Unlock the secrets of sound healing with Julie Afsahi and Jessica Cross, the dynamic duo behind the transformative book "Seasons of Sound." Have you ever wondered how something as simple as humming can bring peace to your day? Julie, a seasoned gong therapist and yoga instructor, alongside Jessica, a proficient sound practitioner and yoga and meditation teacher, join us to unveil their journeys and the profound impact of sound on achieving inner balance. Learn how their book interlaces yogic philosophy, chakra work, and hand mudras, all enriched by the essence of seasonal changes and the sacred mantra ".Om"
Discover the calming effect of sound on the vagus nerve through sound healing techniques like chanting and humming. We'll dive into the biological wonders these practices unlock, such as activating the parasympathetic nervous system for deep relaxation and healing. Are you fascinated by the natural world’s response to sound? We connect human sound practices and how animals like cats use purring as a stress-busting mechanism. We also dispel myths surrounding sound healing, grounding our discussion in scientific evidence that highlights the tangible vibrational effects on the body.
Our enlightening conversation extends to the evolution of sound healing modalities, with a keen focus on trauma-informed practices. Transparency and predictability in sound healing sessions are pivotal, fostering an environment of safety and comfort. Julie and Jessica share heartwarming anecdotes and reflect on the burgeoning acceptance of sound healing in recent years. Don't miss out on their insightful reflections and practical wisdom, and stay tuned to find out how you can connect with them and get your hands on a copy of "Seasons of Sound''.
Julie Afsahi is a mother, gong therapist, yoga and mindfulness teacher, entrepreneur, and chronic illness warrior. Perpetually looking for ways to increase wellness and ease for all people, Julie co-founded and owns Soul Strong Yoga, a yoga and meditation studio and training center with an emphasis on accessibility. As a co-creator of Seasons for Sound, with a commitment to providing high-quality resources for others in the well-being space, Julie loves sharing her love for sound healing practices rooted in yogic and Buddhist philosophy. From a long lineage of teachers, Julie has a Master’s in Teaching and has written professional development resources for tens of thousands of educators across a wide array of fields. Find out more about Julie and her mindfulness, meditation, and yoga training on Soul Strong Yoga's website.
Jessica Cross is a passionate sound practitioner, yoga teacher, and meditation teacher. She's
Unlock the secrets of sound healing with Julie Afsahi and Jessica Cross, the dynamic duo behind the transformative book "Seasons of Sound." Have you ever wondered how something as simple as humming can bring peace to your day? Julie, a seasoned gong therapist and yoga instructor, alongside Jessica, a proficient sound practitioner and yoga and meditation teacher, join us to unveil their journeys and the profound impact of sound on achieving inner balance. Learn how their book interlaces yogic philosophy, chakra work, and hand mudras, all enriched by the essence of seasonal changes and the sacred mantra ".Om"
Discover the calming effect of sound on the vagus nerve through sound healing techniques like chanting and humming. We'll dive into the biological wonders these practices unlock, such as activating the parasympathetic nervous system for deep relaxation and healing. Are you fascinated by the natural world’s response to sound? We connect human sound practices and how animals like cats use purring as a stress-busting mechanism. We also dispel myths surrounding sound healing, grounding our discussion in scientific evidence that highlights the tangible vibrational effects on the body.
Our enlightening conversation extends to the evolution of sound healing modalities, with a keen focus on trauma-informed practices. Transparency and predictability in sound healing sessions are pivotal, fostering an environment of safety and comfort. Julie and Jessica share heartwarming anecdotes and reflect on the burgeoning acceptance of sound healing in recent years. Don't miss out on their insightful reflections and practical wisdom, and stay tuned to find out how you can connect with them and get your hands on a copy of "Seasons of Sound''.
Julie Afsahi is a mother, gong therapist, yoga and mindfulness teacher, entrepreneur, and chronic illness warrior. Perpetually looking for ways to increase wellness and ease for all people, Julie co-founded and owns Soul Strong Yoga, a yoga and meditation studio and training center with an emphasis on accessibility. As a co-creator of Seasons for Sound, with a commitment to providing high-quality resources for others in the well-being space, Julie loves sharing her love for sound healing practices rooted in yogic and Buddhist philosophy. From a long lineage of teachers, Julie has a Master’s in Teaching and has written professional development resources for tens of thousands of educators across a wide array of fields. Find out more about Julie and her mindfulness, meditation, and yoga training on Soul Strong Yoga's website.
