We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jessica Rosario a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jessica , appreciate you joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

Sound Body Initiative manifested out of my three main passions; music, healing, and community. It came from a deep desire to share with others the same transformational experiences that I was having through my own creative practice. As a vocalist and musician, I kept having profound realizations every time I went into a trance-like state with music and dance. I wanted to communicate what was happening on a metaphysical level to people’s understanding of why these practices have such an incredible effect on us. On a deeper level, I wanted to allow others to access these transformational states more easily and effectively while learning to treat their entire body as an instrument of conscious connection.

Through the use of sound, vibration, and authentic movement, we can open up space within our body and our psyche, allowing for clearer communication between cells. It’s in this “flow state” that we allow our body/mind to do what it is naturally capable of doing. With the use of rhythm and sound, we become more aligned and in harmony with our natural states of being. In a meditative practice, these tools help us go even deeper by stimulating multiple aspects of our neurology, giving us direct access to levels of our subconscious that we often aren’t ever aware of, making the entire process of healing (or “reprogramming”) simpler and more effective. Suddenly instead of searching for the answers, solutions just begin to manifest because our bodies naturally want to be in a state of harmony.

Music doesn’t just help us get more in tune with ourselves, it also brings us closer to one another. Uniting people with the same intentions can be extremely powerful in the healing and growth process, and music has the innate ability to do just that. Everything we do is reflected and picked up on through our incredible subconscious. By treating music as a gift as well as a tool for expansion, we unlock powerful healing modalities because, by nature, we are creatures of pattern recognition and music is simply a series of repeating patterns….So when using sound, music, or movement in an intentional setting, we are simply training ourselves to attune to and recognize patterns that are more harmonious to our state of well-being.

Besides its pleasantries or its capacity to relax and uplift us emotionally, sound waves have the ability to penetrate dense matter. While the human ear can only perceive sound within the frequency range of about 20 = 20000Hz, the human body can easily receive and absorb frequencies well above or below those margins. Not only that, the human body itself produces frequencies and vibrations through impulses of the brain and heart. As humans, we are constantly sending and receiving sonic impulses as the basis of our physical reality and these impulses are communicated on a subconscious level through our cells.

Sound, whether perceived or not, is literally stimulating cells by going through the tissue and reverberating off of the molecular makeup of the body. Now, if we know that all the cells of a single human body can be compacted into the size of about a thimble, that means that most of the body is empty space. And what does sound do in empty spaces? It reverberates…. It echoes. It repeats. So the sound is not just heard by the ears, it is perceived, processed, and amplified in repeating waves by the cells and spaces within the structure of our tissues.

The sheer depth to which sound and vibration can reach our innermost workings, and the capacity for precise communication with our most subtle human structures is absolutely incredible. This is how sound therapy “connects consciousness.” It can move through passageways of the body and trigger aspects of our neurology that no other instrument known to man can ever reach. It is truly an instrument of God.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

As a Miami native, I got into music from a very young age. I started singing and dancing pretty much as soon as I could walk and remember having my first live musical experience on the historic Calle Ocho of Miami’s music scene around the age of five. My passion for voice took me into the realm of songwriting, which in turn took me down the path of becoming an instrumentalist and audio engineer. As early as I became fascinated with music, I was also fascinated with death and spirituality. I remember intuitively trying to communicate with the energetic world from a very young age. In life, I became enthralled with learning about different cultural practices in religion, spirituality, and prayer around the world and throughout history.

As I honed my craft I realized that this “communion with Spirit” so to speak, was happening most when I was playing music or completely engaged in my art. The closer I became with my music I realized, the closer I became with God. I was opening myself up as a channel, or as a vessel for vibrational alignment to my highest purpose, and I was witnessing not only a deep understanding of the world around me, but what was MOST incredible is that I was watching various physical ailments disappear and deep emotional healing take place within me. I was physically experiencing a heightened level of communication between my cells and neural pathways. This all then took me down the path of somatics, energy work, and into the world of neurolinguistics as I tried to communicate what exactly was happening to me, and replicate these experiences for others.

Now based out of Pittsburgh, PA, I use my practice to help others find their own potential for healing and align themselves with their highest purpose. From a simplistic standpoint, I use music, movement, and meditation to help clients relax enough to feel safe in their bodies and confident enough to take back their personal power so that they can balance themselves on an emotional, physical, and/or spiritual level. In other words, I help people find their bliss by shaking out the old patterns of the body/mind and reprogramming the nervous system to a more harmonious state using sound as the main healing modality.

I work with clients through private intensives and group immersions, sound healing meditations (sound baths) and brainwave entrainment sessions, guided vocal toning and breathwork exercises, ecstatic dance and authentic movement sessions, and of course through music medicine and the powerful connection of a supportive community.

