Sound Bath Case Study
Edge Esmeralda 2026: Science & Sound Healing
This June I returned to Edge Esmeralda with a handful of roles that all shared one common thread: helping people feel healthy, connected, supported, and rooted in a sense of belonging.
For those unfamiliar, Edge City is a month-long pop-up city that (lovingly) infiltrates an existing city. Scientists, founders, engineers, researchers, artists, wellness practitioners, and curious humans gather from around the world to live together, collaborate, and explore ideas for building a brighter future.
This year I served as the Wellness Lead, Connection Lead, and Community Care Lead. On paper, that meant programming the wellness schedule, teaching yoga, breathwork, meditation, and sound healing, facilitating connection experiences, and supporting the emotional well-being of the community.
In practice it meant becoming part nervous system, part host, part listener, part facilitator. Most days I felt like the emotional fascia of the village - helping transmit care, coherence, and connection and electricity 😉throughout the community. Other days I was simply the person people sought out because they needed someone to listen. I am endlessly grateful for the opportunity.
Coming Full Circle
Many people know me today through sound healing, yoga, meditation, breathwork and energy work. What many people don’t know is that I originally came from a research background. I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences with minors in Biology and Sociology (with a theme in death and dying), began graduate work studying Human Consciousness, and later managed a subtle energy research laboratory in San Diego.
My path wasn’t linear, in fact it was very wavy and spirally; sometimes taking steps back before jumping forward; I became severely ill while studying and learning the physiology and function of the body. Unfortunately, conventional medicine created the problem, and that experience opened the door to holistic, alternative and integrative approaches that ultimately changed my life.
The deeper I explored, the less interested I became in choosing between science or spirituality. I became fascinated by the possibility that they might simply be asking different questions about the same human experience. That curiosity has shaped my work ever since.
A Small Sound Bath Case Study
Because Edge attracts such an interdisciplinary community, I had the opportunity to run a small observational case study during one of my sound baths. Participants completed questionnaires immediately before and after the session. Only participants who completed both surveys were included in the analysis (14 matched participants).
The results were encouraging: participants reported notable improvements in:
Stress
Relaxation
Racing thoughts
Physical tension
Sense of peace
Feeling grounded
Feeling present
Anxiety
Emotional overwhelm
Emotional balance
Participants also reported:
Increased mental clarity
Reduced physical discomfort
Reduced fatigue
Greater happiness
Increased connection to themselves
Increased feelings of connection to something larger than themselves
The only measure that did not improve was energy level; but immediately after a deeply relaxing meditation, this isn’t particularly surprising, as many people reported feeling deeply calm, peaceful, or sleepy rather than energized.
Preliminary Findings
Among the matched participants, the largest average improvements included:
Stress: −3.1 points
Racing thoughts: −3.0 points
Physical tension: −2.6 points
Relaxation: +3.0 points
Peace: +2.3 points
Groundedness: +2.2 points
Emotional balance: +1.9 points
Perhaps the finding I found most exciting was that 13 of the 14 participants reported both lower stress and greater bodily relaxation immediately following the sound bath.
This is, of course, a small observational case study but I love that it begins to quantify experiences that many people have described to me for years.
A Glimpse Into the Brain
One of my favorite moments happened almost by accident: my friend Adam happened to wear an EEG/fNIRS headset during one of the sound baths.
The recording captured nearly twenty minutes of physiological data throughout the experience; and the data showed progressive increases in cortical oxygenation during the session, with a noticeable shift approximately eleven minutes into the sound bath. The EEG also demonstrated stable alpha activity (individual alpha peak: 10.2 Hz) and moderate theta activity (patterns commonly associated with relaxed wakefulness and internally focused attention.)
Even though a single recording does not prove that sound healing caused these changes, nor can one participant represent everyone… What it does offer is a fascinating physiological observation that mirrors what many participants reported subjectively.
