HEALING RHYTHM Rx

Frequently Asked Questions

Tanvi Patil, MPH, PharmD, E-RYT200, RYT500, RPYT, AAT
Pharmacist turned Holistic Wellness Practitioner

Sound Healing &
Sound Bath

  • Sound healing is a therapeutic practice that uses sound vibrations from instruments like singing bowls, gongs, and voice to help relax your body, calm your mind, and support emotional and energetic balance. A sound bath is a meditative experience where you "bathe" in sound waves that guide you into deeper awareness and rest.

  • Sound works through vibration and resonance, gently bringing your brainwaves into slower, more meditative states. It activates the parasympathetic nervous system, helping your body shift from stress to restoration. Sound also creates entrainment, allowing your internal rhythms to harmonize with calming frequencies.

  • People often experience deep relaxation, better sleep, emotional release, reduced anxiety, and increased clarity. It's especially supportive for those feeling burnt out, overworked, or disconnected from their body. Sound and breath help regulate your nervous system and reconnect you with your inner calm.

  • Please bring a yoga mat, blanket, and water, and wear comfortable clothing. Come hydrated and try to arrive a few minutes early to settle in. If you'd like, bring a journal for reflection afterward.

  • Absolutely. Every experience is valid. Whether you fall asleep, feel emotional shifts, or simply feel calm — your body will receive exactly what it needs.

  • You'll lie down in a comfortable position while I guide you through breathwork and meditation, followed by a sound journey using instruments like bowls and voice. There may be a few moments of stillness or journaling to help you integrate what comes up.

  • You might feel calm, clear, emotional, or energized. It's important to stay hydrated, allow time for rest or reflection, and be gentle with yourself as the nervous system continues to integrate. The effects can be subtle or profound — and often continue unfolding over the next few days.

  • Many people turn to sound healing precisely for this reason. The slow, repetitive tones encourage the mind to quiet down and the body to settle, which can make it easier to fall asleep afterward and may ease the racing thoughts that often come with anxiety. Results vary from person to person, and sound healing works best as a complement to — not a replacement for — any care you're already receiving.

  • Not at all. Sound baths are fully guided and are often easier to settle into than silent meditation, since the sound gives your mind something gentle to rest on. Beginners and experienced meditators alike are welcome.

Breathwork

  • Yes. It's helpful to eat a light meal 1–2 hours before the session rather than something heavy, so your body feels comfortable while breathing. Staying well hydrated throughout the day will also support your experience. If possible, consider giving your body a break from alcohol or recreational substances beforehand, as this allows your nervous system to be clearer and more responsive. Wear comfortable clothing that lets you breathe and move easily, and bring a yoga mat, blanket, and water so you feel fully supported. You may also wish to set a simple intention before arriving — and at the same time, gently release expectations about what "should" happen. Come with openness and curiosity, allowing the experience to unfold naturally.

  • You'll be guided through gentle, science-based breath patterns designed to calm your nervous system and release built-up stress. Using voice-guided affirmations, you'll hear every cue, affirmation, and guided visualization clearly — allowing you to drop deeply into your own experience. The session closes with soothing sound healing and affirmations to help you feel lighter, grounded, and reconnected to your heart.

  • Absolutely! This practice is beginner-friendly and trauma-informed. You'll be guided every step of the way through mindful, accessible breathing techniques, affirmations, and grounding cues. The intention is not intensity — it's awareness, regulation, and emotional release in a safe, supportive space.

  • You'll be guided through a combination of grounding and activating breath practices to balance your nervous system, including box breathing and coherent breathwork to regulate your body, circular (conscious connected) breathing, alternating elemental rhythm breathwork, and physiological sighs to support emotional release — along with other grounding yogic breathwork practices, including kundalini kriyas to release tension, clear the mind, and open the heart.

  • It's common to experience sensations such as tingling, numbness, emotional release, tears, visions, imagery, temperature shifts, or mild muscle contractions or "lobster claws" (tetany) as your body releases energy and emotion. You may also notice emotional waves, deep calm, or a feeling of lightness as your system resets. Every experience is unique — simply allow whatever arises to move through you gently.

  • You are always in control of your practice. If at any point you feel uncomfortable, you can soften the breath, sigh out with sound, or extend your exhale to return to a grounded state. You'll be safely guided in and out of each phase and supported throughout the entire experience. Your pace, your body, your journey.

