Sound Healing in Perth: What to Expect at The Sound Temple
Sometimes the hardest part of slowing down is finding somewhere that actually allows you to.
Life in and around Perth can be full. Work, family, traffic, phones, appointments, conversations, deadlines and all the little things that keep our minds switched on long after the day should have finished.
The Sound Temple was created as a place to step away from some of that noise.
Set amongst five acres of jarrah bush near Sawyers Valley in the Perth Hills, The Sound Temple offers regular Sound Healing Sessions inside a custom-built wooden sound chamber designed to hold and amplify resonance. It is a place to arrive, breathe a little deeper and give yourself permission to do nothing for a while.
Arriving at The Sound Temple
The experience begins before the first gong is played.
Leaving the city behind and travelling into the Perth Hills naturally creates a shift in pace. The roads become quieter, the bush becomes thicker and the surroundings start to feel different.
The Sound Temple is located in Sawyers Valley near Mundaring on a five-acre jarrah bush property beside a nature reserve. The property includes the sound chamber, deck, gallery and workshop areas, but the bush itself is a big part of the experience.
Depending on the season, you may arrive to the sound of birds, rain moving through the trees, the dry warmth of summer, flowing winter creeks or the changing colours and flowers of the six Noongar seasons.
For many people, simply arriving somewhere surrounded by nature is the first signal to the body that the pace of the day can begin to soften.
Inside the custom-built sound chamber
Our Sound Healing Sessions take place inside The Sound Temple where you can smell the scent of the cedar which lines the chamber and the jarrah flooring that feels solid and natural, created specifically as a space for sound.
The shape, timber and enclosed design give the room its own acoustic character. Rather than sound disappearing into a large open space, resonance moves around the chamber and surrounds you. In fact, sometimes you can’t even tell which direction the sound is travelling from, this is deliberate from the creation of the structure.
The chamber has also been intentionally created as a place to unplug. Phones are turned off, left outside and the space has been designed to minimise outside electrical interference, allowing the focus of the session to remain on natural sound, vibration, stillness and rest.
Once everyone has settled in, there is nowhere to go and nothing you need to do.
What happens during a Sound Healing Session?
Every facilitator brings their own style, instruments and way of working, so no two sessions are exactly the same.
You may hear our large symphonic gongs, crystal singing bowls, tubular bells, orchestral chimes, drums, didgeridoo and other resonant instruments. Voice may also form part of the experience through chanting, toning or other vocal sound.
The sounds may be soft and delicate at one moment and powerful and expansive the next. At times you may notice a single tone clearly. At other times layers of sound can merge together until it becomes difficult to identify exactly where one instrument finishes and another begins.
You are not required to analyse any of it. Although, it’s natural for new comers to do a little bit of that until their minds start to turn off.
You can simply lie down, listen and allow the sound to move through the space around you.
What do I need to do?
Nothing.
That can sound almost too simple, but for many of us doing nothing has become surprisingly difficult.
You do not need experience in meditation. You do not need to understand sound frequencies. You do not need to know the names of the instruments or arrive in a particular state of mind.
Some people close their eyes immediately and settle deeply. Others take longer for their body to become still while their mind continues to run through the day. Both are completely normal.
If your thoughts wander, let them wander. When you notice, gently bring your attention back to the sound, your breath or the feeling of your body resting.
There is no test and no correct way to experience a Sound Healing Session. Each time will feel different, this will depend on what is going on for each person each time they arrive and that’s the beauty of it – it never becomes boring or stale.
What might I feel?
Every person's experience is different, and even your own experience can change from one session to the next.
You may feel deeply relaxed. You might notice particular vibrations more strongly than others. You may feel warm, heavy, light, emotional, peaceful or simply tired.
You may also fall asleep – don’t worry, if you snore really loudly we may give you a gentle nudge or not, most people’s natural sleeping sounds blend well with the symphonic gongs!
We encourage people to allow the body to take what it needs. For many of us, that is simply a period of uninterrupted rest.
If you are new to slowing down, you may notice that your body settles before your mind does. Sometimes it takes more than one experience before the mind begins to trust the environment enough to really let go. There is nothing unusual about that.
Saturday, New Moon and Full Moon sessions
The Sound Temple offers regular Saturday Morning Sound Healing Sessions as well as special New Moon and Full Moon gatherings throughout the year. We connect a lot of our events around the cycles of the Earth and include special events at the Equinox and Solstice dates.
Our Saturday sessions are a beautiful introduction if you are new to sound healing. They offer dedicated time to relax, listen and experience the chamber without needing to know anything beforehand.
The New Moon and Full Moon gatherings are longer experiences and bring additional elements into the evening such as intention, circle, seasonal reflection, ceremony, tea, food and time together as a community.
While the format changes, the heart of the experience remains the same: sound, stillness, connection and the opportunity to step out of everyday life for a while.
Sound healing and the Perth Hills
For us, sound healing has never existed separately from the land around us.
The Sound Temple has been gathering people in the Perth Hills for more than a decade, and over that time nature, community, the six Noongar seasons, storytelling, creativity, meditation, yoga and sound have all become woven into the life of the space.
The property carries the Noongar name Yunga Karak Boodja, gifted by respected Noongar Elder Dr Noel Nannup, and our relationship with place continues to shape how we gather and how we understand the importance of slowing down enough to notice what surrounds us.
Sound can be one way of reconnecting.
Nature can be another.
Sometimes they meet beautifully in the same place.
What should I wear and bring?
Come comfortably dressed.
Loose clothing is ideal and easy-to-remove shoes are helpful because shoes are removed before entering our sacred spaces. We also suggest bringing your own water bottle.
For specific events, blankets, pillows, bolsters, tea, treats or meals may be included, so always check the individual event details before you arrive.
Your first Sound Healing Session in Perth
If you have been curious about sound healing but have wondered whether it is 'for you', there is no particular type of person who needs to walk through the door.
You can arrive curious.
You can arrive tired.
You can arrive with a busy mind.
You can arrive simply wanting an hour or two where nobody needs anything from you.
Come as you are.
Leave your phone in the car.
Settle into the chamber.
Listen.
Rest.
And give yourself the rare gift of having nowhere else you need to be.
Sometimes the greatest shift begins with something very simple:
time to stop, space to breathe, and sound that brings us gently back to ourselves.
Suggested Internal Links
What Is a Sound Bath? A Beginner's Guide to Sound Healing - Cornerstone Blog 1.
Saturday Morning Sound Healing - link to the current Saturday session collection.
New Moon Sound Sessions - link to the relevant event page or collection.
Full Moon Sound Sessions - link to the relevant event page or collection.
Sound, Vibration and Frequency - later link to Cornerstone Blog 3.
Nature and Wellbeing - later link to Cornerstone Blog 7.
