Brazil sounds calmed my anxious mind

A writer recently took an online Sound as Medicine workshop with Phyllicia Victoria through the Omega Institute and described it as a beautiful experience.

The writer had been going through a difficult period for the past 18 months, traveling back and forth across the country to support a father through brain cancer treatment. At the same time, the writer was homeschooling an oldest son, adapting to changes in the industry, and coping with estrangement from a close person. Life felt heavy and overwhelming.

The writer had depended on self-care routines such as walking in nature and reading in the bathtub. After the workshop, the writer felt that sound baths should become a regular part of that routine.

Phyllicia Victoria is an artist, yoga teacher, reiki practitioner, and sound healer. The writer read on her website that she grew up feeling broken, lonely, and unworthy, with trust issues, and felt a connection. She started facilitating sound baths because the sound helped settle her thoughts and quiet the chatter in her head.

The workshop had the same effect for the writer. The combination of Victoria’s soothing voice, uplifting words, and resonant, hypnotic sounds created a transcendent experience. After the practice, the group was led through gentle movements and stretches, and then invited to journal about what came up in meditation.

The writer started by writing a number of words: Release, Peace, Spaciousness, Ease, Clarity, Calmness, Gratitude. Then the writer wrote about feeling a deep sense of relief from stressful thoughts. The sound transported the writer in a way words alone could not. Vibrations deep within the body felt like they were cleansing the noise of the mind and creating space to just be, without judgment.

When the writer heard other sounds, some from the environment and some from a father moving around and turning on a faucet, the mind thought, “No judgment, just new sounds.” The writer reminded the self to simply hear them mixed with the more calming sounds of singing bowls and chimes, and then release them without thinking they should not have been part of the experience.

The writer reflected that this is a wonderful practice for life. Often people hear more dissonance than harmony in their days, but sometimes it is the other way around. It is a gift to be able to train the mind to hear dissonance without getting lost in the story of it, so focus can shift back to what is beautiful and healing.

The journaling practice ended after that, and the writer decided not to listen to the question and answer session at the end of the workshop. The writer wanted to stay in the space created within.

The writer had read that sound baths can calm the nervous system, reduce stress, and help relieve tension and physical pain. The session ended with the writer feeling deeply relaxed, physically and mentally, and better equipped to handle whatever might come in the day ahead.

The writer expressed gratitude for the partnership with the Omega Institute and noted that they put together a page of free resources for the Tiny Buddha community. The writer also mentioned several workshops that caught interest, including Get Healthy with Sound: Tuning Forks & Voice for Vibrant Health, The Journey Inward: Frequency, Neuroscience & Longevity, and Holotropic Breathwork: Sacred Geometry & the Healing Nature of Mandalas.

Additionally, the writer reshared programs recommended in a previous message: Omega’s emotional resilience workshops, focusing on training the mind for the best life possible and healing from betrayal and toxic relationships, and Omega’s nervous system regulation workshops, with programs on accessing neuroplasticity and healing the nervous system.

The writer noted that if an in-person workshop were possible at this time, the writer would attend, as the campus is a sanctuary for meaningful connection and deep healing.