OUR VIBE Sounding Out with Theresa Samworth

I’ve always been musical. I picked up a recorder at a young age, started piano lessons at nine, studied music through to A Level, and spent my happiest school hours in the music room. Singing in choirs has been a constant thread throughout my life, even though my career took me in a different direction for many years. It wasn’t until my yoga teacher training in 2016 that I truly began to feel the power of sound as a healing force, which led me to train as a sound healer in Rishikesh, India, in 2023. Since then I’ve been studying harmonium and Indian classical music, and it’s brought all my musical experiences together, confirming for me that sound and music are powerful regulators of the nervous system.

Kirtan has its roots in the ancient Bhakti yoga tradition of India, where people gathered to sing sacred mantras as a way of opening the heart and remembering our connection to something greater than ourselves. Through simple call-and-response chanting, the mind softens, the nervous system settles, and even those who feel “not musical” can slip into a deeply meditative state. It’s a heart-based practice that’s accessible to everyone, and its real gift is how it dissolves isolation, often leaving people feeling uplifted, connected, and sometimes wonderfully moved to tears.

I love sharing kirtan because it’s such a powerful yet inclusive practice — you don’t need to be able to sing to feel its effects. It can uplift you one moment and move you deeply the next, meeting people exactly where they are. For those with busy minds who find silent meditation challenging, mantra offers a gentle anchor into the present moment, while also creating a sense of community. If you’ve ever sung at a concert with others, you’ll recognise that feeling of shared connection — after a good kirtan practice, you really do feel more open-hearted towards everyone.

The principles of sound healing can be taught, but at its heart it’s an instinctive practice. My advice would be to invest time in your own meditation and self-practice, so you can offer sound from a grounded, clear place rather than from the mind. When sound flows through the heart rather than the head, it becomes something truly nourishing — for you and for others.