While vacationing at Zion National Park in Utah, Joi Hunt heard a sound that soothed her to the core. A woman was playing a Himalayan singing bowl.
It was her first entrance into the world of sound bath meditation. Today Hunt is certified sound wellness therapist and leads sound bath meditations at places like Gorton Community Center in Lake Forest. Her next scheduled sound bath meditations are from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Jan 11 and from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Jan. 18, 2023. More are scheduled in February, March and April.
Hunt recalled when she participated in a sound bath for the first time, she cried. “My mind and body were in such a state of relaxation that I could process whatever I was holding inside and then release it in the form of tears. It was an incredible experience.”
Since then she has learned about quartz crystal and Himalayan singing bowls by studying physics, foundations of music and the qualities of the instruments she uses.
“It has to do with your brain waves,” Hunt said. “When we’re active and engaged, our brains are mostly emitting beta waves, which oscillate at about 9-14 cycles per second. The brain also emits alpha, theta and delta waves, which oscillate at fewer cycles per second. What’s great about quartz crystal bowls is that they oscillate at 4 cycles per second. These are pure quartz crystal. Each crystal bowl has a specific frequency (or pitch) and is long-sustained. It’s a total pure note.
“I’m using sound waves from these crystal bowls to soften beta waves and get those theta and delta waves to relax you.
The Himalayan bowls are made of many different layers of metal alloys. “You get different pitches depending on what type of instrument you use to strike the bowl and where you strike it,” Hunt said. She also uses a wave drum. “As you slowly rotate it, it mimics the sounds of waves,” she said. “It sounds like the ocean.”
“When I first started out, sound bath meditation was a way to release stress and unwanted energy,” Hunt said. Over time, she said sound bath meditations have helped her interact better with others. “I’m much more empathetic and understanding of people and how I carry myself into the world. The energy I put out will be transmitted to somebody else.”
Hunt said before becoming a sound healer, she was the only one in her immediate family who didn’t play an instrument. Her husband plays piano. Her daughter plays bass and her son plays percussion. “Because my bowls are tuned to play harmonically together, I can also play music.”
Participants sit or lay on a yoga mat, close their eyes and listen. “At the start of a sound bath I use verbal cues to get us to a place where we use the sound waves to clear our minds of excess and unwanted thoughts and energies,” Hunt said. “Then our mind and body can rest in the space created by the sound waves.”
The goal is for participants to experience deep relaxation and calm.
A participant once told her after the sound bath that she felt as if she were floating in the stars.
“I know some people think (sound bath meditation) falls under alternative medicine, but if you think about it, there’s a reason we say that music soothes the soul,” Hunt said.
Sound Bath Meditation
When: 6:30-7:30 p.m., Jan. 11; 10-11 a.m. Jan. 18, 2023
Where: Gorton Community Center, 400 E. Illinois Road, Lake Forest
Tickets: $42
Information: 847-123-6060; gortoncenter.org
Sheryl DeVore is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.
