Business Monday: Sound healing practitioner merges science, the unexplainable as alternative wellness practice

Natural light seeped in the windows as 20 people laid on mats at Waimea Yoga last Sunday to listen to the soft drones from Samantha Shea’s crystal singing bowls.

While sharing the same frequency, each person in the room was on their own healing journey.

Shea, a sound practitioner, was hosting a sound healing session. She began the business Shea Sound Healing over a year ago and has been serving communities across the Big Island by offering group sessions in the community and private sessions that can be done with a group or solo across the island. 

While she does not have a studio yet, Shea will often rent space for the public sound baths from places like Waimea Yoga and the Center for Spiritual Living in Keaʻau. She chose these places because they often provide a perfect space to achieve the mental, physical and spiritual healing.

Sound healing is an ancient practice that has resurfaced as an alternative holistic wellness method. It uses sound from singing bowls to bring people to a meditative, relaxed state, giving them a chance to reconnect with their bodies and find balance.

Originally believed to have originated in Mesopotamia 5,000 years ago, singing bowls have deep historical roots in Buddhist and Hindu cultures of Asia and were crafted for ceremonial and spiritual purposes. However, the instrument has traversed time as people seek to heal and rest in a fast-paced world. 

Practitioners will play singing bowls by rotating a suede covered mallet on the outside rims of the bowls to produce a sustained musical note. This causes the vibrations within the human body to match with the vibrations of the frequency of the singing bowls.

“Sound healing is based on the Law of Vibration and the fact that everything vibrates, including each of our cells,” Shea said. “If you are sick, have trouble sleeping, or are worried about something, your cells will not be vibrating at an aligned frequency, which creates imbalance.

“The frequency from singing instruments allows the vibrations of the human cells to align in the human body, creating the balance and harmony needed for healing.”

Shea attended her first sound bath, which is a term used for the sound healing session, about 8 years ago and was quickly fascinated after a profound, therapeutic experience. It wasn’t long until she bought her own singing bowls.

“It’s hard to explain, but there was this moment during the sound healing that I had a realization and just let go of all fear,” Shea said. “I realized that I wanted to help people in the same way if I could, so I bought a crystal singing bowl set, went to classes and was certified as a sound practitioner.”

Shea spent five years providing sound baths to friends and family for free in her spare time from work at Bayada Home Health Care. She said she often received feedback about the positive effects, which she also noticed. 

“Similar to forms of meditation, sound healing reduces cortisol levels, the stress hormone in the body, and helps with anxiety by bringing people into a deep relaxation,” Shea said. “It’s great for people who are on the go all the time, over-thinkers, anyone stressed out.”

She also has had people experience an emotional breakthrough.

“It is a form of mental health self care,” she said.

Shea also recommends sound healing for people with physical ailments who are looking for some short term relief from pain or discomfort.

“I had a fella with chronic pain in his shoulder from a surfing injury 30 years ago come up to me after a session and thank me, because it was the first time his shoulder didn’t bother him for an hour and a half,” Shea said. “That truly made me so happy, because I could see that I had really helped him, which is what I love doing the most.”

The spiritual healing is done within the meditation from the sound as the soft drones of singing bowls retain echoes from ancient cultures and healing practices. 

“While there are ways we can see the benefits from sound healing in science, there is also this unexplained mysticism about the experience, but I love that it merges the two to create a different form of healing for so many people,” Shea said. “While a lot of the healing is mostly short term, I have talked to people who feel lighter, relaxed, calm and peaceful for a few days afterward.”

Along with her public, community sound baths, Shea can also provide solo or small group sessions for those who may want a more private, comfortable setting since it can be an emotional and vulnerable experience. 

As part of her goal to help as many people as possible, Shea will soon be volunteering with Hawaiʻi Care Choices to provide sound baths for hospice patients as well as their caregivers.

“I think it would be great to see sound healing, or other alternative healing methods, used in places like hospitals or hospice care for the patients who need to heal, but also the caretakers,” she said. “They put so much time into other people that they need the sound bath experience to just breathe and reconnect with themselves for a moment.”

In an era marked by hard work and rapid change where people are often distracted and stressed, singing bowls serve as a reminder of the wisdom and tranquility that traditional cultures offer.

“Sound healing is a different experience for everyone,” Shea said. “You donʻt know what you will get or how you will feel. It is truly a time to just let go, relax and reconnect with your body. Thatʻs why I think everyone should experience it at least once.”

Shea’s sound baths typically cost $22 to $35 for community sessions, $150 for private solo sessions and $30 per person (minimum 3 people) for private group sessions.

Shea posts upcoming community sound healing sessions on her Instagram or Facebook pages. Those interested in joining a community sound bath, or booking a private session can message her on either platform.

Every first Sunday of the month, Shea and yoga instructor and reiki practitioner Audrey Alice will be hosting a Restorative Yoga and Sound Bath together from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Waimea Yoga beginning Sunday, Feb. 2.