Words Betty Uy-Regala
Photos courtesy of Kimpoy Velasco via Facebook
October 16, 2024

Space.

Calm.

Stillness.

A spaciousness reminiscent of the teachings of Eckhart Tolle is somewhat the spaciousness that Kimpoy Mascunana Velasco of Soundspace was referring to in describing the primary effect of sound healing or sound therapy.

Velasco, a musician who had a comedy rock band in his younger years, had always kept an eye open for alternative holistic approaches to address his depression. He first discovered meditation in 2010, and 10 years later as the pandemic hit the world, he searched for a practice to mute the noises within and without.

Sound healing became his doorway to reach stillness. He underwent a sound healing training infused with Reiki under Tonette Asprer and Isla Antinero of V432 Wellness in 2022. “There was something that was tapped in me during the training. I felt there was a spaciousness produced in my physical body. There was acceptance. I did not resist,” he said. He continued: “Sound healing provided me with a healthier path to situations that normally would elicit a negative reaction.”

On a deeper, even spiritual level, the sound healer understood impermanence and surrender in relation to life as he delved into the practice.

In a recent Facebook post on his reflections about sound awareness, which echoes Tolle’s teachings, the facilitator wrote: “...we are perceiving something that is beyond the form of sounds. We become aware of the space in which the sound happens, in which music comes and goes. When the form of sounds subsides, what remains is the Awareness that is now becoming aware of Itself. And for me, that is Healing.”

If, in the past, Velasco pieced together sounds using different instruments like the guitar to create performative music, he now ever so lightly hits the Himalayan singing bowls to achieve a certain silencing of the mind not only for himself but for others.

On a rainy Sunday evening at ComFit Studio PH in Pasig, he initially did a check-in round to an intimate group of four, including the author. The three are regulars in his almost weekly 2 donation-based session at the studio. The participants were also made to pull out from a deck of cards before the actual sound healing part as a sort of guide to the process.

A long list comes out for a quick search on the Internet for sound healing in Manila. It is sometimes incorporated into a spa treatment or a yoga practice or a Reiki energy healing, or a standalone session like Velasco’s event at the studio.

Its popularity could be traced to the pandemic; young people who are looking for the next new thing to share to their followers on social media; and progressive companies who have incorporated sound healing, yoga, and other alternative modalities in their employees’ wellness program.

Ace Omaña, one of the four attendees, has been regularly attending Velasco’s sound healing session since eight months ago. After he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2019, his gland was removed. Alongside his religious intake of prescription medicines and regular medical checkups, the 41-year-old participant regularly attends yoga classes at ComFit about twice or thrice a week, and caps his week with the sound healing class.

“I think one of the outcomes of my wellness program is that people say I look younger than my actual age. I am also able to go on mountain hikes, and go to the beach at least once a month,” Omaña said.

For 32-year-old Gail Limpin, sound healing, which she calls soul solution, addressed her challenge in sleeping. The sounds create disruption in her thoughts; it brings gaps to the continuous flow of mental activity. The sessions likewise help her keep her meditation practice, which she tries to do everyday.

“I like how my body feels relaxed afterward. I also love the sense of community that the practice fosters because I feel connected with other people who are like-minded. I feel I belong in the world,” she said. Limpin added that the profiles of attendees in the sound healing classes are widely varied—from senior citizens to kids below 10 years old who came with their parents.