Around the same time the brain activity appeared to shift, the participant later reflected:
“Thanks for the sound bath! I had an EEG headset on that also captures blood oxygenation. Around 11 minutes in, it looks like my hemispheres began behaving differently - perhaps a shift in focus, attention, or when you invited us to visualize ourselves smiling at different moments throughout life. I’m not sure exactly what happened, but it was fascinating to see.”
Where Science and Spirit Meet
The older I get, the less interested I am in proving that one worldview is correct. I no longer see science and spirituality as opposing forces.Science gives us tools for measuring and spirituality gives us language for meaning. One explores how and the other explores why.
Magic's just science that we don't understand yet.
~ Arthur C. Clarke
For me, sound healing has never been about replacing medicine or asking people to believe extraordinary claims; It’s about creating the conditions for the nervous system to soften, for the body to rest, and for people to reconnect with themselves.
I don’t know if everything can be measured and a lot of times things can only be felt: Both matter.
This little study reminded me why I fell in love with research in the first place:
I remain endlessly curious about what it means to be human.
Edge City: Patagonia
After having the absolute best time at Edge Esmeralda in Headlesberg, California in June 2025 and traveling all throughout the summer on a wacky roadtrip from Costa Rica all the way up to surf El Salvador; and another trip through the wild mountains of Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia with pit stops in Turkey and Germany - my travel needs were still asking to be satiated…
Thankfully, Edge City asked to come back to their pop-up city in October 2025 all the way down to Argentina! I was overjoyed obviously as Patagonia is one of my favorite places in the whole world - the hikes, the views, the energy and the mountains!?
There was no way I wasn’t going.
I arrived back from Kyrgyzstan, started unpacking, doing laundry and re-packed my bags - for every type of weather - and 3 weeks later I was on the road again, starting the longest set of flights to get all the way down to San Martin De Los Andes - a city nestled deep in the Andes, 18 hours way from Buenos Aires!
(Argentina is huge 🤣)
The trip started as trips sometimes do, with delays and monkey wrenches thrown into the mix - but it ended up with so many of us - participants and facilitators alike - stranded for a bit in the airport in Buenos Aires together and then finally getting to our destination.
Landing in San Martin De Los Andes felt so nourishing to be back in the mountains of South America, it felt like an exhale. I was lucky enough to be here a few years ago and hike throughout Argentina and Chile and being back felt like a homecoming. The terrain of Argentina and Chile differs greatly as the countries are huge - and very long and therefore have a variety of different landscapes. San Martin De Los Andes is known as a landing point for many people who will decide to travel north to the desert or south to the well known hikes - like Torres Del Paine and Fritz Roy. There is a drive that begins here called the La Rute de Los Siete Lagos - which means the Route of the Seven Lakes - which - as the name suggests takes you on a 68 mile gorgeous drive winding through the mountains, forests and valleys to see seven glacial lakes.
The lakes are mostly crystal clear and some are turquoise - depending not he weather, they are surrounded by snow capped mountains and there are pull offs everywhere to sit, to swim, to picnic, to journal, and take it all in. This drive sits inside of Nahuel Huapi National Park which is one of the oldest parks in Argentina. I knew that after this crazy month of teaching 2-3 classes a day there was an incredible roadtrip waiting for me on the other side.
I was so elated to be invited back and now I had a better understanding of how Edge flows: it might seem to start fast but towards the end of the month you are working and moving faster than the speed of light - and this isn’t just me but everyone who attends. There are residencies that have a focus on science and research, whether that be in health and measuring biological markers, magic - like synchronicities and telepathy, sound and its affect on the body and mind, and also tech, ai, apps, and anything else that can improve life for everyone around us. I have been a part of the Consciousness Residencies at both Edge City’s and been able to support the research side while teaching my sessions.
