A short guide to the field of cymatics; the visual representation of sound

If you’ve ever booked a restorative yoga class expecting deep rest, only to find yourself moving through a slow sequence of postures, you’re not alone. The word “restorative” gets used widely in yoga now. It often describes classes that are slower, gentler, or more accessible. And while those classes absolutely have value, they are not the same thing as a true restorative yoga class in its original sense. So what is restorative yoga, and what is it actually for? Restorative y

If you’ve ever sat in a room filled with sound and felt your body soften before you’ve even had time to think about it, you’ll already have a sense that something is happening beyond just listening. It’s something we feel not just hear. The human body is made up of systems that are always in communication with their environment. Sound is one of the many inputs it responds to. You might notice it in simple ways. A loud, sudden noise can make your whole body tense. A steady rhy

You don’t need a metal plate with vibrating sand on it in a lab to see cymatics in action. Once you know what to look for, it begins to appear in much simpler places. Where there’s vibration, there’s a visible response. One of the easiest ways to see this is in water. If you’ve ever watched rain hit a still pond, you’ll have seen the surface come alive with ripples. Each droplet creates a pattern that spreads outward, interacting with everything around it. Sound works in a si

Most people never think about fascia until their body feels stiff and they arn’t quite sure why. And even then, they may still simply refer their muscles feeling tight. So you might simply call it tightness or tension, or maybe even blame getting older but what you’re actually feeling could simply be coming from your fascia. Fascia is the connective tissue that wraps around and weaves through every muscle, organ, and bone. Imagine a continuous, three dimensional web that ho

The circle is the first shape we ever know. Quite literally, before we are aware of anything, we begin in the soft perimeter of the human womb. It is the boundary that holds us, round and complete. In that sense, the circle is our very first home. And even before that, before we begin to develop into the people we are today, we begin as a single cell...... This piece has now moved to the editorial series, Restorative Matters.

The expensive candle you recently bought sits on the shelf like a promise. Dust gathering on its lid. It’s a good one to, its the one you bought at the lovely boutique where the lady behind the counter talked about bergamot and Sicilian lemon as if you were discussing ancient secrets. Your invested. You leave telling yourself you’ll light it on a slow afternoon, the kind that smells faintly of rain. You get home with a genuine feeling of hope. But that afternoon never c

If you’re wondering why attend a sound bath, and what actually happens during one, the short answer is this: You lie down, (or sit) get comfortable, and are immersed in layers of sound. There’s nothing you need to do, no way to get it right. It helps if you’re warm it helps if you’re comfortable and it helps if there’s not too much other noise in the background - but really , as the recipien, that all there is too it! The sounds work on the body and nervous system, helping it

You’re running late. Despite your best preparation efforts, the kids still don’t have their shoes on, someone’s already spilled the cereal milk, and somehow, everything has been pulled out of the cupboard! Or maybe for you it’s the work version. Your inbox is overflowing, you’ve already had three urgent emails, but you can’t actually get to them because you’ve got yet another meeting starting in two minutes!. Worse still, at some point, amidst all of this everyday chaos, you

Rethinking Yoga: Beyond the Poses and Stereotypes; When someone mentions yoga, it often conjures images of toned bottoms in high-fashion geo-print leggings, serene retreats, or maybe it makes you think of hippies with wrists draped in mala beads uttering “love and light.” Yet, yoga goes so far beyond these stereotypes and the ultra-flexible physical poses we see on Instagram. At its core, yoga is an ancient practice designed to unite mind, body, and spirit, a journey inward t

Introducing 'Ninzida': The Newest Member of My Gong Family Two days ago, Gong number seven arrived. Seven is a highly auspicious number, particularly significant in my gong work, so her arrival already felt special. But she was delayed. And this struck me as curious, I’ve never had a gong “delayed” before. Whilst I was impatient and frustrated with this delay, as somebody in the line of work I’m in, I was of course also curious as to the energetic reason underpinning that. I’

If you’re here wondering whether sound healing is good for people with ADHD, the short answer is yes, most often it is. As a sound practitioner diagnosed with ADHD myself, I believe part of the reason is that it gives our busy brains something steady and layered to receive. In a similar way to how bilateral stimulation or multi-layered sound can feel regulating, the experience can land in a way that feels accessible rather than demanding. For some ADHDers, sound offers a spac

It’s Sunday morning, and you’ve made it to the yurt in Totnes for the Sunday Restorative yoga class. Maybe you’ve had a bit of a rushed exit from the house, or perhaps a minor disagreement with your other half. Maybe you’re still a bit sleepy and tired. Even slow Sunday mornings can get a bit chaotic. But as you walk down the path, through the evergreen trees and then open the yurt door, thing shift. The sun is streaming through the roof lights, and the soft, sweet scent of P

Navigating Extraneous Noise During a Group Gong Session “To snore or not to snore… that is the question.” Picture this. You’re lying down in a dimly lit room, surrounded by soft blankets, eyes gently closed, waiting for the first resonant hum of the gong to wash over you. The space is calm, serene, and full of promise. The vibrations begin, and just as you’re slipping into a deep state of relaxation… a soft snore cuts through the air. You crack an eye open, half smiling, half

When I think back to my first ever gong journey, I remember the awe and curiosity I felt. Attending a gong bath for the first time, I was mesmerized by the instrument. When the practitioner finished playing, I remember sitting up and looking at this large, circular instrument, wondering, how did she know exactly where to strike the gong? There were no notes, no obvious markings on its face, nothing to guide her. I was fascinated by how she seemed to draw sound from it effortl

What is a healer?

In its simplest form, a gong is a disc-shaped instrument, traditionally made from metal. Most gongs used in sound therapy today are handcrafted from bronze alloys, carefully shaped, hammered, and tuned by skilled makers. With the growing popularity of sound healing, smaller, mass-produced versions have become widely available. Within the practitioner community, these are often referred to simply as decorative gongs, and are most likely not suitable for sound therapy. For the