Paradise Center director leads sound bath for stress release

First, a tap on a crystal singing bowl. 

The hum from the bowl grows louder as Amy Steinhauser circles it with her mallet. With every tap on the singing bowls, the frequency changes and stirs a different emotion. 

No one knows what she will do next: Will she run her fingers across the chimes, tap on a tube or turn the rain stick?

“You might not like each sound you hear,” said Steinhauser.

Then comes the gong. 

New executive director Steinhauser uses these different frequencies and Reiki energy to cultivate a healing sound bath for The Paradise Center members and any Longboaters interested. She holds a sound bath at The Paradise Center once a month. She has also done a few sessions on the beach.

“I would say I use some form of Reiki or sound healing certainly on a weekly basis,” said Steinhauser. “Because of that, it is much harder for anyone to get me upset. It's now easy to stay pretty calm in situations that can be stressful or that would have really been challenging for me."

Photo by Petra Rivera

Reiki is a type of energy healing, according to Medical News Today. The Reiki practitioner can aid the flow of Reiki energy and pass it to another person without touch to help heal physical and emotional pain. More than 800 hospitals around the country offer Reiki services. 

Steinhauser said she doesn’t understand Reiki entirely but has seen the effects in her healing journey. She first experienced it through a friend looking for someone to practice on. This experience inspired her to learn more about it and become the Reiki master teacher she is today.

During her Reiki exploration, Steinhauser bought her first sound bowl. She said she knew that it would help her during stressful times. Steinhauser led her first-ever sound bath at The Paradise Center in February 2023.

Steinhauser starts each sound bath by grounding everyone in the present through their breath. Then she will begin with the singing bowls and follow with instruments including chimes, a rain stick, a gong, tubes and a crystal pyramid. 

Through the different frequencies, she leads the attendees through sound meditation and encourages them to let go of all negative tension in their lives whether physical or emotional. Everyone experiences it differently, Steinhauser said.

Photo by Petra Rivera

Tori Newman brought Margy Rich to Steinhauser’s sound bath on May 22 to release some stress. Being an artist, Rich pictured herself drawing with the sound energy during the sound bath. 

Betty Heron also attended the same session and said that she felt a release of pressure from her knee during the sound bath.

Previous attendees also shared with Steinhauser that sound baths have helped improve their sleep, reduce pain and lower stress. She said that it helped one woman through grief for her late husband.

"It helps me build a lot more confidence and trust in myself and not just from playing the actual instruments," said Steinhauser. "I get so much from the act of sharing this with other people and having them benefit from it.”