The soothing sensations of sound baths
Plus: The news of the week — Truist faces $8M fine; Collaborative divorces gain steam; Legacy of Maurice Williams; Cooper in spotlight at DNC
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A new wellness trend embraces the healing power of sound and meditation
Most attendees gathered on the main floor, lying on yoga mats or blankets around a raised platform with instruments including crystal singing bowls, a tuning fork, an ocean drum and a gong. (Photo Courtesy Blumenthal Arts)
by Kerry Singe
As someone who has dabbled in meditation and is always looking for ways to de-stress, I jumped at the chance to attend a sound bath at Booth Playhouse.
Sound baths are meditative experiences in which people are “bathed” in music, or sound waves, which are thought to promote relaxation, healing and mindfulness. Sound baths can involve singing bowls, voices, gongs, chimes, drums, bells and other instruments.
While sound baths have been around for decades, they are trending now in a big way, spreading beyond yoga studios and spas to be featured in major performance venues, on reality TV (The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills gave it a try) and even corporate retreats. Recently, sound baths were named as a top trending wellness event in Corporate Event News, an online resource focused on senior level corporate event professionals.
I had sampled the healing power of sound while on vacation in California, when the yoga instructor played crystal singing bowls for 10 minutes at the end of class. The event at Booth Playhouse, The RESET by Davin Youngs, was billed on Blumenthal Arts’ website as being much more: “An immersive sound healing experience that will transform Booth Playhouse into a sonic container for restoration, discovery and healing.”
The decision to bring Youngs and The RESET to Charlotte fit into another popular trend — that of offering immersive experiences, says Alana Graber, festival and special events producer at Blumenthal Arts and part of the team that picked Youngs to perform in Charlotte.
Graber was attending an industry conference in Denver listening to artist pitches when she heard Youngs, a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory of Music and a vocal coach, sing and do some looping with his voice.
“What he did was so different,” Graber says. “We were all instantly obsessed.”
Healing vibrations
Working with Youngs, Blumenthal Arts added other elements to complement the sound bath performed in Charlotte, including hanging GAIA, an internally lit art piece of the Earth that spans 23 feet in diameter and is created from 120dpi detailed NASA imagery of the Earth’s surface.
Yoga classes and meditation were offered before some performances. The Saturday night performance of The RESET that I attended offered yoga and a cacao experience, where attendees were given a cup of warm cacao from The Cacao Portal to drink, adding another immersive and sensory element to the evening.
The floor seats had been removed from the Booth Playhouse and a raised platform with instruments including crystal singing bowls, a tuning fork, an ocean drum and a gong sat at the center of the space. Purple and white flowers in vases and battery-powered candles were placed throughout the playhouse. Lights were dimmed, creating the effect of soft moonlight streaming throughout.
While some people sat in the gallery seats, most attendees this evening gathered on the main floor, lying on yoga mats or blankets placed facing the center of the space. Many people had brought blankets and bolsters or other props such as eye masks to keep themselves warm and comfortable as they lay on the floor.
Researchers at the University of California-San Diego studied the effects of sound meditation on mood, anxiety, pain and spiritual well-being. During their observational study, they found the participants reported significantly less tension, anger, fatigue and depressed mood following a Tibetan singing bowl meditation.
Jules Wyatt, a licensed masseuse, massage teacher, Reiki master and sound healer in the Charlotte area, used to offer one sound bath session a month and now provides six group or private sessions monthly because of increased interest from her clients.
She says YouTube and apps such as Insight Timer (a meditation app that features Youngs and other artists) have made sound baths more accessible. Wyatt says listening to a sound bath online can help one focus and meditate, while attending a sound bath in person provides additional healing through the sound vibrations.
“The sound is going to take your body where it needs to go through the interaction with both those brain waves and the vibration,” says Wyatt, who runs In Tune Body & Soul. “The vibration of a live sound healing is more intense and therapeutic.”
Crossroads of well-being and music
When welcoming the audience, Youngs invited people to be open to the experience, adding they may feel unexpected emotions during the sound bath — such as they might cry as they released unneeded emotions. The evening might even change their life, he added. At the least, he said, people would get some good rest.
Speaking with me later, Youngs says he improvises every time he does a sound bath, reading the energy of the audience, sensing whether people are open or skeptical, for example, and reacts accordingly.
He makes his voice the focus of the experience, and he uses loopers to create layers of sound. He sings in improvised syllables and sounds and avoids distinguishable words because they could distract from the experience and pull people out of a meditative state.
He says interest in what he does has increased “exponentially,” including from performance venues, corporations and healthcare organizations.
“There is a craving for embodied experiences that are outside of the norm,” he says. “I think what I do blurs the lines a bit around taking a sound bath and bumping up against the idea of entertainment. I like to say this experience meets at the crossroads of well-being and music.”
I felt the Booth Playhouse had been successfully transformed into a “sonic container” that evening, as I lay on my yoga mat wearing thick warm socks, a large, cozy cardigan draped over my legs. I smiled and felt there was good energy in the room, as I remembered how my daughter had danced on the Booth Playhouse stage in recitals years ago as a toddler.
Yet, despite the peaceful environs, I was not able to completely surrender and tame my over-thinking mind. I couldn’t resist opening an eye, watching GAIA spin overhead and peeking around to see what Youngs and others were doing.
I found Youngs’ voice soothing and uplifting. At times, Youngs and assistants walked throughout the space playing instruments, which when they walked by me, added to the feeling of being cocooned by sounds. Sounds from a rattle made out of chestnut shells, which made me think of horse hooves clip-clopping on cobblestones, gave my scalp a pleasant tingly feeling.
