Blogs | My Sound Healing Journey-Vibroacoustic Massage

By Charlotte Musgrove

Charlotte uses her Tara bowl that planted the seed of her Sound Healing journey in 2024, lovingly adopted from Ali P, The Blissful Bowl Lady.

Tara has a beautiful, deep resonance. Her power brought me to tears when Ali played her along my spine, I knew she was meant for me immediately.

With any alternative therapies, I always try them myself and if I have a strong emotional response to them, I know others will too. When I first saw Tara, I was physically drawn to her- I have always been fascinated by anything handmade with a story, Gods and Deities, symbolism and ritual- Tara ticked all the boxes. When she was struck I melted, I fell (metaphorically) into her. It was like she said to me, full of deep matriarchal wisdom and love that “I am here. I can take it. You are safe. I can hold you”, exactly the words I needed to hear as a hyper independent human, new mother and therapist that often focuses on caregiving others first.

I knew she was meant for me, knew that she was going to take me somewhere, on a journey when the time was right.

Ali told me more about the female goddess etched into the bowl;

“In the Himalayan region, especially in Tibet and Nepal, Tara’s status is more that of a supreme goddess or female buddha. She is referred to as the Wisdom Goddess, the Embodiment of Perfected Wisdom, the Goddess of Universal Compassion, and the Mother of all Buddhas”

She represents compassion, protection and swift action, embodying wisdom, courage and maternal nurturing. In Tibetan Buddhism she is known as the protector and the liberator. She is also a bodhisattva, a being who has attained enlightenment but postpones entering nirvana, choosing to remain to help others achieve liberation from suffering. Tara is known for her universal compassion and ability to swiftly respond to those in need, offering protection from fear and adversity. She is The Mother, she is The Divine Feminine-compassionate, steeped in wisdom and embodiment of creation, she has strong links to Nature-to plants and the element of wind, symbolic of the speed she acts and healing power. She also has an association with stars and navigation, offering help to those who need guidance and direction. She is a powerhouse. A symbol for those to overcome obstacles and attain spiritual liberation.

Her image speaks to my bones, my soul, my heartbeat, my fascia, my lungs. I feel my breath deepen, eyes tear up writing this, because it is so familiar, it is the messaging I keep receiving, about my purpose, my reason of being here. To serve, to help heal others and in turn heal myself.

When things come into my life and I have such a profound response to it, I know it’s in alignment with my truth.

I always have had faith and belief that the right things come to you at the right time. Hearing that Tara is such a divine feminine force, unifying fierce protection and soft compassion felt so incredibly special to me. To give a bit of background- I have often felt adrift, cut off, disconnected to my own femininity, my own wild intuition as a woman, female community, from “The Mother”. Finding it hard somatically to trust, receive and rejoice in the love from the feminine in all its forms, which I have always known and grieved for, but really identified when I began my training as a psychotherapist. Through my journey in becoming a therapist I have been touched, received, admired, loved, cared for, been supported by a wealth of incredibly powerful, intelligent, warm, fun-loving, creative, sassy, fierce women. It has been a journey of coming home to myself, of expansion and joining a community of conscious, intentional, powerful people. I am so proud that I chose to join it, as the wellbeing community is the gift that keeps giving, the underground spring that quenches my spiritual thirst, that reinvigorates me, keeps me grounded and invites me again and again with no judgement, just love to come back to myself.

Back to 2024 and adopting Tara….

Ali, the Blissful Bowl Lady, is one of those inspiring women. A facilitator, an educator and human with an expansive heart and beautiful intuition. Tara had sat on my cupboard, used infrequently, waiting patiently for when the time was right for me to hold her, to use her. A year later the opportunity arose to participate in a course at Ali’s studio in Poole to become a qualified Sound Energy Practitioner. I jumped at the opportunity.

What an amazing experience it was. It intuitively felt right. I felt powerful placing Tara on my fellow student’s body. Watching, listening for the nuanced releases that were happening. Feeling and sensing differences in the tone of the bowl on different areas, organs of the body.

Then it was my turn to be practiced upon. I respond really well to any body work, I have always loved massage-my favourite being Shiatzu. At first I could feel my mind wandering and questioning, “This vibration doesn’t feel strong enough” but soon my mind went offline and my body began responding. Flicks in my knees, heat emitting from left foot, physical sensations of an orb growing around my third eye-just observing and feeling the process. By the time the treatment had finished I could not get up from the table and my whole being felt like it was buzzing from frequency. It was a totally immersive, restorative experience.

The ritual of holding space is felt as soon as you enter the treatment room, with offerings of crystals, feathers, rice, stones, blooms sitting perfectly among the scent of Palo Santo drifting across the room. The connection to the facilitator is made on arrival as you entrain your bodies, heartbeat, rhythm-all allowing a safe container to form for the client to open and to receive what they need. It is gentle and beautiful and powerful.

The sound healing space is offered with reverence as a healing space. It is an extension of my heart. My love. My peace. A space where clients can dissolve and come back renewed. To be held, to release, to be transported, to return.

I hope a bit of background illustrates the journey and meaning that I have found in becoming Tara’s keeper and subsequently the energy and love I put into the healing space.

I look forward to welcoming you,
with love and in service,
Charlotte