Sound Therapy at Brandon Country Park

The season had turned and the nights were suddenly Autumn-cold. I was standing in the car park at Brandon Country Park as the light began to dwindle, hugging my jumper around myself, waiting for the participants to arrive. Just up the hill, Nicky was preparing the space for a sound bath.

Originally planned for beneath the trees, the sudden bite to the air and threat of rain had chased us inside, but the Engine House feels a part of the forest, nestled as it is beneath the trees. Inside, was a twinkling, fragrant space for us to layer our mats and blankets and pillows and get really cosy.

Once we were all settled in place, we were guided into a meditation on where we were: tucked into the forest with all the other forest creatures, held by the same earth that held the trees, beneath the canopy behind which the sun was setting. Then the sounds began, soft and delicate at first, like a breeze through leaves, then layering and growing until we were immersed.

I have been to a sound bath before, and found it extremely relaxing, much like a successful meditation but, this time, my experience was physical. Every beat of a gong and resonant note of the singing bowls was felt in my muscles and joints. In the same way that a massage can sit somewhere between discomfort and relaxation, and draw out any pain you’ve been ignoring, the sound highlighted all the points of tension I was holding in my body. By the end of the session, all of my joints had popped as I stretched and the muscles in my arms and legs were tingling.

I spoke to Nicky afterwards and she explained that every sound bath is different, you can’t always predict how you will feel. Your body takes what it needs in the moment. She explained it can be like talking therapy, you can feel worse before you feel better, it just depends on what you bring with you on the day. It’s a chance for your body and mind to rebalance itself.

It certainly seemed that way in the Engine House. I worried that my fidgeting and popping joints had disturbed the person next to me but, when the sound bath came to an end and we returned to the sounds of the forest, I realised my neighbour was fast asleep! And they weren’t the only one, a number of people had dropped in and out of sleep during the session. How can it be that I had experienced something so physical as to push into the realms of discomfort, when others in the same room had become so relaxed as to sleep?

Over some dark chocolate and herbal tea, we murmured and chatted about how we felt. It was clear that, whatever our experience of the sound, we all felt like we had taken some time out of the everyday-rush to relax and rest. We felt rebalanced. Our bodies had taken what we needed in the moment.

This event was created by Nicky from Sound and Ground and BFER as part of the Brecks Outdoor Festival. Made possible by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.