How Sound Healing Chose Me: An Interview with Kyle Lam
“All of this fits with my original intent of going to medical school in the first place, which is to serve the public and elevate the masses by introducing ways to promote their health and wellbeing. My main drive to keep doing this is that people really enjoy it and benefit from it. ”
From Balenciaga, Toyota, to the backyard of Huntington Beach homes, Kyle Lam has quickly become one of the most sought after sound bath providers in Southern California and beyond. His unique sound productions often create transformative experiences for attendees during and after the event.
This morning, I got to chill with Kyle, who’s fresh off the plane from his Asia trip, and learned all about his sound healing journey from the start.
Q:
How and when did you realize sound healing was your calling?
A:
This is the funny thing, I actually never had any intention of doing this. It was never my plan or goal to do sound healing as a profession, I just started doing it for fun. I used to work in corporate finance as an accountant and started going to a lot of sound baths in my 20s after a bad breakup. I just sort of fell in love with sound baths because it was really relaxing; I mean I could just lay there and feel good.
I was going to sound baths at a kundalini yoga studio in Culver City and started to do a lot more kundalini yoga too, which I continued to practice to this day. The use of gongs is very synonymous with kundalini yoga and they generally closed the class with the gong. So I actually fell in love with the gong first because I loved the weight and the powerful vibrations it emits. So I ended up taking a 4-hour gong workshop at the studio and knew right away that I wanted a gong. Not because I wanted to become a sound healer but I just wanted to buy a gong because I loved it, LOL.
I eventually left my job in accounting because I wanted to do something more intentional and contribute to society. At the time, I was considering going to medical school, so I went back to college and started taking all the science classes and preparing for MCAT. And that’s when I started doing sound baths on the side, at first locally in Whittier, where I was living. I would do sound baths at a small yoga studio once or twice a month for a class of maybe 10 to 12 people. Then I discovered a local crystal shop, and the owner of the shop invited me to do sound baths there once a week. So interestingly enough, I started my sound healing journey primarily in the East LA area. Then it just started growing and expanding. A studio in La Habra reached out to me and asked me to do a sound bath there, I said yes. Another studio in Rowland Heights asked me to do one and I said yes. Then Downy… I just kept saying yes to all the requests.
That’s when I realized that there’s something in this that I’m doing that people really liked. I think the way I played the instruments made a big difference, and it’s because of my music background. I’ve always loved music growing up and played the piano and clarinet, but I had really wanted to become a percussionist. So I basically brought my skills in playing musical instruments into playing gongs and crystal bowls.
Then I moved down to Orange County and started doing sound baths here, but I was still fixated on becoming a medical doctor. I took the MCAT 3 times and applied to every single medical school in the U.S. twice and was rejected by all of them. Meanwhile I was saying yes to all sound bath requests. Half of the people in my life told me that I should pursue being a medical doctor and the other half said I should just do sound baths. It wasn’t until about 2 years ago that I decided to drop my endeavors to go to medical school and committed to building my sound healing business. So I often tell people that I didn’t choose sound healing, sound healing chose me.
Looking back, I was resistant for many years, still teetering on going back to accounting too, concerned if doing sound healing was stable enough for me to provide for a family in the future. But now, financially, I make more money than I ever did in accounting and I travel all over the world, working with reputable companies and upscale wellness resorts. And all of this fits with my original intent of going to medical school in the first place, which is to serve the public and elevate the masses by introducing ways to promote their health and well-being. My main drive to keep doing this is that people really enjoy it and benefit from it.
Q:
Besides relaxation, what are some of the other benefits sound baths can bring?
A:
There is a wide range of benefits sound baths can provide. Most people who come to our beginner classes just want to alleviate their day-to-day stresses that we all tend to deal with. A lot of people attend our intermediate sound baths for emotional healing whether it’s from past trauma or grief. We’ve done private sound baths for celebration of life, where family members would come together to grieve and cry. We try to design all of our public events to include everyone and anyone regardless of their understanding of sound frequencies, the nervous system, or spirituality. So I often just tell people that if they enjoy music then they will be able to experience the connection and emotional release certain music can bring. Because music is so universal and we all feel something when we listen to music, not much else really needs to be explained.
In our advanced classes, however, which are designed more for meditators and energy practitioners, we use more esoteric terms when describing possible benefits, such as connecting to our higher selves and ancestral realms, tapping into our spirit guides, and experiencing different versions of ourselves through clairvoyant visions. So a lot of people come to those classes to deepen their spiritual practice.
