Sounds Heal Podcast: Sound Healing & Wellness

AJ Block is a didgeridoo teacher, performer, sound practitioner, and director of Didge Project, where he teaches the instrument through rhythm, breath, circular breathing, improvisation, and musical exploration. A multi-instrumentalist with a background spanning jazz, Western classical music, Indian classical music, and world percussion, AJ brings a broad musical perspective to his work with the didgeridoo.
In this episode, AJ shares his journey with the didgeridoo, from discovering the instrument and exploring its ancient origins to developing a deeply expressive approach that incorporates rhythm, voice, breath, and improvisation. He also plays and demonstrates the didgeridoo throughout the conversation, offering tips, techniques, and practical ways to get started with the instrument.
We explore the didgeridoo in musical, therapeutic, and sound healing settings, including its use in sound baths, shamanic sound journeys, addiction recovery, and prisons. AJ discusses circular breathing, what it takes to develop this technique, and some of the foundational ways to begin exploring the didgeridoo.
AJ also shares about his other ongoing projects and areas of research and exploration, including Dream Seed and Didge For Sleep, as well as the broader questions and possibilities that continue to shape his work with sound, music, healing, and wellness.
https://www.didgeproject.com/
https://www.dreamseedsound.com/
https://www.youtube.com/@didgeproject

Natalie Brown, host of Sounds Heal Podcast, founder of Sounds Heal Studio, Sound Healing Academy Lead Teacher for North America:
http://www.soundshealstudio.com
http://www.facebook.com/soundshealstudio
http://www.instagram.com/nataliebrownsoundsheal
http://www.youtube.com/soundshealstudio
Email: soundshealstudio@gmail.com
Music by Natalie Brown, Hope & Heart http://www.youtu.be/hZPx6zJX6yA

In this episode, musician, kirtan leader, and bhakti artist Jordan Loder shares his journey through music and his exploration of sound as a pathway to connection, devotion, and spiritual practice.
Jordan has an extensive musical background and spent years touring in supportive roles with artists including Deva Premal & Miten, Snatam Kaur, Ajeet, Simrit, and Adam Bauer, and performing alongside many others in the devotional music community. His experiences have shaped his understanding of music not simply as something to perform or listen to, but as a way of creating connection and shared experience.
The conversation explores Jordan’s musical journey and the experiences that transformed his relationship with sound, music, and spirit, as well as the traditions of bhakti and kirtan. Topics include the transformative power of singing together, the role of mantra and repetition, and what happens when we move from listening to music to actively creating sound with our own voices.
Jordan also discusses making devotional music accessible to people from all backgrounds, lessons learned through years of traveling and leading sacred music experiences, his own spiritual practice, and the place of devotional music within the growing interest in sound, mindfulness, and healing.
https://www.jordanloder.com/
https://www.youtube.com/@jordanloder
https://www.instagram.com/jordanlodermusic/
https://www.facebook.com/jordanlodermusic

Natalie Brown, host of Sounds Heal Podcast, founder of Sounds Heal Studio, Sound Healing Academy Lead Teacher for North America:
http://www.soundshealstudio.com
http://www.facebook.com/soundshealstudio
http://www.instagram.com/nataliebrownsoundsheal
http://www.youtube.com/soundshealstudio
Email: soundshealstudio@gmail.com
Music by Natalie Brown, Hope & Heart http://www.youtu.be/hZPx6zJX6yA

Dr. Richard Gold and award-winning composer Yuval Ron are the President and Executive Producer and Artistic Director, respectively, of Metta Mindfulness Music, a healing music label dedicated to creating intentional music for health, mindfulness, meditation, and wellbeing.
Dr. Richard Gold is a licensed acupuncturist, psychologist, educator, author, and one of the founders of Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. Yuval Ron is an award-winning composer, author, and musician whose work explores the intersections of music, spirituality, neuroscience, and healing. Together, they bring decades of experience exploring the relationship between sound, healing, and human wellbeing.
In this conversation, we explore their fascinating project The Secret Songs of Plants, which transforms the bioelectrical activity of living plants into musical information. Yuval shares the creative process behind turning these plant-generated signals into fully developed musical compositions, while Richard offers his perspective from the worlds of East Asian medicine, psychology, and healing traditions.
We also explore the relationship between plants, sound, listening, and intention, the intersection of scientific observation and human experience, and the possibility of deepening our relationship with the natural world through sound. We discuss Metta Mindfulness Music’s broader work creating intentional music for meditation, wellness, and brain health, as well as their vision for the future of The Secret Songs of Plants through performance and education.
Join us as we explore plant music, sound healing, deep listening, and the fascinating question of what might happen when we begin to listen more closely to the living world around us.
Learn more about The Secret Songs of Plants and Metta Mindfulness Music:
http://www.mettamindfulnessmusic.com/
Learn more about Yuval Ron:
http://www.yuvalronmusic.com/
Natalie Brown, host of Sounds Heal Podcast, founder of Sounds Heal Studio, Sound Healing Academy Lead Teacher for North America:
http://www.soundshealstudio.com/
http://www.facebook.com/soundshealstudio
http://www.instagram.com/nataliebrownsoundsheal
http://www.youtube.com/soundshealstudio
Email: soundshealstudio@gmail.com
Music by Natalie Brown, Hope & Heart:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZPx6zJX6yA

