Essay | Sound Bath Healing: Relaxation Through Vibration and Stillness

CHATFIELD – With countless seasonal events and occasions to enjoy during the holidays, I found one particularly intriguing this year in Maria Voorhees-Reincke’s “A Holiday Sound Bath for Stress Relief” class. 

Although I was new to the concept of Sound Bath, holiday stress is something most can relate to. An hour of lying on a yoga mat in a dimly lit room at the Chatfield Center for the Arts was enticing.

I arrived at the session in sweatpants and a hoodie, a pillow, a blanket and a yoga mat in tow. One participant said she felt as if she were arriving at a slumber party. Once everyone arrived, we snuggled in, the lights were dimmed and the sounds began.

What is a sound bath?

A sound bath is like taking a bath, but instead of water, you are “bathed” in sound. Various instruments, including crystal bowls, gongs, chimes, drums and rain sticks are used to create vibrations that soothe the soul. The sounds “wash” over you, bringing you into a meditative state. The vibrations can help in multiple ways, such as calming the nervous system, quieting thoughts, releasing stress and giving the body space to heal.

“A sound bath is different for everyone, but the one thing most people can expect is deep relaxation. What someone experiences depends a lot on what they are going through in their life and how comfortable they are with stillness. For some people, especially if it’s their first time, it can actually feel a little uncomfortable to lie still for an hour because they are not used to slowing down. For others, they relax so deeply that they drift right to sleep.”

Voorhees-Reincke went on the explain that there is no right or wrong way to experience a sound bath. Sometimes emotions bubble up, as if to say, “My body is finally letting go of things I’ve been holding.” For some, the experience is simply peaceful, calm and grounding. Many slip into a deeper level of rest than they’re used to, as their minds quiet and their bodies soften, they leave feeling lighter, clearer and more relaxed than when they arrived.

Sound is the healer

Voorhees-Reincke mentioned that when she became interested in sound healing, she began collecting instruments. The colored bowls are the Chakra Singing Bowls. These bowls/instruments feature musical notes and frequencies that correspond to the chakras, the body’s seven energy centers. These bowls are believed to have the ability to rebalance and unblock the chakras. The assorted instruments also included a rain stick, a gong and chimes, all of which provide distinct tones, vibrations and frequencies, adding depth to the experience.

Voorhees-Reincke describes the sound as being the healer, not her. “Different frequencies affect your body on many levels: your cells, your brain waves, your nervous system and your energy. I’m not a scientist, but quantum science shows that sound can shift the body into a relaxed state where it can heal itself.”

Lights are dimmed, candles are lit, and a calming, colorful setting awaits students. (Photo by Laurie Byrne)

“My job is to create the space and play the instrument intuitively. Your body responds to sound as it needs to, and that is where healing happens. It’s not about performing, but about helping people let go of the mental chatter so they can relax deeply. When they’re relaxed, the sound and vibrations can go exactly where they are needed in the body to support healing.”

Intuition is an important part of her work. During a sound bath, attention is paid to the energy of the participants in the room. How are people breathing? How does the space feel? Are there signs of tension or restlessness? “I let that guide me. I don’t follow a script of playing songs like a musician. Sound healing is very different from music.”

Instruments are also picked intuitively, using a drum to help people release stress, a chime to create calm and crystal bowls to help soften emotions. “I’m always tuning in and making decisions moment by moment.” Each sound bath experience is unique because of its unscripted nature.

The path to directing sound healing

Voorhees-Reincke shares, “In my mid-30’s I had been in talk therapy for over 10 years. Therapy helped me heal and process so much of what I had been through but eventually my mind, body and soul were craving something deeper. Something beyond words. That’s when I found energy healing and then sound healing.”

At first sound healing began in drum circles. As a former percussionist, Voorhees-Reincke found the drum familiar, grounding, powerful and deeply healing. This helped release emotions and trauma that talk therapy just didn’t reach. Then came the sound baths and she found that these were just as profound.

“At the time, I had already completed training in Healing Touch, an energy healing therapy, and sound healing felt like the perfect complement. I bought one crystal bowl, then another and then slowly blended the bowls into my 1:1 sessions. The results were so powerful that I decided to formally study sound healing.”

Meditation practitioners typically assume a sitting position on floor mats. (Photo ©Yagi-Studio, Getty Images Signature, via Canva.com)

Education and qualifications

Voorhees-Reincke offers many services and has certification as a Healing Touch Practitioner, Reiki Master, Vibrational Sound Practitioner and Sound Healer. She calls herself an intuitive energy and sound healer because she blends all of her abilities and training together.

Healing Touch and Reiki, although different practices, are quite similar in that they both use light touch, in which the practitioner uses her hands to influence the body’s energy field.

Reiki is a form of energy healing that works with “life force energy”, which is the natural energy that flows through all living things.

Voorhees-Reincke said, “I don’t create the energy myself; it comes from a high power or source, and I act like a channel for it. I use very light hand placements on the body to help balance someone’s energy system, especially their chakras, so their body can relax and reset.” The energy work focuses on restoring the body’s natural energy system.

For the skeptic

Some may feel that energy work, whether through sound healing, reiki or healing touch, is strange or “woo-woo”. This work is simply a way to help the nervous system to settle so that the body can do what it naturally knows how to do. Even Hippocrates, the father of medicine, believed in the body’s ability to heal itself.

As for the skeptics, Voorhees-Reincke says that she “doesn’t try to convince them. Energy healing isn’t for everyone and that’s completely okay. I’ve been doing this work for over ten years and some people are open to it, others are not. Both types of people are welcome in my world. My job isn’t to change anyone’s beliefs, it’s simply to offer support to the people who do feel called to this type of healing.”

Laying still for an hour was hard for this gal who doesn’t like to sit still and quieting my mind was even harder. My first experience taught me a few things to bring into my next experience. I noticed a couple ladies at the event had hooded sweatshirts that they snuggled into and I think I would benefit from doing the same. Because I am also a bit sensitive to noise, the hood over my ears would help. The day after my Sound Bath I felt calmer and more grounded, an amazing feat to occur just before Christmas. I look forward to trying it again.

Voorhees-Reincke has a home studio in Lake City where she offers a variety of healing sessions as well as Intuitive Soul Coaching. She also offers many events each month in a variety of cities in SE Minnesota. To find out more visit MVR Healing Website.