Part of my education is in neuro linguistic programming and hypnotherapy, so much of my focus is on communicating with multiple areas of the brain to create long-lasting effects on the body/mind. Because of this training, I’m able to connect with each individual on a deep subconscious level as well as offer ways to “biohack” the system for optimal results throughout the healing journey. In this way, Sound Body Initiative is nurturing the connection between sound, body, and mind.

What really sets me apart from most sound healing practitioners is my background in audio and event production, and my ability to work with groups. I’m extremely adept at creating immersive experiences in music and the arts while still having the ability to communicate what is happening on a scientific level through the incorporation of tangible practices that benefit the individual as a whole. Because of this combination of expertise, I’m able to curate truly transformative experiences to any group, anywhere in the world.

I absolutely love seeing the connections take place in others as they are empowered by music and surrounded by the healing vibrations of a supportive community. I literally get to watch evolution take place as we open our hearts and minds to more harmonious ways of living. Lifting people up through music and conscious community makes what I do incredibly rewarding because I know that I’m helping to make a difference not only in the lives of those I work with, but in the lives of future generations as well because after all, we are simply reflections of repeating patterns echoing throughout time and space.

Any advice for managing a team?

Our number one need as human beings is our need to belong. Our tribal need to feel valued, loved, and supported by a community, some argue, may be deeper than our need for food and shelter. Because without human connection first and foremost, there may be no food or shelter. So when it comes to maintaining high morale and consistent team management, I would recommend that you sincerely value and acknowledge every person on your team and ensure that each and every one of them knows that. It really is as simple as leading into every critique with a compliment and following up every email with “Thanks for being an integral part of the team. I appreciate you.” If you aren’t sure how your team feels, ask them “In what ways would you feel more supported or valued in your role?”

If you really want to dive deep, I would also suggest learning what each of your team members’ primary “love languages” are (in the most platonic and professional manner of course!) This might sound radical in the workplace, but every person perceives value and communicates that in slightly different ways. (If you’re not familiar with love languages, look them up, your relationships will thank you!) So, if you know that half of your team communicates love through words of affirmation while the other half communicates love through acts of service, you will more easily be able to find ways that communicate to all of them that they are valued, acknowledged, and supported. For those who show affection through touch, I would recommend a solid high-five or fist-bump where hugs would not be appropriate. It might sound silly, but a simple firm handshake or a cup of coffee “just the way you like it” communicates a lot of intention between people, so use several forms of communication to let others know you value them. Not everyone speaks the same language.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

That music is “just a hobby” and can never be a career. It took me many years to unlearn this message and I would never dream of telling that grim story to anyone wishing to pursue a career in music or the arts.

There is a huge undertone in our culture that devalues artistic talent as we’re told that the very essence of our being will never be able to sustain us. I came from a working-class family where lessons are commonly based on grit and survival, but even in “upper society” it’s common to see kids being pressured to leave their creative abilities behind in favor of a high-grossing career (which is funny when you look at the years of financial debt you are enslaved to after going to college to pursue such a career.) As creatives, we’re told by all our parents and teachers that we “need a backup plan” or “a real job” to support us when our dreams don’t work out. We’re automatically assumed to fail. As a kid, and even as an adult, people laugh at you for wanting a career in music or the arts. Yet when we really look around, we see people all the time making a living off of working with their creative passions.

I think because we aren’t taught what living your passion really looks like, we have these ideals of what it means to “be an artist” or “be successful” that are easy to fall short of because not every path to happiness looks the same. We’re taught that you have to be this, that, and the other thing otherwise you’re sh*t out of luck. We were taught to repeat those phrases of contempt that were generated from a time and place where struggle was the norm and unhappiness was a common way of life. It’s a hard paradigm to overcome as a kid and I can see how easy it is for people to follow in their parents’ footsteps. Maybe becoming a rock star artist with a million and a half super fans just isn’t in the cards for everyone, but In reality, there are opportunities everywhere to apply your talents and be truly happy doing it. And if we can’t find those opportunities, then we have the power to create them. That’s the beauty of being a creative. We are always at the forefront of shaping society.

Now as an adult, I realize that creating my art and living my passion can look so many different ways. Just because the outcome doesn’t fit the portrait that was painted for me as a kid, doesn’t mean that my talents aren’t valued in this world. To the contrary, I’ve learned that musical and artistic ability are greatly valued in our society from both a social and economic standpoint. In turn, I am discovering what it truly feels like to be valued for who I am.

Perhaps that was part of my great lesson that took me down this path of sound healing…. I was subconsciously “unlearning” the ins and outs of the old paradigm while being given the opportunity to shift our culture’s way of thinking and to consciously choose new, healthier patterns that empower others to live their purpose in the future. That’s the “aha moment” that changes our perspective and brings about a chain reaction in the evolution of our spiritual journey here on earth. That is the essence of creation… And when you look at it that way, it really brings about a sense of appreciation for the struggles that you didn’t even know you needed to get you where you’re at today.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sound-body.org
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/soundbodyinitiative
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/soundbodyinitiative
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicarosariomusic/
• Other: https://flow.page/jessicarosario