Jessica Cross is a passionate sound practitioner, yoga teacher, and meditation teacher. She's
so welcome everybody to another episode of balm to the soul, and today I've got some lovely new guests with me. So they are julie afsari and jessica cross. So welcome ladies. Thank you so much for joining balm to the soul and for supporting us thank you oh it's a pleasure Thank you so much.
Speaker 1:
Lovely. So Julie and Jessica come on to talk about their new book Seasons of Sound, and to talk to us about sound healing. But before they start, I thought I'd just give you a little background into each of them. So Julie is a mother gong therapist, yoga and mindfulness teacher, entrepreneur and chronic illness warrior, perpetually looking for ways to increase wellness and ease for all people. Julie co-founded and owns Soul Strong Yoga I love that name a yoga meditation studio and training centre with an emphasis on accessibility. As a co-creator of Seasons for Sound, with a commitment to providing quality learning resources for others in the wellness place, julie loves sharing her love for sound healing practices rooted in yogic and Buddhist philosophy From a long lineage of teachers. Julie has a master's in teaching and has written professional development resources for tens of thousands of educators across a wide array of fields.
Speaker 1:
And then Jessica. Jessica Cross is a passionate sound practitioner, yoga teacher and meditation teacher, corporate marketer and events producer for several Fortune 500 companies who found peace in the practices of sound yoga and meditation early in her career journey. Jessica later founded Sound for Stress, which offers rejuvenating sound baths, immersive retreats and comprehensive sound training programs. She's hosted hundreds of sound baths in person and online, and she finds deep fulfillment in sharing the gift of sound with others. Jessica is certified in restorative yoga and is obsessed with helping others find rest in our ever-evolving modern world. She co-authored Seasons of Sound in hopes of fostering a sense of well-being and harmony through the transformational power of sound throughout the seasons of our lives.
Speaker 1:
So welcome ladies. That all sounds really comprehensive. I was quite interested, jessica, that you come from quite a corporate background, because that's me 9 to 5, yeah, that's me. I was in a hot office today, so that's lovely that you've found that balance as well, because I've found energy therapies has helped me just keep anxiety at bay, just keep a lovely, lovely balance. So is that something that sound really helps with?
Speaker 2:
Oh, absolutely. I love that you mentioned that, because I frequently think I don't know where I would be without sound healing and, obviously, meditation and yoga, which introduced me to sound healing, coming from that background, as you mentioned, it's so stressful and you often are giving every bit of yourself in every situation and there's very little left for you, and sound healing has just been a wonderful tool to have in my kit to take care of me so yeah, I completely relate to that and as I get older it gets.
Speaker 1:
I'm exhausted when I get home sometimes, but then I will chat to ladies like you and I get regenerated and you know, doing energy therapies or going to a gong bath is just lovely. You just get that. Get that balance again, don't you 100%? So let's talk about your book. So Seasons of Sound. So what was the inspiration for writing Seasons of Sound?
Speaker 3:
I'll take that one and also I'm just so excited to be here. Also.
Speaker 3:
I just wanted to say, just like you said, these types of conversations are so fulfilling and joyous that I can already tell I'm so full of joy just to be here, and the inspiration for the book, I think, is almost an extension of that, of the conversations that we've had over the years, of the many trainings, especially that Jessica had done for so long, around sound healing, meditation and mindfulness, and there's also, too, an integration of yogic philosophy and yogic subtle body work as well. So it was kind of this culmination of pieces of our lives and brought together all under this sound umbrella. But you'll see, in the book there's, you know, exploration of the chakra system of hand mudras that we use to accent the positive qualities already within us and nourish them. So really it was. You know, jessica and I are both trainers in the yoga world, now too, in meditation and mindfulness and sound.
