My Experience of Healing

I stepped into the cozy, familiar space of Sound & Yoga in Portland, meeting up with a couple of friends for an immersive sound bath. We hugged, chatted, and gently rekindled our connection after the holidays. It felt so good to be back again, our guides for the evening were welcoming as usual as we settled into the room. Mario, Catherine and Nicole share sound baths unlike any I’ve experienced.

A picture from my first sound bath at Sound & Yoga years ago. They have grown in the most beautiful way.

This space always feels like a warm hug. I cozied in, ready to ground myself into the new year, craving a sense of stability in a time that so often feels anything but stable.

Eyes closed.
Warm.
Comfortable.

The guided meditation and the vibration of sound reached me quickly, moving straight into my body and soul. Sound baths can sometimes feel agitating as energy begins to release. With awareness, I opened my heart while staying present enough to anticipate any tension that might arise.

Then something shifted.

I felt myself ascend, as if flying. I was in the air, holding the reins of a horse. I was not riding it, but moving with it. The horse was guiding me, and somehow I was guiding it too. I was still holding onto that familiar sense of anticipation of tension… and then I wasn’t. It felt as though every part of me surrendered fully to the sky.

Eventually, I landed on the Earth.

I was surrounded by figures standing with their backs to me. They felt deeply familiar in a way that was uncomfortable. Cue the tension.

I took a slow, intentional breath in and released it steadily. In my vision, I planted my feet, lengthened my spine, and gently drew my shoulders back. Just as I was about to take my next inhale, the figures began to walk away. As they did, the space around me widened and cleared. They dissolved into the darkness.

My breath returned to its natural rhythm. I hadn’t realized I’d been holding it. With that awareness came a complete release.

The tension left every inch of my physical body.
My heart felt full and free.
My mind was open, curious, and quietly in awe.
My energy felt renewed.

I returned to the room as the final sounds faded. As we were guided back, removing our eye masks, moving our bodies, coming to a seated position, I felt remarkably lighter.

Some people shared their experiences. I shared my sense of flying, and another Sara in the room said she felt like she was flying too. That made me smile.

Later, more visions of those figures came to me—clearer now. I understood them as parts of myself: present-life selves and past-life selves, releasing and leaving.

The feeling wasn’t freedom exactly.
It was release.
Detachment.
Unencumbered.

These visions and sensations now feel woven into my being, something to reflect on, something to journal with curiosity.

Since then, I’ve felt more sensitive. More aware of my inner world. More focused. More open. More… present.

I’m staying curious about the experience, grounded in the knowing that I am no longer carrying the weight of those old stories. I feel the space in my body and my heart. The work is in integrating it all in my body, my heart, my soul, my mind. Ah, mostly my mind.

Our minds are so skilled at convincing us that sameness equals safety.

But I am different now.

Was it one sound bath that changed me? No. I’ve been devoted to my healing and growth for years.

And also, yes. Every time I open myself to healing, something shifts. Those shifts accumulate. They matter.

Over the past few days, I’ve wondered if this was an awakening moment. I don’t know how it will settle, or when I’ll be nudged again. I’m not even sure what “awakening” truly means beyond the polished, social-media, sell-a-course version of it.

What I do know is this: when I focus inward and practice presence, each day feels like an awakening.

I learn more.
I experience more.
I share more.
I love more.

I am more.