I see mindfulness meditation as a vital skill which, when you’ve learnt all the tools, you can develop and tailor them for your own needs, as they’re always evolving. In a world where we’re often busy, thinking about 10 things you need to do and feel like you are spinning multiple plates, meditation can help you take a deep breath, feel calmer and more focused. Meditation can also help you to make better and quicker decisions when you need to spin yet another plate, it can also enable the clarity necessary to help you to take the next step which feels aligned and right for you.

Meditation offers me a time out too, especially as someone who runs their own business. It helps me to feel calm, spend less time in my head thinking and I definitely also sleep better. I find the decision making process is easier as well.

Sound Therapy

Similarly, when I talk about Sound Therapy, people often think that I have gone totally loopy! But, when I play one of the Tibetan brass singing bowls for them, they instantly stop, and pause to listen and feel the sensation. They become curious and want to know more.

I first experienced Sound Therapy at a Soundbath in 2019. I was fascinated, as during the session I was aware of being so deeply calm. The sense of grounding, focus and calm was entirely rejuvenating. I just wanted to know and understand much more after that first session, therefore I decided to enrol in a course so that I could not just learn, but also enjoy Sound Therapy further.

Since then I’ve been giving group and individual Soundbaths, as well as one to one Sound Massage sessions. My singing bowl collection has steadily grown, so much so that it has become a bit like an addiction! Each one has a different tone variation, so I feel it’s important that my collection tonally expands. My most exciting bowl purchase to date is one you can actually stand in… Not only can you hear the sounds created from striking the bowl, but you can feel the vibration all the way up and throughout your whole body.

The singing bowls help people in two particular ways; firstly, the sound automatically switches your brain from beta waves (when busy / stressed) to alpha waves (calmer – like meditation) and possibly even to delta and theta waves. The bowls are in fact particularly good for people who struggle with meditation. Secondly, the vibrations created by the singing bowls help to reduce muscle tension, which in turn can release any anxiousness, stress or emotional tension being held within the body.

People often say to me that they struggle to sleep well most nights, or they feel overwhelmed and can’t switch off. They also mention that they feel pressure or a lack of control and struggle to achieve things due to a lack of motivation. Physical manifestations usually lead to uncomfortable muscle tension, fatigue, mental tiredness, brain fog and struggling with unwanted thoughts.

Most of us at some time in our lives will find work pressure, deadlines, family situations and issues with loved ones, health problems or a fear of failure will get them stuck thinking about past events. This can all lead to feelings of physical and mental stress, which affects our health and well being, relationships and productivity.

Before trying meditation, people may be worried about not being able to quieten their minds, stop their minds from wandering or if they do stop to find the time to try it, gaining control and remembering all the important things that were in their head will be a problem. Quite simply, some people are hesitant because they’re conscious that they aren’t good at relaxing and don’t want to ‘fail’ at mediation.

What if meditation could help you to quieten your mind for a while? To have some peace and relaxation time for you to pause the ruminating thoughts in your mind and to clear the unhelpful thoughts. What if mindfulness meditation could reduce your stress and anxiety and give you more mental and physical energy?

Gemma is an externally accredited meditation teacher with the British School of Meditation.