Speaker 3:
So we had all of these materials that we had created over the years and so many people were just like why is this not a book? Why is this not a book? And we had a training coming up, um, and realized you know what, let's just organize it. And the seasons just kept coming to us. You know the seasonality of life, the earth seasons as well, and it seemed like such a beautiful organizing principle, along with the sacred mantra, aum, is divided into four parts, and we aligned that with the seasons too, so it just seems like that was the guiding organization for the thoughts that we had, you know, throughout the years and the conversations and the wisdom we had gained from other teachers too.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, I love that, and it all sounds really blends of all sorts of other modalities, like you were saying, and meditation and yoga and other energy therapies. It's just part and parcel of that, isn't it, and it sort of embraces all the everything else.
Speaker 2:
It sure does, it absolutely does. It lends itself so well to you know some of the energy work that I was reading about that you do. It lends to a yoga class, um. It lends to, uh, driving in traffic and listening to something calming. Uh, it can. It can be from a wide range of support to other activities that we're already doing.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, and I love the concept of four parts of om, because om is just so beautiful, the universal sound, so that really interests me. That sounds absolutely amazing and I absolutely love the hand mudras to inspire joy, I think they sound. Mudras to inspire joy, I think they sound. I've done a few hand mudras, mudras is that how you say? Mudras, mudras, um, but to inspire joy, I just think. That just made me smile and I thought, oh, I'm going to have to practice those. That's so it's lovely to have, although it's you talk about. You know it's called seasons of, of Sound. There's so much more that you've integrated into it through your own paths and your own wisdom.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, absolutely very soft spaces for the body to truly relax and unwind.
Speaker 3:
So you'll see too, we have a portion of the book dedicated to just how to position yourself in a very comfortable receiving way for a sound bath, and also one in which you feel safe and secure in the body as well. As you know what you were mentioning too, just these other elements you can bring into a sound bath, such as mudra, which can help, for example, if you're in a state of growth and expansion. If you're listening to this and you don't have a copy of Seasons of Sound, you can look up lotus mudra or, in Sanskrit, padma mudra, and just adding that shape of the hands to a sound bath, or even a guided meditation that you have on YouTube, can really help you kind of dip into that feeling of growth and expansion. So we included, just like you said, so many different healing modalities that we, of course, did not come up with or invent. We just pulled them together in a way that we felt made sense for the sound community or people new to sound or experienced with sound, just for everyone interested in sound.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, lovely. So what sort of different sound healing do you talk about?
Speaker 2:
Oh, this is so fun because we have a good focus in the book on, of course, singing bowls and gongs, which in many sound healing circles are kind of at the forefront. Ancient origins of sound we talk about voice, we talk about drumming, we talk about other ancient instruments, including the didgeridoo as an example, which has been we found through our research has been from aboriginal tribes up to 40,000 years ago as an origin. So there's, so there's so many different types of sound healing and I think that's one of the things that makes it so beautiful in a modern day setting is you go to these different sound baths and the sound facilitator, practitioner, has their own way of doing things and their own methods, and it's beautiful. It calls different individuals um, in different ways, and each person finds their sound community and the calming sounds that help them kind of come back to balance yeah, sure, and I suspect people hear it differently.
Speaker 1:
I know we can't prove that or like, but I suspect they do, because we're all energetic beings, aren't we? So they're going to affect us differently. We're going to perhaps hear different parts louder than other parts. So it is. Although you often do it in a group, it's a very individual experience, isn't it?
Speaker 3:
I think that's such a beautiful point. And when writing the book too, that's essentially also how Jessica and I divided up the writing. So she took on the metal and crystal singing bowls and I took on the gong, and I think, there, you know, we love all of these instruments, but I think there is an element of what you resonate more deeply with, and I do think it's something that we can't pinpoint or maybe we can't prove, but there is. Just, like you said, we're energetic beings and so what we resonate with might be different on a level that we don't quite understand. But even with that said, I think that's part of this idea of seasons of sound too, is the seasonality of your own life.
Speaker 3:
So, for example, the crystal singing bowls, you know, to my body and to my ears are almost energizing in a way, and so in a season of my life where maybe I'm moving a little bit more slowly than I want to, or feeling a little bit more fatigued, I would want, like an uplifting um instrument, to experience like singing bowls, chimes, crystal pyramids, like things that are going to kind of lift me up, whereas Whereas if I'm more in an anxious state I might prefer something that are like the metal singing bowls or the gong, these more kind of grounding sounds and elements. So I think there's two. It's like person to person, but also just essentially like based on our present needs, needs and yeah where we are, where we're at at that point, sort of thing, and talking along those lines, though.
