Good vibrations: Practitioners offer sound bath solace

Published 1:30 am Friday, April 3, 2026

By KATE POSS

Special to The Record

Island residents in need of contemplative soul soothing may want to seek out a different kind of immersion therapy — sound baths.

Joseph Sanchez — who locals may know from Prayerbody’s spirit energizing music/dance gatherings each Sunday—and Josh Pinkston — who recently joined Sanchez and his musical friends at the weekly practice — teamed up last January and now offer sound bath events throughout South Whidbey, including first and third Tuesdays at Soundview Center in Langley.

Prayerbody, which founder Christine Tasseff has hosted at Bayview Hall since 2016, combines music and dance, drawing on a number of sacred disciplines. The band’s improvised music builds and swells like a wave and invites the body to move to it. Sound bathing is an extension of the power of music that Prayerbody cultivates.

Originating in ancient Egyptian, Indian and Greece cultures, sound bathing has long been practiced in the form of chants and as medicinal treatment. Pythagoras, an ancient Greek philosopher known as the father of music, used musical notes and harmonic frequencies to promote body, mind and soul well-being. Tibetan Buddhists use singing bowls. Chinese medicine blends specific music frequencies to clear one’s qi and harmonize the body’s organs.

The use of quartz crystal bowls came into use in the 1980s and1990s as a modern form of sound therapy. They were originally used for holding computer chips in the manufacturing process and could withstand extremely high temperatures. Though the crucibles did not meet industry standards for chip production, they were found to produce pure and resonant musical tones when struck with a mallet.

To experience sound bathing for a visitor, the pair of musicians performed at the Nature and Spirit Center — co-owned by Josh and his wife Shawna Pinkston — on a rainy afternoon in Clinton.

Pinkston activated quartz crystal singing bowls, which were arranged from largest to smallest and represent the body’s seven chakras. Holding rubber tipped mallets in each hand, Pinkston tapped them, then rotated the batons around the bowls’ surface, creating high, ringing sounds that vibrated in the throat, the heart, the belly. Sanchez played flute, activated a Tibetan singing bowl and played a French didgeridoo, which resonated in deep bass notes, sending soothing vibrations felt in the body.

Seasoned musicians each, the men improvise, creating harmonic sounds.

“We have a unique chemistry in the way we approach music,” Pinkston said. “We listen. We don’t talk over another. I’ve played with a lot of people. Joseph is a legitimate didge player. Watching him work is very energetic. I watch him go to a place. I know he’s feeling something. To work with someone not thinking about himself — this is cosmic beauty.”

Resonating with the power of music, Sanchez — who is in construction and lately builds saunas to supplement his income — notes that sound bathing has taken off on Whidbey Island.

“I was first introduced to sound bathing when I did didgeridoo over 30 years ago,” Sanchez said. “I’ve tried it over the years on the island. The didgeridoo is unique. I play it every Sunday at Prayerbody. For me, it’s something to nurture myself and give back to the community. Now with Josh, we’ve combined forces. Sound bathing is needed now to sooth people’s nerves. I feel our timing was perfect. I want to keep doing it. We’re talking about doing this at hospitals, seniors’ homes and schools.”

Raised in an evangelical family, Pinkston found music to be the thread weaving community, but he found the religious part not a fit with his ethos.

“I grew up in the evangelical church and was a pastor at many churches,” Pinkston said. “Predominately working as a musician, I felt conflicted. I may have frustrated the pastors I worked with. I felt music was used in a manipulative way for someone else’s talk. I use music in a way where people can be fully relaxed and opened up to the greater consciousness beyond themselves. What we’re doing now is getting out of the head and words, which I think are dividing people, and bringing people into heart spaces.”

Pinkston and his family ran an event center in Portland before moving to Whidbey two years ago. With a Presbyterian church as its base, the event center hosted a coffee shop, community spaces and job training. It hosted thousands who attended yoga classes, children’s programs, AA meetings, concerts and plays. Now, with the Nature and Spirit Center, Pinkston and his wife offer “contemplative resources, practices and experiences for those along the spiritual journey,” according to the center’s website.

Sound baths are typically an hour long. Participants sit comfortably or lie on yoga mats or blankets and let themselves flow with the music all around them. Pinkston said he feels like a kid in a sandbox with the playful improvisations he and Sanchez generate.

“In that hour we can play different instruments,” Sanchez added. “We talk about how to approach the group with music. Didgeridoo, Native American flute with me. Sound bowls and guitar for Josh. We walk the room, feel the room’s energy. Yeah, the magic just happens. It’s incredible. You know you’re doing something right, if within 10 to 15 minutes in we hear someone snoring.”

To close the interview Pinkston picked up his guitar and played a soothing melody, singing: “You are loved, cherished and respected. Yes you are.”

To learn about sound bath experiences, visit natureandspiritcenter.com.