As soon as you enter the studio, Mickee Caputo welcomes you to let go of your day and bring yourself back to your awareness.
“Close your eyes, release your jaw, soften your brows, and relax your shoulders,” Caputo says at the start of each sound bath. “You can immediately feel five pounds of weight being lifted off each person. It’s really rad.”
Sound baths are an experience in which a group of people gather, often while lying on mats, to listen to sounds produced through various instruments. Like other forms of music, sound baths bring people together, but with an added meditative element.
Caputo helps people connect back to themselves and find balance through the use of crystal bowls, gongs, rain sticks, and chimes. The goal, she says, is to use sound to tackle individual and collective anxiety, depression, and more.
“When we are constantly on the go, that’s when pain and disease can come into the body. So the sound helps release that,” Caputo says. “Then, since the body is so relaxed, it’s no longer in that fight or flight response. You’re able to soothe the nervous system, allowing your body to rest.”
Caputo’s next sound bath is on Tuesday, May 18 at The Board Club in Newport Beach. The local surf club is membership-based and provides surfers of any level with unlimited access to a variety of surfboards, along with social events, networking opportunities, surfboard design education, and more.
The 90-minute sound bath session, which cost $30 for Board Club members and $40 for nonmembers, will be hosted outdoors at 7 p.m. Caputo recommends wearing layers and bringing anything you need to get comfortable, like a yoga mat, beach towel, pillow, or blankets.
“Because most of the people attending this event are probably not yogis, it’s going to be more focused on how we can help our body relax,” Caputo says. “I want them to leave feeling confident, comfortable, and safe, and know that it’s okay to be gentle with yourself.”
Comments