Speaker 1:
So any ages can go to a sound healing. Can you know you happy with children going to a sound healing and you know it's open to everyone, isn't it?
Speaker 2:
Absolutely. We are very intentional about sharing in the event description what to expect so that individuals can make the decision for themselves if it's going to be a good fit. I think it's a great idea for all ages to experience sound. It's very accessible. I think it's a great idea for all ages to experience sound. It's very accessible.
Speaker 2:
If it's a sound bath specifically for children, I could see how you might adjust from a yoga studio setting sound bath to maybe making it a little bit shorter, maybe a little bit more interactive, where the children are actually getting to play a metal singing bowl or tap the gong, are actually getting to play a metal singing bowl or tap the gong. There's ways that you can bring sound in and make it, you know, accessible for children for sure, and then also for, you know, the other end of the spectrum. You know senior living communities, smaller organizations that are supporting seniors, and then all types of individuals. You know Julie is doing some work with a wonderful organization called Warriors at Ease that supports the veteran community and they have a big interest in bringing sound in a trauma informed way to support veterans so there's so many groups of individuals that can really benefit from this modality, and we're we absolutely are so passionate about it.
Speaker 2:
I guess we wouldn't be here if we weren't.
Speaker 1:
And the first thing about the veterans, and that leads me into just explain to people what does sound healing do to your body. You know, like you were talking about is very good for people who've suffered traumas, or so what is happening when people experience that sound?
Speaker 3:
These are vibrations that we're using to help calm the nervous system and hoping to create kind of a domino effect in the body too that can help the body hormonally sleep better, digest better, breathe more easily, but at the same time. So it goes beyond just the listening experience. Right, so we have this auditory component, but you know, regardless of whether or not you have hearing, you'll still experience the healing vibrations of sound. So we say, you know it's a passive listening experience to make it easy to understand for folks, but at the same time it's much deeper than that. So we're working, you know, on the physical body, in the energetic body, to help with essentially, like you know, removing blockages, but also to kind of bring back into the body the good energy. So I always say it's like calling back all the good energy to your body and almost like sealing it in with a protective layer. I think sound has a little bit of the ability to do both to let go and release, but also to call in what you need and what you want back.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, sure. So how do you? I don't know. Do you, ladies, do this full time? You know yoga and meditation, or is it? Do you use it daily, whereas I've got a nine to five, but you know, if you're both immersed in it?
Speaker 2:
presumably you use it daily for your own wellbeing or giving it. Giving it, I suppose, to experience it daily, don't you?
Speaker 2:
Absolutely yes, you know, we're fortunate enough to say this is our full time job, but very much, yeah, well, very much, I want to say.
Speaker 2:
We both, julie had a previous career for many years in education and corporate backgrounds as well, and we both had a time where we were kind of spanning the gap between, you know, working and working in a job that you know didn't really fill us up.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, in the ways that you know, the things that we're talking about, things that you do, energy healing and sound and yoga for us, and even though it was sometimes kind of part and parcel or where you would actually get that practice, you know it's, it's still, it still was serving. So, you know, now, these days, we have the the fortune to be surrounded by instruments and things that we can even take, you know, three breaths and enjoy. But I think that's one of the nice thing about sound is too, is it? You know, it doesn't have to be complicated and it doesn't have to be a long duration for it to be impactful. It can be as simple as, you know, singing in your car or, you know, humming along in the shower using your own voice, just for you know, even 60 seconds is going to have a massive impact on your mood and your energy and everything above yeah, I've heard humming is really really good way of sort of creating your own vibration, almost, isn't it?
Speaker 1:
Absolutely. That's something anybody could do, isn't it?
Speaker 3:
Like you say, it is of health issues and my just total Western medical doctor recommended I get this book on the vagus nerve and vagal nerve stimulation and humming is one of the things, is one of the main things. So, you know, biologically it's, it's great for us as well because it helps elicit the rest and digest part of the autonomic nervous system, the parasympathetic yeah. So it's like you know that piece also. Just, you know, very logically, like looking at a baby and how a baby coos, how a cat purrs, you know these are things that have been part of human evolution and beyond.
