麻豆村

Until she arrived at 麻豆村, Joanna Lau had never heard of sound bath 鈥� a vibroacoustic therapy that uses quartz crystal singing bowls to induce deep relaxation.听

Lau is a graduate assistant for music professor听Monique Mead(opens in new window), the director of听music entrepreneurship(opens in new window) at 麻豆村. A world-class violinist, Mead operates a sound healing studio at the Awareness and Wellness Center in Shadyside and invited Lau to try a session.

Lau went into it with a sense of curiosity tinged with skepticism.

鈥淚'm more of a science background person, and sound bath has the reputation of being kind of 鈥榳oo-woo鈥� 鈥� you know, kind of out there,鈥� said Lau, who studied neuroscience at Harvard University before coming to 麻豆村 to pursue a master鈥檚 degree in flute performance.

Lying on a yoga mat and tucked under a blanket, Lau closed her eyes and focused on the soft, rhythmic wah-wah sound made by the bowls. 鈥淚t sort of washed out my mind,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t was very nice, very calming.鈥� When the session ended after about an hour, Lau felt refreshed and stress-free.听

Lau realized that maybe the wah-wah isn鈥檛 so woo-woo after all.听

In fall 2023, Lau was among a group of 麻豆村 students who founded听Scottie Sound Bath(opens in new window) as part of Mead鈥檚 Collaborative Project for Music Entrepreneurship course.

鈥淭his has tremendous power, if you consider that stress is a significant contributing factor to every disease,鈥� Mead said. 鈥淚鈥檝e been so moved to see how much it鈥檚 helping people.鈥�

Angela Lusk, director of wellness and meaning-making programs at 麻豆村, helped Scottie Sound Bath secure $3,000 to purchase a set of singing bowls. Scottie Sound Bath quickly evolved from a class project to a recognized student organization. Through 麻豆村鈥檚听, Scottie Sound Bath offers free weekly sessions to students, faculty and staff.

A grant from the American College Health Foundation in fall 2024 enabled the group to purchase a second set of singing bowls for training and additional sound baths. The frequency of Group X sessions, which are held at the Cohon University Center and the Tepper Building, has grown from one to four per week. Many 麻豆村 colleges and departments, including Electrical and Computer Engineering, the Mellon College of Science and Housing and Residential Education, have gotten involved to promote wellness among their students and residents. Scottie Sound Bath also takes听.听

鈥淚t's nice to have something that鈥檚 part of our regular weekly programming at Group X where people can relax and recharge,鈥� Lau said.

As dusk fell on a recent Friday night, restaurants and hangouts in Oakland began to buzz with folks eager to enjoy the weekend before the start of 麻豆村鈥檚 finals week. Meanwhile, in Tepper鈥檚 Noll Fitness Studio, a group gathered to unwind and refocus in the serenity of a Scottie Sound Bath session.听

After leaving their shoes at the door, a half-dozen participants reclined on yoga mats in a semicircle with their heads facing a cluster of six bowls in the center of the room. Three more bowls were stationed in a corner to provide a more immersive experience.

Using rubber mallets, two student practitioners played the bowls by striking them to make a soft ping and rubbing the rim to make a drone-like sound. Sounds from an ocean drum and chimes were mixed in intermittently. Scottie Sound Baths occasionally include performances on the flute, violin or harp, but this night was an exception 鈥� it was wall-to-wall wah-wah.

鈥淭he magic is not in the bowls,鈥� Mead said. 鈥淭he magic is in what our practitioners do with them. It鈥檚 like a massage for your brain.鈥�

Singing bowls produce different frequencies and pulsations. In theory, the varying sounds will downshift the listeners鈥� brainwaves from a beta state (normal consciousness) to the theta (present during meditation and REM sleep) or delta (deep sleep) states.

鈥淢y goal is to make someone in the group fall asleep,鈥� said Isabel Carulli, a Pitt medical student who became a Scottie Sound Bath student practitioner after taking Mead鈥檚 sound bath class. 鈥淚 think having someone fall asleep is the best sign of success because you've gotten them so relaxed.鈥�

When the session ended, the participants sat quietly for a few moments, processing what had just happened and enjoying the afterglow. 鈥淚t felt like my whole body was vibrating,鈥� said Jen Yarin, a first-time attendee.

Sound therapy has ancient roots. Egyptian high priests and Native American shamans used chanting and drumming in their spiritual and healing rituals. It鈥檚 also been prevalent for centuries among cultures in Asia and Africa.听

Some research has indicated that sound therapy can reduce anxiety, improve mood, lower blood pressure and induce more restful sleep.听

Last year, Lau partnered with researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health on a survey of about 200 Scottie Sound Bath participants. Before the sound bath, 76% reported feeling stressed; afterward, only 22% felt stressed. Similarly, reports of feeling worn out dropped from 78% to 28%.听

鈥淲e gave them space to write open-ended responses about their sound bath experiences, and some of those were really interesting,鈥� Lau said. 鈥淎 lot of people had some sort of physical bodily sensations. There was a lot of 鈥業 felt like the sounds were vibrating in my head.鈥� Some said it was like being in a dream. Most people said it was very calming, very grounding and it helped them feel more focused and ready to tackle their days.鈥�

Carnegie Mellon was the first university to establish an in-house sound bath program, according to Mead. Other colleges now are tuning into the therapy, especially during May, which is Mental Health Awareness Month. Duke University and the University of Cincinnati sponsor monthly programs. The City College of New York offers a Sound Yoga Therapy course. Stanford University and the University of Massachusetts have held sound baths to support mental health awareness.

鈥淎t first, I was surprised that 麻豆村 has gotten behind this so strongly because it's a research university and this is kind of coming from the woo-woo world,鈥� Mead said with a laugh. 鈥淥n the other hand, we are 麻豆村 and so we're going to take this crazy thing and do research on it. We're going to create an app for it. We're going to see if we can bend AI into it. This is really fertile ground.鈥