MJ: Tell us about your journey to becoming a sound healer.
AB: I have always been a seeker and a forever student. Becoming a practitioner unfolded organically due to my deep curiosity. I was feeling lost, dealing with anxiety and cycling through negative patterns like people pleasing codependency and enmeshment with others. It was through sound, breath and movement that I started to drop into my body more. So I continued to partake in these experiences and found myself at a yoga retreat in Iceland where I met my future sound healer mentor. I decided to nurture the profound spiritual connection I had with her and journeyed through Egypt in the River Nile, pyramids and other magical places before training with her. When I returned to the states, opportunities to facilitate sound healing opened up and here I am today.
I have always been a lover of music and have always connected with that collective environment. I also played the piano for 7 years when I was younger. Today, these influences play a role in my approach to sound healing.
MJ: How does sound aid in the healing process?
AB: The thing about sound is that it is a deep surrender and it allows our body to receive. The more we create the space for letting go and releasing, the more we connect to our inner vibration. We all are vibrational beings and we all have been pulled by music at some point. Music has this universality to create coherence between hemispheres of our brains and our body. Cultures throughout the world and time have used music as a way to come together, celebrate, tell stories, and create communities.
Everything we do is cumulative. The more we practice, the body keeps the score, it remembers, reshapes, resets.
MJ: How do you see VR as a tool for healing?
AB: VR is like a lucid dreaming-astral projection- biohacking-future way to elevate our human experience! It’s interesting because typically I try to be in nature and less on devices. There is something powerful about the immersive experience of VR, especially for those who are new to meditation. Just by virtue of the technology its ability to play with brain plasticity makes it a great tool to heal and repair. To me, this is a new technology that was downloaded at this time to go for humans to dig deeper. I support technology with this kind of balance and thoughtful approach. And It's all about intention. Using it for healing is a beautiful thing. Of course, one must be mindful about spending too much time in this realm. It's all about balance.
MJ: Maloka is so excited to have you as a partner. What are you most psyched about co-creating with us?
AB: I am excited about all the wonderful practitioners you are collaborating with and all the different modalities for mindfulness that are available in Maloka. The spatial sounds and visuals are beautiful. I love the gamification too.