The Magic of the Unexpected: My Journey into Sound Healing

Becoming a sound healer was never on my radar. I don’t know exactly why I signed up for Level 1: Sound Healing with Himalayan Singing Bowls through Atma Buti® Sound and Vibrational School, but I couldn’t be more grateful that I did. 

I assumed I’d learn a few protocols for self-healing and then go on my merry way. That expectation was certainly met- but it was also exceeded in ways I never could have imagined. What I didn’t expect was how deeply the connection between myself, my teacher, my classmates, and the singing bowls themselves would crack me open.

I’ve been feeling a little lost since my mom passed away in September. As the one-year anniversary of her death approaches- and as I find myself nearing 40, the age so often associated with a midlife crisis- I questioned why I would sign up for something I never intended to turn into a business. It seemed like an odd choice for someone who wasn’t necessarily looking for a new career or direction.

And yet, Level 1 kept calling.

In the days leading up to the first class, my nerves took over. A shoulder injury that I thought was beginning to heal suddenly flared up again. I worried I wouldn’t be able to perform the protocols comfortably. I imagined myself accidentally dropping a singing bowl on someone’s face or somehow hurting a classmate while learning. I wondered if the sacredness of sound healing would leave any room for my naturally playful personality.

Then another thought crept in: What if I experience something so profound that I actually cry?

I came embarrassingly close to backing out at the last minute.

I had the pleasure of having Kim Humphrey for my teacher. Once she learned about my shoulder, not only did she take an opportunity to demonstrate techniques on my body to help relieve the discomfort, but she stayed attuned to me for the entire two days. She encouraged me to listen to my body, offered modifications whenever I needed them, and created an environment where I never felt like my physical limitations were an inconvenience. As someone who has often felt excluded from many spaces because of being in a bigger and not-quite-fit body, I can’t say enough how much that level of care meant to me.

I also needn’t have worried about trying to rein in the playfulness; it was welcomed with open arms. Some of my deepest learning has always happened through curiosity and play, and this experience was no different. It was through play that I developed a deep connection with the bowls, which seemed to be inviting me to stick my face in them to experience the vibration from a completely different perspective. That playful connection made it incredibly easy to trust them. As we practiced the protocols, I felt completely safe having the bowls placed on my body. I found myself giving wholehearted consent for them to work their magic.

My tears happened in the last half hour of the last day- not in the loud sobs of catharsis. They were soft, tender, sweet tears as I felt the final pieces of my scaffolding- the protective guards I put up just to get through each day- fall away. I was held so lovingly through that by everyone in the room.

I may never turn sound healing into a business…but maybe that was never the point. Throughout the training, I asked my body to do things I had never asked of her before. In return, she showed me that she was capable. She carried me through every protocol, and despite all my anxious imaginings, I never even came close to dropping a bowl on anyone’s face. I’m leaving with a deeper trust and reverence for my body that I didn’t have before. I’m deeply loving the playful part of me as a divine aspect of myself in a way I never have before. I now have the embodied experience of defenses completely releasing so that I can navigate the world with more openness and love. 

I came to class for an unknown reason.

I left completely changed by the magic of the unexpected.

             You don’t have to know why you’re feeling called. Sometimes the most meaningful journeys begin before we understand the reason.

             If something in this story resonates with you, we’d love to welcome you into one of our upcoming Sound Healing with Himalayan Singing Bowls trainings at Atma Buti® Sound and Vibrational School. Come with curiosity, an open heart, and a willingness to be surprised. The rest has a way of unfolding exactly as it needs to.