At Edge Esmeralda I taught two classes a day - bookending the day with Morning Yoga and night time Crystal Bowl Sessions (or breathwork or meditation or sharing circles) and this felt pretty reasonable; BUT! when I arrived at Edge City: Patagonia I saw how open the schedule is - and I’m a problem solver who loves sharing information, hosting events and meeting amazing people - so I started to fill it up with as many events as I could - sometimes 3 events a day adding long hikes over the weekend and Ecstatic Dances every Sunday. I love looking at the schedule (it’s insanely packed to the extent where there are at least 5 different classes, talks or sessions you could do at the same time - any hour of the day!) and seeing through the schedule to see what people need - so I added hours of silent thoughtfulness, called The Void, so if people hadn’t jumped in the lake - this was a moment to do so, or write that email they were avoiding, this was the time to do so.
Even though I worked so hard, time is both fast and slow at the same time - I remember halfway through the event I planned on getting a ‘month-long’ membership at the climbing gym and my friend looked at me and said ‘the event is halfway through’ and me being in total shock! There’s barely any time to rest but the excitement becomes the wind beneath your wings!
I love teaching morning yoga and offering a variety of different classes so that everyone is able to get what they need - from vinyasa and hatha to restorative and yin - all ending with a Crystal Bowl Savasana. I led breathwork sessions to help get these highly intellectual humans in touch and embodied with their breath. I led Women’s Circles, Vulnerability Circles and even taught some intro’s on Sound Healing with Tuning Forks. At the end of the day I hosted a variety of meditations and Crystal Bowl Sound Baths to help people wind down after a long exciting day of solving the world’s problems. 😂 I assisted my friends host Women’s Dinners, Altered States of Consciousness sessions, Astrology events and Telepathy talks. And after all that I worked into the nighttime at our late night gatherings where people could decompress from the day.
The hikes I planned over the weekend were a huge hit as people desperately needed to get out and hike and take some nature time while we were on this gorgeous land. People absolutely loved the Ecstatic Dances every Sunday that I gathered different team leads from different residencies and collaborated with different DJ’s (there were so many!) and we even had a Cacao Ceremony with some new indigenous friends that came to guide us through ritual.
During Edge Patagonia we spent Halloween together, spent a meteor shower together, hiked together, did acro together, ate together, did tarot and talked about astrology, cold plunged together, bouldered together, and danced together. I am so grateful for everyone who came to all my events and shared their breath & movement, and mornings & evenings with me. I’m so grateful to everyone I learned from and spoke to. It was truly the event of a lifetime and everyone who was there made the event a million times better with their presence, their depth and their own personal magic.
After Edge Patagonia was finally over it was my time to touch grass instead of my phone and I embarked on a road trip through La Rute de Los Siete Lagos all the way down to Perito Morina Glacier in El Calafate where I finally hiked on the glacier itself (which I hadn’t done last time I was there) I visited Fitz Roy in El Chalten again (I’m obsessed with this mountain) and camped alongside the pristine blue river before crossing into Chile and taking Carretera Austral - Ruta 7 - as it’s widely considered to be one of the most beautiful and wild drives in the world.
My time there felt familiar and ancient, elemental and magic - where nature is still in charge. Being in this wild land makes you feel like you’re on the edge of the world - you might lose your phone signal but you’ll find something else entirely.
Special shoutout to Ryan Rising for being the best road trip buddy anyone could have asked for.
I know I did!
Xoxo
Edge Esmeralda
So it’s kind of a funny story…
In the spring of 2025 I solo adventured (as I do) all through Southeast Asia - one of my favorite places in the world. I started in Korea, went to Japan and saw Mt Fuji for the first time (and cried of course) and then went to Thailand for another yoga teacher training and climbed the big walls at Tonsai beach. After that I went to the Philippines for some scuba diving, back through Japan to see my best friend, David, and then wound up in Hawai’i - for the first time - and managed to see 3 of the islands…
But!
All that travel is a Later Blog!
The point of this story is that solo travel is magical and makes dreams come true - it sounds like I’m joking but I’m actually not.
Let me explain…
Something happens when I (or you!) solo travel - where I just reach flow state, easefully and without any effort, the universe just bestows consistent gifts on me when I am doing what I love most - traveling, teaching and learning!
