Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sonic Yogi. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Sonic , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I started my career as a classical musician. I went to music school and studied in masterclasses with some of the top musicians of the day, and so forth. Later I toured as musician with a classical fusion group for around 15 years.

However, when I started practicing sound therapy over a decade ago, I realized in many ways I had to unlearn many of the musical “rules”, and instead play against them. The goal of “sound therapy” is essentially to allow the mind and body to “release”. The “pattern recognition software” of our “left brain” is geared toward making sense of the basic elements of music, like rhythm, harmony and melody. However, “sound therapy” often eliminates these constructs and creates a space which allows the “left brain” to release judgement and simply experience the sounds, and vibrations as they are. Having a back ground of musical training however is very useful in moving in and out of these expressions with fluidity and understanding.

The only obstacle, I feel, is failing to trust your instinct and intuition. Often, as musicians or artists the tendency is to try to make something that is “good”. And so, there is a simultaneous judgment during creation. While, of course, you use the skills of your craft, it is often in allowing yourself a sense of free expression that the best things actually come forward. When I was created my first singing bowl tracks, I thought every one would think it was “crazy”. Yet, there was something within me, that really resonated with the sounds and this new free expression that was far outside of my usual musical framework. True creation is playful, and doesn’t mind making mistakes and is unburdened by judgment or the need to meet some expectation.

Sonic , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I create music as “Sonic Yogi”. I started as a classical musician, during that art of my career I began to experience panic attacks, and extreme anxiety.

I began to practice Yoga, made dietary , changes, and eventually that all led me to meditation. It was during the healing process that I realized how powerful sound, and frequency could be as a tool for helping us to relax and release stress.

I then began to create “sound therapy” tracks as a side project. I had no ambition other that to create sounds and vibrations that would help others relax their mind and body. I wasn’t even sure who would listen. I gave them to family and friends and posted them on SoundCloud. I gave away many, many downloads. The popularity of those tracks grew and grew and today they have been streamed millions of times over.

Eventually, a meditation app named Insight Timer emailed and asked if they could share my tracks. A few years later as the app grew they also began offering courses, and meditation guidance. These were also areas that I wanted to share more and so it was a natural progression. I currently have two courses on meditation and sound healing, with Insight Timer and one to be released with “The Ohm Store”. Tracks can also be streamed on all major streaming services.

My goal in sharing is two fold. Number one, create music and sounds as a resource for relaxation, and moving into meditative states. Number two is to provide instructional material that helps listeners come to a better understanding of how our mind-body connection works, and tips and strategies that increase wellbeing, and decrease stress, anxiety and tension.

: Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My mission is really to share the power of sound and music as a medium for facilitating change and hopefully also a space for healing mentally, or emotionally. That may be in the form of sounds for relaxation, or even for energizing the system. My experience in my own recovery from anxiety tells me that sound is an untapped tool for opening the mind to access the subconscious and to release trauma that is often held in the body.

While there is more and more research and exploration in these areas, my hope is to be a part of illuminating the real efficacy of some of these possibilities for the use of sound and therapeutic music.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I love creating, experimenting and serving. There is also a component of leading, or educating, or at least bringing something to someone’s attention that they may not have even realized could be a benefit to them. Ultimately, what I find the most rewarding is being able to contribute to someone else’s wellbeing. When I receive that feedback, it makes all of the difficulties of serving the work, seem insignificant.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://sonicyogi.com
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/sonic_yogi
• Facebook: http://facebook.com/sonicyogi
• Youtube: http://youtube.com/sonicyogi
• Other: http://insighttimer.com/sonicyogi