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My Journey into Sound Healing: How One Singing Bowl Changed My Life
People often ask me how I came to work with sound.
The truth is, I didn't discover sound healing as a wellness trend. I discovered it through necessity.
Six weeks into my pregnancy with my son Charlie, I was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease that had destroyed 90% of my adrenal glands. It was life-changing and life-threatening. I quickly realised that while medication would keep me alive, I also needed ways to calm my nervous system, build resilience and care for my mental and emotional wellbeing.
One of the practices that became a lifeline was chanting.
As a yoga teacher, chanting had already been part of my personal practice for many years. During this incredibly challenging time, however, it took on a much deeper significance. It became far more than a traditional yogic practice - it became an anchor. The vibration of my own voice helped steady my breathing, quieten my mind and bring moments of calm amidst uncertainty.
It was through this experience that I truly came to appreciate the profound wisdom of Nada Yoga - the Yoga of Sound. I experienced first-hand how sound could influence not only my state of mind but also my sense of resilience and wellbeing.
Then Charlie arrived.
He was born with significant medical challenges, an exceptionally rare genetic deletion alongside Down syndrome - something doctors describe as a one-in-a-billion combination. Age 42, with a pre- schooler and a new born, navigating hospitals, uncertainty and exhaustion, I naturally began chanting to him. It soothed him, and just as importantly, it soothed me.
That experience changed the course of my life.
Discovering the Power of Sound
Wanting to support Charlie in every way I could, I trained as a Yoga for the Special Child® practitioner and began working with children with disabilities and additional needs.
At that stage my collection of instruments was beautifully simple.
One singing bowl.
One tingsha.
My voice.
Together with yoga and breathing practices, I witnessed how these simple sounds helped children settle, focus and relax. Those early experiences taught me something I've carried with me ever since:
You don't need dozens of instruments to create a meaningful sound experience. You need presence, skill and an understanding of how to use sound with intention.
Over time I added a few traditional Himalayan singing bowls collected during travels to India, along with meditation chimes. Before long I found myself incorporating them into my adult yoga classes.
This was more than twenty years ago - long before sound baths had become widely known. At the time, I genuinely thought I'd created something entirely new because I had never heard the term "sound bath."
Falling in Love with Sound Healing
Everything changed when I attended a gong bath at a Buddhist centre.
That single experience opened the door to an entirely new world. Through the gong master I met other practitioners, discovered the extraordinary resonance of crystal singing bowls and was introduced to my mentor, recording artist Annie Jameson.
I was captivated. I began studying the unique qualities of each instrument - how different frequencies, timbres and playing techniques could create entirely different experiences. One singing bowl gradually became a carefully curated collection of more than thirty instruments, including crystal singing bowls, traditional singing bowls, gongs, drums, chimes and other therapeutic sound tools. Each instrument was chosen not simply for its beauty, but for the distinctive voice it brought to a sound journey.
In 2018 I began offering dedicated sound baths, taking my work beyond The Yoga Studio for the first time. My first external event was for forty people in Raglan - a huge leap outside my comfort zone, but one that confirmed I was exactly where I was meant to be.
Twenty Years of Learning
Since then I've had the privilege of sharing sound in many different settings.
I've played at intimate one-to-one sessions, community sound baths, retreats, corporate wellbeing events, funerals, women's circles, yoga classes and even hen parties.
Every event has taught me something new.
Over more than two decades I've continued to study, refine my practice and deepen my understanding of sound, meditation, yoga philosophy and trauma-informed relaxation techniques. My work isn't based on trends - it's built on years of experience, ongoing education and thousands of hours spent holding space for others.
Why I Created The Sound Healing Company
One of the biggest challenges I encountered in New Zealand was finding authentic, high-quality instruments and comprehensive, practical training. Much of what was available was either difficult to access or lacked the depth I was looking for.
That experience inspired me to create The Sound Healing Company - a place where people can access carefully selected instruments, immersive sound baths and training grounded in decades of lived experience rather than passing trends.
Today I continue to study, teach and learn. My intention has never been simply to play beautiful instruments. It is to help people discover how sound can become a meaningful part of their wellbeing, meditation and personal practice, just as it has been in mine.