Suren Shrestha is a Nepalese-born sound healing teacher, author, and founder of Atma Buti Sound & Vibrational School, where he has spent decades sharing the wisdom of Himalayan singing bowls and vibrational healing with students around the world.
Growing up in Nepal, Suren was immersed in a culture rich with tradition, ritual, community, ancestral wisdom, and a deep connection to the sounds of nature. These early experiences shaped his understanding of sound as a powerful force for connection, healing, and transformation.
In this conversation, Suren shares his personal journey into sound healing, the teachers and experiences that guided him toward Himalayan singing bowls, and what he discovered through working with these sacred instruments. We also explore the creation of Atma Buti Sound & Vibrational School, his approach to teaching and certification, and his vision for preserving and sharing these ancient sound healing traditions in the modern world.
Join us as we explore the roots of Himalayan sound healing, the power of vibration, and Suren Shrestha’s lifelong dedication to sharing the healing potential of sound.
https://atmabuti.org

Natalie Brown, host of Sounds Heal Podcast, founder of Sounds Heal Studio, Sound Healing Academy Lead Teacher for North America:
http://www.soundshealstudio.com
http://www.facebook.com/soundshealstudio
http://www.instagram.com/nataliebrownsoundsheal
http://www.youtube.com/soundshealstudio
Email: soundshealstudio@gmail.com
Music by Natalie Brown, Hope & Heart http://www.youtu.be/hZPx6zJX6yA

Craig Shankster is co-founder of Silence In Sound in Mid Wales, UK, where he and his wife, Jacquie, have spent more than four decades exploring the transformative potential of sound. Their work integrates Himalayan singing bowls, singing gongs, meditation, and contemplative listening practices to help people discover greater awareness, presence, and inner stillness.
Drawing from decades of experience researching, teaching, and working with traditional sound instruments, Craig has developed a philosophy he calls The Resonant Middle Way—an approach that invites us to discover silence within sound itself and cultivate a deeper relationship with the sounds that surround us every day.
Join us as we explore Craig's remarkable journey, the wisdom of Himalayan singing bowls and singing gongs, the practice of deep listening, and his unique perspective on the evolving field of sound healing.
Learn more about Craig and Silence In Sound:
https://www.silenceinsound.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/silenceinsound
https://www.instagram.com/craigshankster/

Natalie Brown, host of Sounds Heal Podcast, founder of Sounds Heal Studio, Sound Healing Academy Lead Teacher for North America:
http://www.soundshealstudio.com
http://www.facebook.com/soundshealstudio
http://www.instagram.com/nataliebrownsoundsheal
http://www.youtube.com/soundshealstudio
Music by Natalie Brown, Hope & Heart http://www.youtu.be/hZPx6zJX6yA
Email: soundshealstudio@gmail.com

This episode of Sounds Heal Podcast is sponsored by Crystal Tones, creators of the original Alchemy Crystal Singing Bowls®. For many people in the sound world, Crystal Tones bowls are more than instruments. They’re companions in practice, meditation, ceremony, and deep listening. Each bowl is handcrafted in the United States from ultra-pure quartz crystal and infused with precious metals, gemstones, and rare minerals through their proprietary alchemical process. Crystal Tones has helped shape the evolution of modern sound culture, with their bowls being used in meditation spaces, healing practices, concert settings, and sound journeys around the world. You can explore their instruments and learn more at http://www.crystalsingingbowls.com.