How Hypno Sound Baths Became a Natural Next Step for Me
If anyone had told me a year ago that I would be running Hypno Sound Baths, I probably wouldn’t have believed them. It sounds like quite a leap from my work as a Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapist, but when I look back at how my work has gradually developed, I can see that it wasn’t really a leap at all.
Permission to stop
When I was training in hypnotherapy, we spent a great deal of time practising on one another. One suggestion that was often used during those practice sessions was: “Do less. Do nothing.”
At the time, doing nothing was something I found incredibly difficult. If I stopped, I felt guilty—as though I should always be working, helping someone or getting something done. But hearing those words during hypnosis gave me something I hadn’t realised I needed: permission to stop.
That idea stayed with me. It now sits at the heart of my Hypno Sound Baths. I want to create an hour in which nobody needs anything from you, there is nothing you have to achieve and you have permission simply to stop.
It started with the nervous system
In my one-to-one work with anxious clients, nervous system regulation is almost always where I begin. Before we can work on changing thoughts or behaviours, it helps to understand why the body can suddenly react as though we are in danger—even when we know rationally that we are safe.
I explain the difference between the fight-or-flight response and the body’s rest-and-digest system in straightforward, everyday language. For many people, simply understanding that their racing heart, tight chest or churning stomach is the body trying to protect them—and not a sign that something is terribly wrong—can be incredibly reassuring.
But I don’t want clients only to understand what their nervous system is doing. I want them to experience how they can influence it for themselves. So we practise breathing techniques, focused attention and using the imagination in helpful ways. These are practical skills they can take away and use outside the therapy room.
Over time, I began to notice that the moments clients found most powerful were often the moments when they could actually feel something shifting—not simply because we had talked about feeling calmer, but because they were experiencing it. And that was where sound gradually began to find its way into my work.
Then sound became part of the experience
Sound first began to find its way into my work through the hypnosis recordings I made for clients to use at home. I started adding carefully chosen music behind my voice and noticed how much more immersive the recording felt. The sound seemed to help create a space around the words, making it easier to stay focused on the experience.
From there, I began using sound during some of my face-to-face sessions, particularly my Relax and Reset sessions. I would introduce gentle music at certain points and began noticing how naturally it worked alongside the breathing, relaxation and imagery I was already using.
That made me curious. I wanted to understand more about sound—not simply as background music, but as something that could become an active part of the therapeutic experience. I began learning more about therapeutic sound and experimenting with how different instruments could support the different stages of hypnosis.
Gradually, the idea began to take shape: what if the sound could be woven into the hypnosis itself?
More than hypnosis with music in the background
I didn’t want to create a hypnosis session with a bit of relaxing music playing underneath it. The idea was for the hypnosis and the sound to work together, with each instrument chosen because it supports a particular part of the experience.
For example, during the guided imagery, I might invite you to imagine being beside the sea while slowly bringing in the sound of the ocean drum. You are not only imagining the movement of the water; you can hear it surrounding you, which adds another dimension to the experience.
At other points, singing bowls, chimes, a rain stick or gentle percussion can support the breathing, focused attention, relaxation or therapeutic suggestions. Silence has a place too. The sounds are introduced with purpose rather than played continuously from beginning to end.
That is what makes it a Hypno Sound Bath. The hypnosis guides the journey, while the live sound is woven through it to help make the experience feel deeper and more immersive.
More than an hour of relaxation
The sessions are deeply relaxing, but I also want people to leave with something they can use beyond that one hour.
Throughout a Hypno Sound Bath, I introduce many of the same practical skills I teach in my one-to-one work. We use breathing to help settle the body, focused attention to bring the mind into the present moment and the imagination to create an experience that feels vivid and absorbing.
Each session also has a particular therapeutic theme, such as calm, confidence or letting go. The hypnosis includes positive suggestions connected to that theme, giving you something helpful to focus on and carry into the week ahead.
There is no pressure to talk about personal problems, share anything with the group or do the experience in a particular way. You remain in control throughout. You simply arrive, settle in and allow yourself the time and space to stop.
Bringing this work to more people
My one-to-one therapy work remains an important part of what I do, but Hypno Sound Baths allow me to share some of these skills with more people at the same time.
You don’t need to be struggling with anxiety or receiving therapy to come along. You might simply feel constantly busy, find it difficult to switch off or know that you rarely give yourself permission to stop.
The group setting means I can still teach people about breathing, focused attention, imagination and nervous system regulation, but in a way that doesn’t require anyone to talk about their personal circumstances. Everyone has their own experience, within a calm and carefully guided shared space.
So, although I wouldn’t have believed a year ago that I would be running Hypno Sound Baths, it now feels like a completely natural next step. It brings together my work as a therapist, my interest in the nervous system and my belief that sometimes we all need permission to do less and simply stop.
An hour to stop. Space to reset. Something to take into the week ahead.