Brazil sounds that calm the anxious mind

A recent participant in an online Sound as Medicine workshop led by Phyllicia Victoria through the Omega Institute described the experience as deeply calming during a period of intense personal hardship.

The participant had been navigating what she called the hardest time in her adult life for the previous 18 months. She traveled repeatedly across the country to support her father through brain cancer treatment. At the same time, she homeschooled her oldest son, adapted to industry changes, and dealt with estrangement from a close family member.

She said life felt heavy, overwhelming, and relentless. She depended on self-care routines such as walking in nature and reading in the bathtub to maintain balance. After taking the workshop, she became confident that sound baths should be a regular part of that routine.

Phyllicia Victoria is an artist, yoga teacher, reiki practitioner, and sound healer. The participant read on Victoria’s website that she grew up feeling broken, lonely, and unworthy, with trust issues. The participant felt an instant connection because she could relate. Victoria started facilitating sound baths because the sound helped settle her thoughts and quiet mental chatter.

The workshop did the same for the participant. The combination of Victoria’s soothing voice, uplifting words, and resonant, hypnotic sounds created what the participant called a transcendent experience. After the practice, Victoria led gentle movements and stretches and invited participants to journal about what came up during meditation.

The participant began by writing words that came to mind: release, peace, spaciousness, ease, clarity, calmness, gratitude. She then wrote that she felt a deep sense of relief from stressful thoughts that had been gripping her earlier. The sound transported her in a way words alone could not. She felt vibrations deep within her body, and it felt like they were cleansing the noise of her own mind and creating space to simply be, without judgment.

When she heard other sounds — some from Victoria’s environment and some in her own, such as her father moving around and turning on a faucet in the kitchen — she reminded herself 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. She considered this a wonderful practice for life: often people hear more dissonance than harmony in their days, but sometimes it is the other way around. She described it as a gift 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, and the participant decided not to listen to the question-and-answer session at the end of the workshop so she could remain in the space she created within herself. She had read that sound baths can calm the nervous system, reduce stress, and help relieve tension and physical pain. She ended her session feeling deeply relaxed physically and mentally, and better equipped to handle whatever might come in the day ahead.

The participant noted her recent partnership with Omega and said she appreciates what they offer. She mentioned that Omega put together a page of free resources specifically for the Tiny Buddha community. She also listed workshops that caught her eye for the summer, 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.”

She also reshared programs recommended the previous month, including Omega’s emotional resilience workshops focusing on training the mind for a best possible life, healing from betrayal and toxic relationships, and Omega’s nervous system regulation workshops with programs on accessing neuroplasticity and healing the nervous system. She said that if she could take an in-person workshop at this time in her life, she would be there, as she knows the campus is a sanctuary for meaningful connection and deep healing.