  • Breathwork can be powerful and should be approached with awareness. Please inform your facilitator if you have severe asthma or COPD, uncontrolled high blood pressure, a history of seizures, cardiovascular conditions, recent heart or abdominal surgery, pregnancy, severe PTSD, or if you are taking high-dose psychiatric medications. In these cases, gentler or modified breathing practices will be offered. Breathwork is not a substitute for medical care. If at any point you feel dizzy, overwhelmed, or uncomfortable during a session, simply slow your breathing, return to a natural rhythm, open your eyes, and ground yourself. Your safety and comfort always come first.

  • During breathwork, some participants may experience temporary cramping, tingling, or stiffness in the hands or feet. This is called tetany. It is not harmful, it always passes, and it often represents the release of built-up tension in the body. If it happens, continue breathing gently, avoid resisting the sensation, and slow your breath if needed. Letting out sound can sometimes help. Trust your body's wisdom — repeated sessions often reduce this response over time.

  • This depends on your personal goals and how your body responds. Some people benefit from a session once a week or every few weeks, while others weave shorter breathwork practices into their daily routine for ongoing regulation. We can talk through a rhythm that feels right for you.

Guided Imagery & Hypnosis

  • Guided imagery is a relaxation practice where I use descriptive, sensory-rich language to help you picture calming scenes, situations, or feelings in your mind. By engaging your imagination — sight, sound, touch, even smell — your body responds as though what you're picturing is really happening, which helps shift you out of stress and into a state of ease.

  • Hypnosis is a focused, relaxed state of attention — similar to the feeling right before you fall asleep or the moment you get lost in a good book or a long drive. In this state, your conscious mind softens its usual filtering, making it easier to connect with your subconscious patterns, habits, and beliefs. Guided imagery is often used as a tool within hypnosis to help guide that focus, so the two frequently work hand in hand — hypnosis is the state, and guided imagery is often the language used to move through it.

  • Not at all. Stage hypnosis is entertainment and relies on willing, suggestible volunteers performing for an audience. The hypnosis used here is therapeutic and collaborative — you remain aware, in control, and able to hear everything happening around you throughout the session. Nothing is done "to" you; it's a practice you actively take part in.

  • No. You cannot be made to do or say anything against your values or wishes while in a hypnotic or guided imagery state. You remain aware and in control the entire time, and you can open your eyes or bring yourself back to full alertness whenever you choose.

  • You'll settle into a comfortable position, often lying down, and I'll guide you through a few minutes of relaxation to help your body and mind unwind. From there, I'll use calming, descriptive language to guide your imagination toward a specific intention — this might be relaxation, stress release, confidence, sleep support, or working through a particular pattern or block. Some people feel deeply relaxed or drowsy; others stay alert and simply notice their mind wandering into vivid imagery. Both are completely normal.

  • Most people describe it as a pleasant, floaty, deeply relaxed state — similar to daydreaming or that in-between feeling just before sleep. You may feel heavy, light, tingly, or simply very calm. Some people notice vivid mental imagery; others experience it more as a feeling or sensation than a picture. There's no "right" way to experience it.

  • Guided imagery and hypnosis can support stress and anxiety reduction, better sleep, pain management, emotional release, and shifting unhelpful habits or thought patterns. Because the subconscious mind plays such a large role in our automatic reactions and beliefs, working at this level can create change that feels more lasting than willpower alone.

  • Yes, it's a safe, gentle practice. Most people are able to enter a light to moderate relaxed state with guidance, though the depth varies from person to person and session to session — and that's completely fine. There's no failure state here; even a light state of relaxation still offers benefit.

  • Yes. Unlike the dramatized version often shown in movies, you'll typically remember the session, especially the imagery, feelings, or insights that came up. Some people drift into such deep relaxation that details feel a little dreamlike afterward, similar to recalling a nap — but you remain aware throughout.

  • If you have a history of psychosis, severe dissociative disorders, or are currently in an acute mental health crisis, please talk with your facilitator and your healthcare provider before booking, as deep relaxation states may not be appropriate without additional support. Guided imagery and hypnosis are not a substitute for medical or mental health treatment.

  • Wear comfortable clothing, come well hydrated, and try to avoid a heavy meal right beforehand. Find a mindset of openness and curiosity rather than trying to "do it right" — the practice works best when you simply allow yourself to be guided.

Please reach out with any questions before attending: healingrhythmrx@gmail.com

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