Today we’d like to introduce you to Bernard Ruño.
Hi Bernard, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Hello, I’m Bernard Ruño, owner/operator of Adagio Sound Healing & Wellness. Thanks for reading my story. I’ve experienced a few milestone events at the time of this interview: I just turned 58 , I recently graduated from massage therapy school, finished my certification in indigenous Filipino manual therapy and obtained my massage license. I’m adding these modalities to my already established sound therapy practice. I had been planning on going into the field of holistic wellness in my retirement years. Covid-19 jump started that process. I had been working in hospitality for over 25 years. That industry still hasn’t fully recovered yet from Covid so I decided to retire early and go back to school.
I’ve been a musician all my life – violin, guitar, cello and singer – and was introduced to sound therapy while attending a musicians’ conference in Barcelona, Spain in 2016. I was so intrigued by the possibilities of combining sound and music with healing, it was very organic. I’m descended from a line of healers back in the Philippines. In our tradition, it’s believed healing abilities are passed on, as is with musical ability. I also come from a family of musicians.
Drawing from both lineages and combining sound and music with healing touch along with indigenous folk medicine has become my new calling. Immersing myself in my culture by re-connecting with my family in the islands, my Tribe (Tatak ng Apat na Alon – Mark of the Four Waves Tribe) and graduating from the East-West Healing Arts Institute and the Kailukuan School of Indigenous Filipino Martial Arts and Healing Arts has prepared me to help heal the world, one person at a time. I feel now more than ever, healers play an important role in today’s volatile political climate.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My work experience differs greatly from that of my parents. My mother was an attorney and my father was in medicine. Both had hoped that I might follow in their footsteps and it wasn’t for lack of trying. Neither field was meant for me. I had initially chosen a career in hospitality, as a Pastry Chef. I am grateful to my parents that the money they put aside for med school or law school had been used to send me to attend culinary school in Paris, France. After graduation I worked in four star hotels and restaurants before opening up my own French patisserie in Chicago, Sweet Thang. After ten years I sold the business and went to work in Hawaii on a cruise ship as Pastry Chef. Upon my return to the mainland I taught Pastry and Baking at Kendall College in Chicago for two few years.
Both my parents worked in their respective fields until they retired. I thought that would be my case as well until I was diagnosed with adult onset type 2 diabetes. My doctor strongly suggested that I find other field of work, I was devastated. Thanks to my European education, I had learned French, German and Dutch. I already spoke Spanish, Portuguese and Filipino and my language skills helped me transfer to a position at the hotel’s Concierge Desk. I worked as a Concierge for over 15 years and obtained my Les Clefs d’Or (Golden Keys) credentials, the highest credentials a Concierge can obtain in one’s career. The high point in my Concierge career was working as Chef Concierge at the Saint Kate Arts Hotel in Milwaukee. There I was able to combine both my musical performance background with my hotelier experience. That career ended with Covid as my position wasn’t brought back after the hotel re-opened. Five years later and many of my Concierge colleagues have not returned to their former posts either. I had to change careers once again.
I remembered the transformational experience I had in Barcelona, my first exposure to sound healing and decided that was what I wanted to do. I found a school in the Milwaukee area. It opened up a whole new world to me. A world of holistic healers and energy workers who brought healing, light and hope to a world just coming out of Covid. I have to say, I was also healed in the process. Halfway through my year of studying massage and Traditional Chinese Medicine at the East-West Healing Arts Institute, I was severely injured in a car accident. Because I was going to massage school, I had many healing hands by me who helped me through my recovery. My graduation and licensure were delayed due to my accident but I eventually made it through.
They say three times is a charm. I do hope that’ll be my case as I’ve had to re-invent myself twice before due to circumstances out of my control. We do not have the job stability our parents had in their day. We live in a volatile time where things can turn on a dime. I’ve been fortunate to have been able to adapt and move forward. I credit my parents who instilled in me a solid work ethic while simultaneously supporting my music and creative side. I’m not the doctor my father wanted me to be but I am a healer in my own right.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Adagio Sound Healing and Wellness?
Adagio Sound Healing and Wellness is a holistic health practice offering sound therapy, massage therapy and indigenous Filipino manual therapy. We provide individual, couple and group sound healing. Clients may also decide to combine massage along with sound healing.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Sound healing raises the body’s vibration optimizing healing on a physical, emotional and spiritual level. I’ve expanded my practice to include healing touch through massage and indigenous Filipino manual medicine.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.adagiosoundhealing.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adagiosoundhealer/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088472283632
Image Credits
David Kotlewski