Robin Blackwell was among those lying on the floor. She has appreciated the healing and meditative power of sound since she attended a gong bath in 2015 and now performs sound baths at the end of the yoga classes she teaches at Solace Yoga Studio in Concord.
Blackwell works as a compliance officer with a large financial institution, and she says music, particularly sounds that don’t have an organization or rhythm to them, allows her brain to disconnect and stop trying to organize the world around her.
She was pleasantly surprised to see Blumenthal Arts offer a sound bath and says she applauds the group and Youngs for turning the playhouse into a healing experience.
“It was a whole vibe. I was very cool,” she says. “I am hoping this experience will encourage other venues to think more broadly about what people are interested in and willing to pay for. It was worth every penny.”
Kerry Hall Singe is an award-winning former Charlotte Observer business reporter. In addition to writing for various publications, she helps her clients tell their stories and manage content across multiple media platforms.
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This week in Charlotte: CMS bans binders; No ballot selfies; Panthers score a touchdown; Charlotte’s building boom is fading
On Saturdays, The Ledger sifts through the local news of the week and links to the top articles — even if they appeared somewhere else. We’ll help you get caught up. That’s what Saturdays are for.
Education
CMS has 293 teacher vacancies: (Observer) Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is starting the new school year with 293 teacher openings, despite 663 new teachers joining this year. CMS is also working to fill 38 bus driver positions by Thanksgiving.
CMS bans metal 3-ring binders: (Ledger) Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools have banned metal 3-ring binders this year because they trigger metal detectors. The district recommends alternatives like plastic binders and pocket folders.
Politics
Cooper gives speech at DNC: (WFAE) Gov. Roy Cooper was the final speaker at the Democratic National Convention Thursday evening before Vice President Kamala Harris took the stage.
Ballot selfies are illegal: (News & Observer) After posting a photo of her completed ballot on social media, Raleigh native Susan Hogarth received a warning from the N.C. State Board of Elections that told her to delete the post. Instead, Hogarth is suing the board, arguing that the state’s ban on “ballot selfies” violates her First Amendment rights. The state’s restrictions aim to prevent vote-buying schemes.
Local news
Money laundering plea: (WBTV) The owner of The Scorpio nightclub pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy charges, after being accused of agreeing to sell 20 luxury vehicles for cash to a known drug dealer and falsifying the buyer’s name in sales paperwork. The Scorpio is Charlotte’s oldest LGBTQ+ nightclub.
Stag-gering solution to deer overpopulation: (WFAE) Tega Cay officials have approved a plan to manage the city’s deer population by sterilizing female deer. A veterinarian will conduct surgeries on female deer to prevent them from reproducing.
Longtime restaurant closes: (Observer) Beauregard’s Restaurant & Bar has closed after 50 years in business and is selling its building on Freedom Drive in west Charlotte.
Business
Charlotte’s building boom is fading: (Ledger 🔒) Charlotte’s construction boom is slowing dramatically, with new apartment, office and retail projects at their lowest levels in nearly a decade due to falling rents and higher interest rates.
Truist to pay $8M fine: (Observer) Charlotte-based Truist Bank will pay over $8M in fines to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Future Trading Commission for using unapproved communication platforms like WhatsApp, violating record-keeping and supervision rules.
Sports
Soccer win: (Fox 46) Charlotte’s new women’s pro soccer team, the Carolina Ascent, won their first game 1-0 on Saturday in front of a sellout crowd of 10,553 at American Legion Memorial Stadium.
Panthers score TD: (Observer) The Carolina Panthers scored their first touchdown since December 2023, with a meaningless 2-yard run on the last play of the game last Saturday by reserve running back Dillon Johnson in a 15-12 preseason loss to the New York Jets.
From the Ledger family of newsletters
Entering the final stretch of her college journey: Anisha Sunuwar, a UNC Greensboro senior and the first in her family to attend college, reflects on her journey from balancing caregiving and work in high school to thriving in college with leadership roles, a job and a focus on public health.
Plus: Unemployment rate inches up; New podcast on Plaza Midwood's changes
Wednesday (🔒)
A quicker, more private way to get divorced: Mecklenburg County’s new e-courts system has led more couples to choose collaborative divorce, a private and amicable process that keeps sensitive details out of public records.
Plus: Cornelius backs revised transit plan on strength of road funding; Hendrick Motorsports sues Hooters; Rendering of Hornets’ practice facility
Friday (🔒)
Former Ardrey Kell student sues CMS over shot put injury; Mecklenburg unemployment rate climbs; Real estate “Whispers” about hot land sales; Reader asks about high school swimming pools
Ways of Life (🔒)
Maurice Williams, who recently passed away at 86, left a lasting legacy with his 1960 hit “Stay,” the shortest single to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was also featured in “Dirty Dancing.”
FAQ on Charlotte’s new transit plan: The revised transit plan for Charlotte proposes a $25B investment in rail, bus and road infrastructure, primarily funded by a 1% sales tax increase, and aims to address long-standing transportation issues in the region. Read more to unpack the details with Transit Time’s frequently-asked-questions article.
It’s ‘squeaky bum’ time for Charlotte FC: As Charlotte FC heads into the final stretch of its first season under coach Dean Smith, the team sits in 6th place in the Eastern Conference, with nine MLS games left to secure a playoff spot. Smith, embracing the pressure, refers to this period as “squeaky bum time,” a British term for a high-stakes moment in sports.
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