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Well Bath Yoga & Wellness Centre · Charlcombe
Kate playing the crystal singing bowls.

Workshop at Well Bath

Crystal Bowl Sound Bath

The room lies down and the bowls hold it

Once a month, Kate holds the Crystal Bowl Sound Bath at Well Bath. The lights come low, the room settles, and Kate plays a set of tuned crystal singing bowls for the length of the session. The sound does the work.

Sound baths work differently from talking, from thinking, from a full yoga class. The bowls settle the nervous system through frequency alone and often reach places that other practices have not. There is gentle movement built into the session, with Kate cueing small shifts of shape as the sound moves.

Some people fall asleep. Some cry quietly. Some notice nothing during the session and feel the difference the next day. There is no wrong response and nothing you have to bring except yourself.

Duration

90 minutes

Price

See the booking page for current pricing.

What people bring

Presentations commonly worked with

The Sound Bath is a container more than a treatment. What people arrive with is usually less a specific complaint and more a nervous system that has been running on effort.

  • Anxiety that responds better to being held than to being talked at
  • Sleep that has been shallow or slow to arrive
  • Grief, loss or a stretch of low mood
  • Chronic pain patterns where a stronger practice is too much
  • Burnout after a long working stretch
  • Cancer treatment or recovery when movement is out of reach
  • Curiosity about sound healing without wanting to commit to a course

The Sound Bath is not a medical treatment and Well Bath does not claim it treats any specific condition. If you live with a diagnosed nervous-system, epilepsy or acute mental-health condition, speak to Kate before booking so she can flag if any part of the session is worth being careful of.

What a session is like

From arrival to the last breath in the room

The evening runs ninety minutes on a Friday evening once a month. This is how the time unfolds.

  1. 01

    Arrival and settling

    Come through the front door, tea from the Welsh dresser in the foyer if you want it, into the studio. Kate has set the room out with mats, bolsters and blankets — take whatever combination lets you rest.

  2. 02

    Kate opens

    A short welcome, a note on how the session runs, permission to leave to the loo, to shift shape, to sit up if lying is not for you tonight. Nothing is imposed.

  3. 03

    First bowl

    The first bowl comes in slowly. Kate builds the sound gently so the nervous system has time to register that this is a container it is safe in.

  4. 04

    The main body of the session

    The bowls layer, shift, and hold. Kate cues small movements as the sound moves — a turn to the other side, a shape change, a soft stretch. The room breathes together without being told to.

  5. 05

    Deep hold

    A longer stretch of full immersion. This is often the piece where the body finally lets go of what it was carrying in.

  6. 06

    Coming back

    Kate closes the sound slowly. A few minutes of quiet. When you are ready, sit up in your own time. Tea in the foyer for anyone who wants to stay.

Weighing it up

Sound Bath versus Kirtan

Both work through sound. Which is right for the evening you are having depends on the register you want.

Sound Bath (Kate) Kirtan (Tim)
Your role Receptive — you lie down and let the sound work. Active if you want it — you sing, or you listen.
Sound source Kate on the crystal bowls. Percussion, harp, violin and the whole room's voice.
Movement Small held shifts, otherwise deeply supported rest. Seated for the evening, with the room's sound as movement.
Register Contemplative, restorative, still. Devotional, communal, participatory.
Best if you Want to lie down and let the sound do the work. Want to sing with a room and be carried by it.

Some regulars come to both across a month. They meet different needs.

What the evidence says

Research and clinical literature

Sound-bath and singing-bowl practices have a growing evidence base for anxiety, tension, and mood, though the field is smaller than the yoga literature.

  • Tibetan and crystal singing-bowl sessions are associated with statistically significant reductions in self-reported tension, anxiety and depressed mood in an observational cohort of participants.

    Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine · Goldsby et al. · 2017

  • Sound-based relaxation interventions produce measurable reductions in heart rate and blood pressure during and after sessions compared with baseline.

    Journal of Psychosomatic Research · reviews · 2019

  • Group sound-healing sessions show short-term improvements in perceived stress and subjective wellbeing across multiple observational studies.

    Complementary Therapies in Medicine · reviews · 2020

Questions people ask

Before you book

Do I need any experience? +
None. The Sound Bath asks nothing of you technically. Turn up, lie down, receive the sound.
What should I bring? +
Layers you will be warm in — the body cools when it stops moving. An eye mask if you have one you like. A blanket is provided.
I do not like being in silence. Is this for me? +
The room is not silent. The bowls are the sound. Many people who thought stillness would be difficult find this specific form of it easier because there is always sound to be with.
Can I sit up if I do not want to lie down? +
Yes. A few people prefer to sit against the wall or in a chair. Kate points to where the chairs are at the start.
How is this different from Kamala's Sound Healing Workshop? +
Kate's Sound Bath is a shorter, monthly container built around the crystal bowls. Kamala's Sound Healing Workshop is a longer form with more time inside the sound. Some people come to both.
I am pregnant. +
The Sound Bath is generally well-suited to pregnancy. Mention it on arrival so Kate can help you find comfortable propping.
Do I need to book? +
Yes — the room does fill. Booking through the site is the only way to hold a place.

Other work by the same hands

Also with these practitioners

Book

Book Crystal Bowl Sound Bath

Booking runs on Acuity, direct link below. If you are not sure whether crystal bowl sound bath is the right fit, reach out and we will help you find the right first door into the sanctuary.

Prefer to talk it through first? Call Joe on 07986 380327  ·  Joe will get back to you within 24 hours.