Speaker 3:
Um, as mechanisms for healing and self-soothing. Um, I was just reading recently I didn't know this um about cats and the purr of the cat. Um, that also cats don't just purr when they're calm, they purr when they're under stress as well, and I thought that's incredible. It's like, uh, they know that this is a calming mechanism of the body and so they bring it back in when they need it under stress, and so it reminded me a lot of sound healing, like, yeah, you can use this when you're already calm, but you can definitely use this when you're in a heightened state of stress.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, I am trained as a doula, actually, and one of my projects was about talking about the connection between your throat and making sound and your uterus and helping the birth process helping, um, the birth process, which, so that is absolutely ingrained. You know, we were designed women having babies to make noise, because there's a absolute biological connection between your throat and your uterus. So I found that fascinating. I thought that was amazing. But, uh, that that that was a thing that's incredible work, yeah yeah, that's incredible work.
Speaker 2:
I'm really glad that you're shedding the light for, you know, women and everyone listening that how impactful that can be.
Speaker 1:
Um, you know in that stage of life. Chanting is another thing that people can do at any time, isn't it, you know? Whatever they're doing, they life. Chanting is another thing that people can do at any time, isn't it, you know? Whatever they're doing, they can do it while they're doing the ironing, can't they really, you know?
Speaker 2:
I should chant while I iron. That's a great idea.
Speaker 1:
Sounds much more enjoyable. So we've talked about loads of benefits of sound healing, but are there any anything that's not so good or any misconceptions that people come up with about sound healing?
Speaker 2:
And you probably know just as well as we do, natasha, the whole wellness space and the energy healing space. There are a lot of you know mistruths out there that we see kind of repeated and passed on as lore, as you know, to kind of create kind of a mysticism around it. I think everybody has the space and time to believe in what makes sense and truth for them. I love that about what we do. We love to demystify, just as we are doing in these conversations about it's literal science what is happening on a cellular level when you're chanting, while you're ironing or if you're in a gong bath, as you mentioned, that you know the vibrational effect on the body is so powerful and profound and studies are catching up with what we've known for, you know, thousands of years.
Speaker 2:
You know, I think too, there's, you know there's lots of things that we see that you know, in terms of creating spaces that are accessible for all, making space for individuals that have experienced trauma Most of us all, in some way or other, have experienced trauma in our life and when we're in these group sound healing spaces and also in one-to-one settings, it's very likely that there is at least one, if not multiple, people that you're working with, that have experienced trauma, so we're very passionate about sharing trauma-informed sound healing practices and it's in the book. Julie wrote an amazing section on trauma-informed sound healing that I think is so needed, and we want to create more awareness and more knowledge around this piece for sound healers Something that I always kind of joke about in sound healing sessions or sound baths.
Speaker 2:
I think many sound healers want some of the instruments to be a surprise, like it's a concert of some sort like, oh, don't ruin the surprise, and we talk about like, no't ruin the surprise, and we talk about like, no, ruin the surprise. Show everybody what you're going to do, show them the instruments, give them a full rundown of what to expect. Um, and create even more comfort and um understanding of the experience, less anxiety.
Speaker 1:
If they don't, people can, and that in itself isn't it? Stress, as we know in the corporate world, and that is a trauma in itself, actually, isn't it? And very much connected to mental health issues and you know, and people having burnout and just not being able to survive in that environment anymore. So, yeah, interesting. So do you ever get anybody come along who is actually don't really want to be there maybe, or a bit frightened of what's going to happen? They're just not. I often get. I often get. I'm sure you have as well. Does it involve water? Because you, you know, when you talk about a sound bath, I often get that question.
Speaker 1:
Well does it involve water?
Speaker 3:
No, you know, what's funny about that is um. So I had been doing sound healing for a long time and been around sound healing and use the term sound bath over and over, and then my friend just kept talking about forest bathing, which you would think because I do sound baths, I would understand that forest bathing isn't bathing in the forest. About a year later I found out that forest bathing has nothing to do with water, it's just staying in the trees, yeah.
