Experience Sound Baths in Cork

Hayley Power is a seasoned sound bath therapist with six years of experience, finding the practice even more transformative than the acupuncture she’s also trained in. Seven months ago, she welcomed her first son, and credits continuing her sound bath practice during pregnancy for him being, in her words, the “most chilled baby ever.” Hayley now shares the benefits of sound baths, how they work, and what to expect. In today’s world of stress, endless multitasking, and social media overload, she explains how sound baths can restore balance and bring calm back into our lives.

Here she explains how it all began : “My background is in traditional Chinese medicine. I’ve been an acupuncturist for over ten years. During Covid, I couldn’t practice and needed something to fill that void. I’ve always been drawn to healing, and while I hadn’t been to a full sound bath, I’d experienced short sessions at workshops and those moments at the end were always my favourite. So during that period I got a set of bowls and trained as a therapist “

Hayley explained that a full bowl set has seven pieces, but she started by buying one at a time.  “I loved getting to know each one, their sound, frequency, benefits, and healing effects. I used them on myself for a while, and my dog felt the benefits too!

Later, while working at Lis Ard Estate, I began incorporating sound bathing into my therapies. I initially paired it with acupuncture, but soon realised the sound alone was incredibly powerful. I practiced on myself, then introduced it to clients, and now it’s become my favourite and most fundamental part of my work.”I love the fact that you can do groups of people, it doesn;t have to be one person so it makes it a lot more interesting.

Hayley laughs that the term sound bath can be misleading, “there’s no water involved!” she says. “It’s a form of vibrational therapy where you’re bathed in sound frequencies. The body and mind respond to these vibrations, creating deep relaxation and balance.”

She explains that each bowl produces a unique sound that resonates with different parts of the body. “I tune in sometimes intuitively, sometimes through conversation, to decide which bowls to use for the person’s needs. The sound waves travel through the body, easing pain, softening inflammation, and restoring flow where there’s stagnation. It brings everything back into harmony.”

Hayley compares it to acupuncture: “With acupuncture, you work with meridians to keep energy moving and balanced and to clear any stagnation. The bowls do the same thing; they help the body find its natural rhythm and tune everything back to how it should be. The bowls find the rhythm of the body and it tunes everything back into the way it should be. 

A sound bath usually lasts about an hour. Hayley explains, “In six years of practice, I’ve never seen anyone, even the skeptics, leave without feeling something shift. The effects often continue for days, sometimes a week. For issues like poor sleep, the benefits can last for weeks or even months before another session is needed.”

So what happens at a session? “You simply lie on a mat under a blanket, cosy and comfortable, like going for a massage. Wear soft clothes, relax, and just receive for an hour. When I play the sound, I bring the people with me into a meditation. I will talk until I know that people are ready to trust the bowls, and then they take over. It’s so soothing that even if you fall asleep the treatment works and perhaps even more effectively, because the brain has stopped resisting. ”

Speaking of resistance Hayley explains that it can create blocks. Cynicism may slow the process, but even those who are less open minded still feel the benefits.  Although there’s no doubt that openness allows the treatment to reach the core more quickly and deeply.

When asked who would most benefit from a bowl treatment, Hayley responded: I find it works particularly well for people who are out of balance from overdoing it, or for those who don’t allow themselves to truly relax. That’s a big thing, because we live in a society that’s all about do, do, do instead of just being. I see a lot of people overstriving to the point of burnout. Many women come to me, so emotions are often involved, but it works just as well for men. I do have some men clients, and many come with their partners. They’re usually slower to try it, but when they do, they find it’s really beneficial.

“If someone struggles with sleep, bowls with calming, low-frequency tones can guide the mind and nervous system into deep relaxation. The sound fills the space, helping the mind release tension and fully surrender. This gives both body and mind a chance to catch up. It’s about creating a sonic environment that supports healing, balance and restoration.

People come for all sorts of reasons, wrist pain, sore backs, asthma, gut issues, headaches. The bowls have no limit; they can move through matter and work on a cellular level, shifting chi or energy. This can be deeply balancing.

If someone has a gut issue, you might hear their tummy rumbling as things realign. One woman with scoliosis finds it helps her sink back into her body and let her spine unfurl as much as it can.”

When asked if it works better when someone sets an intention going in, Hayley said:

“Yes, it’s good to have an intention. It works for the therapist too, because if we know what you’re looking for from the treatment, we have something to focus on. I always ask people where they are at or where they want to be.”

Hayley, who was working as a sound bowl therapist during her pregnancy, feels her baby benefited from the experience.

“I have a little seven-month-old, my first baby and he adores the bowls. Babies are so receptive to it. You have to be very gentle with them, a thirty-second sound bath is enough, or you’ll overcook them. With these bowls, gentle can still produce a strong effect.”

When asked if her baby’s body is calmer because of it, she said:

“He is the most chilled baby I have ever come across. During my entire pregnancy, I was doing sound baths and I could feel him reacting, he’d drop right down and settle. I do feel he was mellowed and soothed even before birth. I can’t prove it scientifically, but I feel he is the way he is because he was immersed in the sound baths since conception.

While sound baths are becoming more popular, Hayley is still surprised that some people haven’t heard of them.

“It’s becoming more widespread, I am surprised to learn that some people here still haven’t heard of it. In the States, everyone gets a sound bath. It’s as popular as yoga over there, and I think the same will happen here. I just hope it stays integral. 

Hayley also emphasizes the importance of working with a trained therapist. “When I’m doing the therapy, I have to be extremely present, grounded, and focused. Some people just play the bowls, but to me, that’s not good enough. When I know I have a sound bath the following day, I prepare the night before with meditation and breath work, because it’s an energy treatment, and I feel I need to be ready. I’m also very aware of what I put into my body before a treatment,I wouldn’t drink coffee, and I make sure to have lots of water.”

So does the person having the bath have to be equally prepared, would it work on a person with something like a hangover ?  “Not if the practitioner had a hangover! but I had clients come with a hangover, they have fallen asleep during the therapy and when they wake up it is gone.

The trained therapist cautions against just buying a set of bowls and giving it a go. The result she says would be the opposite of what’s supposed to happen.” If a person experiences discord during a session, it should end. Generally speaking, if someone starts playing the bowls without knowing what they’re doing, they could actually put themselves out of their body. It can feel ungrounding, doing the very opposite of what it’s meant to do, which is to ground you and bring you back into your body.”

“I’ve had people come in in awful states, and a few hours later they text me saying, ‘I’m back on track.’ I think that sums it up, being back on track. We’re human; we won’t always be perfectly balanced, but it’s good to have something that helps us get back there. We’re always evolving, so we’ll naturally go out of balance and need to return again. It’s a nice, non-invasive therapy, you don’t have to explain yourself or do an hour of counseling. You can just surrender to the treatment, and it puts you back together by reconnecting you.”

For soothing sound bowl baths with Hayley at the stunning Lis Ard Estate, contact the hotel at lissardestate.ie. You don’t have to be a resident to attend, and the estate is a beautiful setting for a walk or a leisurely lunch afterwards.

Sessions are €95 for an individual or €150 for a group of three (€50 per person)

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