When I was in Thailand I got 2 very important messages - and this is the story of what happened after I got the first message.
My dear friend Hanna reached out; she and I had met while I was teaching meditation with Jhourney in California and fallen in love with each other (she’s a national treasure). Because this meditation retreat that I was teaching at was local in California I brought my sound healing instruments and played a few Crystal Bowl Sound Healing Sessions for the participants and she, in particular, really enjoyed my sessions. She was reaching out because she worked for this pop-up city called Edge City; they combine AI, Tech and Crypto people with Health and Wellness people; essentially people who are creating the future LIVE - and people who care desperately for earth and humanity. She wanted me to bring my witchy offerings to Edge City to be on the Wellness side of things. I asked her about the dates and they fit ✨perfectly ✨into my travel plans and I said “Fuck yes I’d love to come!”
So after 3 blissful months of traipsing all throughout Southeast Asia (and Hawai’i) I came home to the Bay Area and went straight to work - for a full month 🤣
Edge City is a pop-up City that “pops up” all over the world - for one month; they’ve had locations in Thailand, Bhutan, and South Africa. Edge Esmeralda is a pop-up city located in Headlsberg, California in June that combines tech, AI, and crypto with health and wellness offerings in a ‘pop-up’ city style. What this means is that people from all over the world, from similar and also varying backgrounds, are able to come together and join this month-long container, which is lovingly referred to as an incubator.
An incubator is defined as a controlled environment used for the care and protection, and thats really what happens here: people come to join this community to share what they know, to listen to what others have to offer, and to come together in this very unique space for one month. Ideas flourish here, businesses are born here, friendships created here, patents received, partnerships meld, projects grow exponentially, funding is found… anything you can think of can happen here - at the Edge.
Hanna invited me to join the Consciousness Residency to bring my unique set of offerings to the ever-growing list of amazing sessions. I was obviously overjoyed to bring Sound Healing to Edge and I was blessed with the opportunity to kick off the opening session for Consciousness Week, as a Sound Healing Meditation, where I welcomed everyone to the beginning of this week by grounding them into their bodies, clarifying and setting intentions and manifesting the opportunities that would come to pass for them.
My offerings began as Crystal Bowl Sound Bath Meditations and THEN when I learned I could offer anything I wanted - I decided to share my entire toolkit with the participants of Edge Esmeralda, and I began hosting all of my favorite sessions - Meditation Nights, Vulnerability Circles, Sound Baths, Morning Yoga, opportunities for Silence and/or Sharing, and Breathwork sessions.
My favorite thing is creating beautiful and cozy spaces where people feel safe and comfortable to share, to be open, and to be vulnerable - especially when they are new to this side of science and ancient technologies! I love watching people’s faces as I explain sound healing from a scientific lens; its so easy to comprehend and yet can sometimes still carry the ‘woo’ reputation! It’s always such a gift watching someone flow through a session - watching them relax into the vibrations of the crystal bowls, watch them begin to trust and deepen their breath, to move their awareness from their head and into their heart. Seeing them process their emotions as they rise and fall and see them witnessing their own bravery in sitting with whatever arises within them. It can be so activating such that the person that entered the room feels vastly different than the person who leaves.
It’s such a honor to watch new friends in tech, crypto and AI be introduced to sound healing and embodiment practices - like breathwork, yoga or meditation - they have such beautiful minds and hearts. I love creating spaces where they feel supported & protected; I am always so grateful for the trust they put in me to guide them. At Edge Esmeralda I made so many new connections that have exponentially increased my already-global network of friends & family.
My time at Edge Esmeralda was mind blowing, heart opening, and so expansive. I am so deeply grateful for the team at Edge - Timour, Janine, Sophie, Syl + Hanna, and everyone who came to my sessions and for allowing me to hold such sacred space for them.
It’s always such an honor to hold space for you.
Can’t wait to see you at the next Edge!
Xoxo
