mystic Heart.
She said attendees bring blankets and mats to create a cushion “nest." The sessions are held as spaces for relaxation. When the session ends, the goal is for everyone to enter a deep meditative state.
Moseley said sound meditation is not for everyone, but she’s heard from clients who claim it has helped their PTSD, provided pain relief and helped relieve symptoms of arthritis.
Breanna Duffy started attending sessions a few years ago after experiencing a brief sound meditation led by Moseley at a conference. As a mental health care professional, she expressed that she needs to invest in her own self-care. She said that it helps her feel connected to her body and gives her peace both inside and outside the studio. Working with sound has helped her appreciate the noises she hears daily.
“The way the waves crash in the ocean, and the way the wind moves through the trees, that’s all a sound, and it’s all really healing,” Duffy said. “It’s in our blood, this is where we come from.”
Natalie Brown, the Sound Healing Academy’s lead teacher for its U.S. program, has been practicing sound therapy for 12 years. She said that the number one benefit of sound therapy is relaxation and stress reduction.
“So many times, when people go to doctors, it’s stress influenced,” Brown said. “If we can provide people a way to relax, destress or alleviate anxiety, it in turn can have other benefits. It can lower blood pressure and boost immunity.”
Brown said this type of practice can be helpful for those who have trouble calming their thoughts during meditation,
“In meditation, you’re supposed to clear your thoughts and clear your mind,” Brown said. “That is so hard for people these days, with the multitasking, scattered society that we built. The cool thing with using sound is you have a point of focus. You can keep bringing yourself back to the sound. In a way, it’s about simplicity.”
When asked what participants can expect from her sessions, Moseley said, “I play for a while. Depending on the setting of the room, I’m able to move around the room. If I’m doing my job right, people fall into a deep meditative state that is really calming. This produces hormones such as serotonin in the brain that makes you feel joy, makes you feel relaxed, reduces tension, stress and anxiety.”
Moseley offers group sound baths at the 3 OMS YOGA studio on Fridays. Her next event at the Maritime Heritage Park is May 13 from 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Ani Lowe (she/they) is reporting for City Life for The Front. They enjoy going on hikes with their dog, bouldering and making art.
You can contact them at anilowe.thefront@gmail.com.
