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Kylie Knott

It comes as no surprise that Terence Lloren has a sharp sense of hearing. He is a sound recordist, after all.
But when he experienced his first sound bath – a meditative practice where a person is immersed in deep sound vibrations created by instruments such as gongs and singing bowls – it blew his mind.
“It’s amazing how gong practitioners start with a blank canvas and paint something right in front of you with sound,” says Lloren, a Filipino-American who recently moved to Hong Kong after 16 years in Shanghai.
Lloren says his first gong session, conducted by Hong Kong practitioner Martha Collard, the founder of Red Doors Studio, was an emotional one.
From Taylor Swift to Tibetan singing bowls, can low-frequency sounds heal?
“I listen to sound very openly and take in a lot of it and process it like information,” he says. “It’s like seeing with my ears.
“With this gong bath there was so much sound and so much information that I couldn’t believe it – I thought my mind was going to explode,” he says, adding the experience had him both smiling and tearing up.

Hooked, Lloren – a trained architect – was determined to document and share the sounds while drawing attention to the sound bath community.
And so Sound Bath Sessions – a subscription-based collection of live recordings of sound baths from practitioners in Hong Kong and elsewhere in Asia – was born.
“While researching this project I found plenty of sound baths on media platforms and apps but they were generic, not localised, and had no community surrounding them,” he says.
“I met with new local practitioners with their exotic handmade instruments, and more mature practitioners who were deeply rooted in their communities and masters of their craft.”

One common ambition they held was to use sound and meditation to help with mental and physical health and to promote general well-being.
“It was a shame that none of these people were properly represented in the medium that they wholeheartedly believed in and so passionately worked with,” he says, adding any money made from Sound Bath Sessions is split evenly between Lloren, the practitioners and a chosen charity. “This is not a moneymaking machine.”
What the recordings are, he adds, are intimate, candid “sound portraits” that document not just the sound baths but other noises heard in a typical session.
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“I also wanted to capture the sounds of Hong Kong, like the traffic out the window, people talking in the hall, or the sound of an elevator,” says Lloren, who in 2009 founded sound label Bivouac Recording.
“Sometimes while editing I would fall asleep or go into a trance and forget what I’m doing,” he laughs. “I’m supposed to be listening for anomalies but in reality I’m floating in my own thoughts.”

While some refer to sound bathing as a healing therapy, there is no scientific evidence that it can heal a medical condition. A growing body of research, however, has shown benefits including deeper relaxation, stress relief and improved sleep.
The recordings, Lloren says, can be used for meditative purposes or entertainment. What he wants to make clear is that he is not taking business away from sound therapists.
“If people want to experience the true powers of a sound bath they have to go to a session in person and feel the physical vibrations.”


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Wellness

Never had a sound bath? Live recordings of practitioners in Hong Kong and Asia bring you closer to the practice

Sound bath practitioner Martha Collard uses various tools including bowls, gongs, tuning forks, aromatherapy and crystals to “rebalance” clients at Red Doors Studio in Wong Chuk Hang, Hong Kong. Photo: Nora Tam

Sound recordist Terence Lloren at a studio in Mong Kok, Hong Kong. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Lloren records sound bath practitioner Calvin Chan at a studio in Mong Kok. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Bad vibrations: voice analysis uses the way you sound to reveal things about your body you don’t yet know

Martha Collard doing a voice analysis on SCMP writer Bernice Chan. Photo: Nora Tam

Martha Collard's various tools like bowls, gongs, tuning forks, aromatherapy and crystals to "rebalance" clients, at Red Doors Studio, Wong Chuk Hang, Hong Kong on 25 August 2020. 25AUG20 [HEALTH FEATURES] SCMP / Nora TAM

Martha Collard doing a voice analysis on SCMP writer Bernice Chan, recording her voice, then using various tools like bowls, gongs, tuning forks, aromatherapy and crystals to "rebalance" Chan, at Red Doors Studio, Wong Chuk Hang, Hong Kong on 25 August 2020. 25AUG20 [HEALTH FEATURES] SCMP / Nora TAM

Martha Collard (right) does a voice analysis on Post writer Bernice Chan, recording her voice, then using various tools including bowls, gongs, tuning forks, aromatherapy and crystals to “rebalance” Chan, at Red Doors Studio. Photo: Nora Tam

For an antidote to stress, sink into a Hong Kong gong bath (no water required)

Martha Collard conducts gong baths at Red Doors Studio in Wong Chuk Hang, Hong Kong.

Red Doors Studio’s Martha Collard conducts gong baths for groups and one-on-one sessions. [FEATURES] Photo : Handout

‘My mask was wet with tears’: how hypnotherapy can tap the mind’s healing qualities to help deal with trauma, anxiety, stress, PTSD, even childbirth

Hypnosis refers to a state of enhanced introspection and changed awareness, which bridges the conscious and subconscious minds. Photo: Shutterstock

Hypnotherapy helps people experience change at a deep unconscious level, a part of the mind which holds all our memories and experiences. It has been embraced more widely since the Covid-19 pandemic began, accepted as a tool to relieve things like anxiety and stress. Photo: Shutterstock

Hypnotherapy helps people experience change at a deep unconscious level, says Christine Deschemin, a certified hypnotherapist based in Hong Kong. Photo: Christine Deschemin

Hypnotherapy can help resolve emotional conflicts, which sustain negative self-belief and unwanted patterns of behaviour, says Ellen McNally, a hypnotherapist at Hypnosis in Hong Kong. Photo: Hypnosis in Hong Kong

“I recall being mentally led down a spiral staircase; with each step, I was supposed to go deeper into my subconscious.” Photo: Shutterstock

Practised regularly, self-hypnosis can be incredibly calming and help remove automatic negative thoughts. Photo: Shutterstock

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Health

Sound Bath Sessions is a subscription-based collection of live gong bath recordings that can be used for meditative purposes or entertainment
Terence Lloren, who launched the collection, says the recordings are candid ‘sound portraits’ that also document other noises heard in a typical session


Sound Bath Sessions is a subscription-based collection of live gong bath recordings from practitioners in Hong Kong and Asia that can be used for meditative purposes or entertainment.


Meditation & Mindfulness

Meditation and how to find balance