The only science I typically discuss is the types of brainwaves certain sound combinations induce, and we primarily work with theta and gamma brain waves which are common during meditation. There are already so many scientific findings behind meditation and what it’s proven to do, such as improving sleep, less fatigue, better clarity, etc. and sound bath is one form of meditation. There’s not a whole lot of direct research on sound healing, there’s starting to be—the University of Pittsburgh actually has a sound healing program now and conducts research on the subject. So I feel it’s inappropriate and unethical for me to make claims of what sound healing can do when people ask me if it will help with their medical condition. I will only share with you stories of our customers who experienced relief from their medical conditions after our sound baths. I’ve had a lot of people with arthritis and injuries from accidents tell me they feel much better afterwards. The relief was not permanent but there was relief they’ve not experienced in any other way. I had a woman share with me that her vertigo went away after coming to our sound baths a few times.
Not everyone shares their experience coming out of a sound bath because they are deeply relaxed, sometimes too emotional to articulate their words. The ones who have shared with me range from feeling better in general to radical life changes afterwards, such as rekindling their relationship with estranged family members. One woman shared that she became courageous enough to finalize her divorce and leave her husband. There were others that shared with me that they’ve stopped contemplating suicide after attending our events.
“I used to have the mentality of just doing the sound bath, then leaving to get back to my own life, which I’ve picked up from one of my earliest mentors. But now I’ve become more engaging with people and really embrace being a figure of inspiration.”
Q:
What are some of the other modalities you combine with your sound baths and how do they enhance the experience?
A:
So I had this creative kick about a year and a half ago exploring what goes well with sound healing. I started with something basic at first like yoga, then I started looking for people who are experts in their crafts and can complement what I do. The best combination I’ve found complementary to sound baths is energy healing. I’ve been working with reiki master Christina Hand for many years. I also work with Annie Chang who has her own version of energy healing. I found that people really enjoy that because it brings a far more personalized experience in a group setting. People feel the intimacy when there’s someone working with them individually while they are immersed in healing sounds. Both of these women have told me that my sound baths help put people in a very relaxed state so there’s less resistance, which makes it easier for them to work on people. And because so much of their senses are activated in that state, a lot of people experience deep healing and end up crying in the process.
Sound baths can be great for relaxation or activation, and it can also be great for integration. So we’ve incorporated a variety of modalities like breathwork, tantric practice, quantum healing, psychic channeling, and past life regression with our sound baths. In these events, we don’t necessarily combine the two but have one following the other by allowing practitioners to conduct their session first, then perform the sound bath afterwards. I’ve even done an essential oil workshop where people were lathered in essential oils for aromatherapy before they experienced the sound bath.
We’ve also collaborated with many unique venues to put together a creative and fun experience. We’ve done sound baths at a luxury mattress store where people can lay down on a mattress, floating sound baths where people can float in a pool, we’ve done aerial sound baths where people suspend from a trapeze in a unique position rather than laying flat on the ground. I’ve found that sound baths can be applied to almost anything, not much doesn't go well with sound baths. One combination I’ve always wanted to do is put together a bootcamp workout session with a personal trainer then do the sound bath afterwards.
Q:
How has being a sound healer changed your life?
A:
I think it has really helped me become more confident in who I am. One of the things I never really experienced before is being a public figure. I’ve always tried to be very humble. I tell people I’m simply a human being, just like you, and I have that same mentality whenever I meet new people. I feel like that sort of shifted a little because my face is well recognized now, especially in Orange County. I go to places and people actually approach me and say, oh wow, you’re Kyle Lam. So in that regard, it’s been interesting because I’ve had to learn to embrace that in ways that I never had to before.
I used to have the mentality of just doing the sound bath, then leaving to get back to my own life, which I’ve picked up from one of my earliest mentors. But now I’ve become more engaging with people and really embrace being a figure of inspiration. I’ve even had other sound healers all over the world reach out to me on Instagram and commented on how inspiring they found me to be, which adds to my humility, because I think to myself, if you only knew how chill I am in real life, LOL. At the same time, it encourages me to embrace all of it not only as a healer but as a teacher and role model with confidence. I’ve come to own my craft, recognize what I do and be proud of how much I’ve accomplished.