Speaker 3:
I was so compassionate towards everyone asking me if a sound bath has water because I made the same mistake, even as someone who uses this term bath. But yeah, I think we've really worked hard to eliminate, you know, this area of surprise and activating the nervous system, because it's counter to what the intention of the sound bath is is to invite relaxation, restoration and essentially like rejuvenation as well. So we want instead for there to be an element of predictability to calm the nervous system, and it does. It takes a little extra time. So sometimes, even in the trainings that I lead, people give pushback because they say, well, I don't have time to tell people all these things and it's like, no, you can do this.
Speaker 3:
You know this is more in the sound healing yoga world, but you can very quickly, you know, give a ring of the chimes, a few taps of the gongs, you know, play of the crystal bowls, point out also in the room where water is, the exits, the bathroom. So people really never feel trapped, because a lot of times too, with trauma, just these tiny details make such a difference and really opening up the body to be more receptive. So when people go, okay, I can leave or I can get a sip of water. I'm not glued here to this mat or to these bolsters and pillows. I can actually like stretch my body during a sound bath or readjust.
Speaker 3:
So it has helped tremendously because people especially when people come with a friend or a group because we do a lot of group sound baths you know people will bring their aunt or their son or you know a family member or a neighbor, and so really creating this inviting space where we're very transparent about everything, it removes also some of the mysticism to it. It makes it more accessible and I've just noticed, because we weren't always like this with our own teaching, we've evolved and learned and so I've noticed now it's just it almost feels like a more joyful beginning too, Like you're stepping into a joyful, safe space where we all know what's going to happen, and people are then excited Instead of being afraid of what is this huge gong going to sound like in 20 minutes. They're like oh, now I know and I'm looking forward to it in 20 minutes. So it's.
Speaker 1:
And so they're going to have a better experience, aren't they? If they set out like that yes, yeah, lovely, I wish you lived near me, but I think you're a little far away.
Speaker 2:
Well, maybe you'll need to come visit I'll have to come see you.
Speaker 1:
Yes, so you were talking about how you've evolved, which sort of leads very nicely into my next question, because I was going to ask you how you think that sound healing has changed. Because I was going to ask you how you think that sound healing has changed because I've seen a much, much more interest in sound healing over the last few years. It's almost like it's becoming more and more embraced, whereas, you know, maybe five, ten years ago very few people had heard about it and now lots of people go for gong baths and sound healing. So yeah, how do you think it's changed and where do you think that's going to carry on? Where are we going with sound?
Speaker 2:
healing? This is a fun question. Thanks for asking it. Yeah, I agree, five to 10 years ago, the prevalence of sound healing was minuscule in comparison to where we are these days. I started in 2017. And even at the time it was, I remember my husband saying, oh, that's a little edge, like he's, like I'm not sure what that is, it seems kind of far out there and I was like I know, but you know, I feel I feel connected to it and I believe that other people will too. And since then, so that being six years, oh wait, seven years, seven years now.
Speaker 2:
I can add. I promise, seven years has passed and it's every day. There's a sound bath around us. I see, you know, new instruments coming out, new or actually I'll say old instrument makers becoming sound healing instrument providers. It's wild and wonderful. I think that it's a good thing, ultimately, because the more people that have access to it, the better, and, as you were saying to Julie's comment about our evolution through sound, I think more people are headed this direction, going forward in terms of having access to sound and including it in their offerings, you know, in small and big ways, but also making it more accessible to all, demystifying the mysticism around it where it's, mystifying the mysticism around it where it's you know it's not so edge to use that term again but it's.
Speaker 2:
You know it's commonplace and it's comfortable and predictable for folks to return to and receive those benefits.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, and I think the whole concept of vibration. I love that because in energy healing of course we talk about we have we have our own individual vibration and so it almost helps people understand our terminology a bit better, just for experience really. So I think that's really helpful to the energy modality world really.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, I agree. Yeah, that's actually something I want to learn more about, because my background is really in the yogic understanding of the subtle bodies or the energetic bodies. So I would very much I mean that's. I think something I would like to learn more about is other forms of or other ways to understand the energetic body and to move energy, because I think these two have a lot of crossover over. So for some of my friends who practice Reiki, this is funny that this came up, because even this morning I was thinking about one of them and how I wanted to reach out just to go talk about it. Just to talk about, because I don't even have a very good understanding of the system of Reiki. I've had Reiki done but I don't understand more of like the kind of academic side of it and to see how we could bring both into a sound experience, yeah, I think would be really fun Because it's working on that.
Speaker 1:
That's something that I do, a lot of Reiki, but also working on what we call the soul continuum, your actual soul essence and all of those that information in your energy field from past lives, from future lives, from the whole, um soul continuum, so the whole passage of your soul through time and space, know never to be destroyed and that's all available to us.
Speaker 1:
So I think I just think that sound, I always think that sound, creates some form of gateway to accessing that. In a way, it's so fundamental, you know, like using the almond, you know, I think there's, there's an absolute link there and I think, um, I personally think, voice seems to be coming through, um, and a bit edgy, as you, as you say, when people you know channel different sounds. You know, I don't know what they would call it, but you know, like some people call it dragon speak, don't they? They're channeling energy through there and sounding and but creating that for healing and I think at the moment that's a bit sort of not as accepted, but I can see that happening and becoming to the fore, you know, in the years to come as well, something else that will be added to the toolkit, basically.
Speaker 2:
That's really exciting. I love the expansion of the toolkit, as you said. Yeah we each find our our tool, and the more calm and connected we are as individuals, the better we are together yeah, absolutely, and it will evolve even more, won't it?
Speaker 1:
so what do you hope readers will take away from the book? Because obviously you're not. Well, some people might get a sudden realization of all of these concepts suddenly, but other people will be a bit, you know, step by step, won't they? So what do you hope that people will take away from the book?
Speaker 3:
We worked very hard to create a book for people who are interested in sound, all the way to people who have been leading sound baths for a long time to see that sound healing is accessible. So perhaps you have purchased an inexpensive metal singing bowl and you're not sure exactly what to do with it. We have, like, many meditative exercises you can do in the book with something as simple as a singing bowl, all the way to people who are playing, many singing bowls with gongs and exercises that they can use as well. So it's really to help you know, demystify sound, but also very much practical application how to use it in your daily lives. And I think of it, too, as like a sound bath experience is similar to a spa day, but really you should be participating in some kind of self-care every single day, right? So perhaps it's like a few breaths, or perhaps it's a shower. You know, whatever your self-care is, there's self-care beyond the spa day, and I think that's essentially what this book is about too.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, I really promote that. We should be doing energy healing, which sound is every single day, as much as we clean our teeth and have that shower and take supplements. We should be doing something, because it's not a quick fix, is it? It's a progressive healing. So finally, ladies, what is um favorite thing to create sound?
Speaker 2:
oh, favorite thing to create? Yeah, favorite thing to create sound. Oh my gosh, do I have to pick one? Yes, one, okay. Uh gosh, so tough. Um, I will have to say if I have to only choose one, I do dearly love a lovely metal singing bowl. They're so simple, very accessible, and the deep tones that tend to come from the metal bowl, versus the crystal bowl, really resonate with me. And I know that if I can take a minute or so to tap that bowl three times and listen to it ring out in between, I am going to feel better in that moment. So I'll choose the metal bowl.
Speaker 1:
Lovely.
Speaker 3:
For me, always the gong. I'm obsessed with the gong, I love the gong, but also right now, something that um I've I'm pretty obsessed with too is, um flow chimes. So they're chimes that are linked together um they're metal tubes, and, and I've been playing mine more and watching lots of videos on playing the flow chimes. So if there's any sound healers out there, big shout out to the flow chimes, but always the gong will have my heart. Yeah.
Speaker 1:
I think for me, not that I do it as well as you two ladies, but I do use the drum quite a bit because I do. Reiki drum as well, so I love the drum, which can really take you into a very meditative state. So I'd have to say for me and that's something I do around the house, so luckily I haven't got close neighbors, but I do like a bit of drumming, so that would be my favorite.
Speaker 2:
I wish I was your neighbor. I would love to hear like meditative drumming all the time. It'd be very helpful.
Speaker 1:
Well, thank you, ladies. It's been an absolute pleasure to talk to you. I think your book looks amazing Seasons of Sound. So thank you ever so much for supporting Balm to the Soul. It's been a real pleasure to meet you and to have you on the podcast. Thank you so much, and if you've enjoyed listening to us chatting, then please like and share, and I'm going to put all the details Julie and Jessica's details underneath the episode so that you can contact them, and the name of their book and where you can get it. So please go and enjoy and I will speak to you all soon.