Having that type of feedback has certainly improved my personal life in positive ways, especially when I have days where I wake up thinking, what am I doing, is this the right path for me? I've learned that every human being goes through life feeling that way once in a while, questioning their purpose, even those with great success. I do sound baths with large groups, sometimes with as many as 100+ people showing up, and it’s nerve racking to go on stage to talk to that many people. I’m reminded that even David Guetta, one of my favorite DJs, whom I’ve seen at raves, talked about how nervous he gets in front of a crowd — we are human beings, we are not perfect and we get nervous. This helps me embrace who I am personally and let go a little during sound baths. I am actually a super chill dude, and like to crack a silly joke or two during a sound bath and that’s okay.
Q:
What do you currently offer and how can people sign up for one of your events?
A:
We have 3 primary offers. We provide public sound baths, private sound baths, and provide training for sound healers at both public and private levels.
There are 3 experience levels to our sound baths: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Beginner classes are held about 2 or 3 times a month, and they are generally about 60 minutes long. These sound baths are great for anyone who is new to either sound bath or meditation. They help people who have trouble meditating to get into and stay in a meditative state. They are also good for people who frequent sound baths and want something that’s gentle and low intensity, to help relax mentally and physically.
Then we have our intermediate classes, which are generally about 90 minutes long. This is when we bring a slightly bigger setup to the event. Our setup for beginner events includes 2 gongs, about 12 crystal bowls, and some other smaller instruments, which is already bigger than the average sound bath setup. Our intermediate setup will include 3 or 4 gongs and a larger set of bowls to create a more unique sound experience. This is also when we bring in our collaborators, like breathwork practitioners. The intensity of the experience is higher and the progressions are much more diverse. That way, people are able to stay in their meditative state for a longer period of time, or are able to surrender easier to the sound bath experience.
These intermediate events have a great range people can choose from. They include elemental sound baths where you can tap into the earth element for grounding and stability, fire element for activation and courage, water for grace and cleansing, air for flexibility and sentience. There are also sound baths that help you connect with your sensuality or sexuality, like our tantric sound baths. So there is a great diversity for you to choose from, especially for those who have already begun a spiritual practice.
And then there’s our advanced classes, which are always 2 hours long, and I have a specific sound bath set just for these events. I pretty much bring all of my giant crystal bowls and my biggest gongs. These events are typically very high intensity, not for the entire 2 hours but the progressions are much more volatile, and they’re meant to provide deep emotional healing as well as some ethereal experiences. They are designed for seasoned meditators and I primarily work with energy healer Annie Chang, Dr. Lily Chan who does esoteric acupuncture, and a past-life regression practitioner, because you need to be in a meditative or surrendered state very quickly in order for deep healing to occur.
You can book us for private sound baths as well, for just about any occasion. We’ve done birthdays, bachelorette parties, celebrations of life, baby showers, I’ve even done a divorce party. Companies from local to international have also booked us for private events like team building or employee retreats. We’ve done sound baths for Oakley, Adidas, Toyota, Balenciaga, etc. Those events can be highly customized and curated for individual company needs.
Lastly, we offer 2 levels of sound healer training programs. There’s public group training that takes place primarily in Laguna Beach, CA, and I’m starting to offer these training programs in Florida as well. These are great because you’re in a fun and engaging group setting and they’re much more affordable cost wise for a lot of people. Our private training is done on a one-on-one basis and is at a more premium price, because of the personal attention you are getting. There is level I and level II private training. Level I is great for anyone who wants to become skilled at playing sound healing instruments and gain knowledge of how certain sound frequencies affect the personal self. I teach you the fundamentals of how to play gongs and crystal bowls, which is what we teach in our group classes as well.
Our level II private training is where I get much more technical, and it’s for people who want to start sharing their sound baths with others. I teach you about rhythm, speed, progression, transitions, etc., everything you need to learn to produce a graceful sound bath sequence. I also teach you how to incorporate what I call accessory instruments such as triangles and chimes to enhance a sound bath. I love doing private training because I can actually teach you one-on-one what you want to learn and adjust the training based on where you are at. By the end of level II training, my goal is to help you craft your own sound bath sequence so you can not only start sharing with the public but can practice and evolve your craft over time on your own.
Kyle Lam is a wellness practitioner dedicated to serving the emotional, mental and spiritual well-being of the community with sound bath meditation and holistic healing events all throughout Southern California. His background in music and expertise in working with a variety of musical instruments allows him to curate sound experiences that guide participants into a meditative state, enlightening their awareness and strengthening their connection with mind, body, and spirit. His goal is for the community to develop a more intimate connection to their hearts while inspiring new dedications towards the betterment of their well-being.
You can keep up with Kyle’s sound healing journey and see his upcoming events on Instagram. You can also find more details and sign up for a sound bath experience on his website.
