Sounds Heal Podcast Interview with Susy and Stephanie

Recently our founder, Susy Markoe Schieffelin, and The Sound Healer’s Academy Program Director, Stephanie Weber, sat down with Natalie Brown on The Sounds Heal Podcast for a powerful conversation on The Business of Sound Healing: Authenticity, Growth & Community.

In this episode, Susy shares her transformative journey of overcoming anxiety, addiction, and alopecia through sound healing. She recalls how discovering Crystal Alchemy Sound Baths changed her life and led her to create a platform to mentor and empower other healers.

Stephanie, a former corporate marketing professional turned holistic coach and sound healer, opens up about her path from burnout to healing. Now the Lead Mentor and Program Director at The Sound Healer’s Academy, she discusses her transition into the healing space and the profound impact of her work.

Together, Susy and Stephanie dive into what it takes to build a sustainable and heart-centered business in sound healing—blending passion, purpose, and community. Their conversation explores the power of sound therapy, the importance of authenticity, and the practical steps to turn a healing practice into a thriving business.

Whether you’re new to sound healing or looking to grow your practice, this episode is filled with valuable insights to guide your journey!

Listen to the episode on Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud, or watch the video below!

Interested in learning more about how to become a professional sound healer? Click HERE to learn more and apply for The Sound Healer’s Academy!

 

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TANSCRIPT

Hello, and welcome to Sounds Heal Podcast. I'm your host, Natalie Brown, and thank you so much for joining me as we continue to explore the fields of sound healing, sound therapy, and generally the use of sound for health and wellness. Joining me are two incredible women in the world of sound healing, Susy Markoe Schieffelin, founder of The Copper Vessel and the Sound Healers Academy, and Stephanie Weber, a Chicago-based sound healer and a key part of Susy's team.

Together we explore their journeys into sound healing, the challenges they faced in building their businesses, and how they've found their authentic voices in a growing industry. We'll also uncover their best marketing strategies, how they build their community and stay authentic, and their insights into the future of sound healing. I found this to be such a valuable conversation.

There's so many gems, so many nuggets of wisdom that I hope you'll find inspiring. So whether you're a wellness entrepreneur, a sound healing enthusiast, or simply curious about how to turn passion into purpose, this episode is for you. This podcast is sponsored by The Om Shoppe & Spa, located in Sarasota, Florida, and online at theomshoppe.com.

If you're looking for that special tool, if you're looking to up-level your sound healing practitioner instruments, The Om Shoppe has such a variety, many custom instruments, and they can really offer a lot of advice if you're looking for something specific. They also have a luxury spa and trainings, workshops if you're able to make it there in person. Thanks so much to The Om Shoppe for their support and sponsorship.

Please enjoy this episode with Susy Markoe Schieffelin and Stephanie Weber. All right. I'm so excited to welcome in Susy and Stephanie.

They are both with me to explore the business side of Sounds Healing, a really important conversation. Welcome in both of you. Thanks for being here.

Thank you, Natalie. Thank you so much for having us. I'm so excited to be here.

Thank you so much. Yeah. So why don't we just start, just so people can get to know you a little bit if they don't already know you, just a brief introduction about your journeys into Sound Healing, what sparked it?

And then Susy, you know, what inspired you to launch a business, you know, full time? So I'll ask you first. Let's start with you, Susy.

Amazing. So thank you for having me back, Natalie. Oh my gosh, it's a joy and an honor to be here.

And for anyone who hasn't already listened, definitely go back and listen to our initial episode because that was such an amazing conversation. And for today, I'll tell you a little bit about who I am and how I got started on my journey. And I'm Susy Markoe Schieffelin.

I'm the founder of The Copper Vessel and the founder of The Sound Healers Academy. And I am a Crystal Alchemy Sound Healer, a Reiki Master, a Yoga Instructor, a sober human being, a mama, a wife and most of all, a human. And I really got on my journey of healing with, through my experience with a condition called Alopecia areata, which I struggled with since about the age of seven.

And it led me down a path of really developing extreme anxiety, just a sense of feeling broken and stuck and lost, which in turn led me down a path of alcoholism and addiction. I turned to substances to really quiet my mind and try to escape from all of the thoughts and all of the self-doubt and self-loathing that I experienced. And that took me to a really dark place where I hit rock bottom in 2015, after years of struggling to try to get sober and it not sticking.

I finally woke up one morning and heard this voice in my mind that said Susy wake up and live. And it was in rehab that I began exploring music therapy. And then a year later when I moved out to California, I experienced my first true Crystal Alchemy sound bath.

And it was like this experience that was everything I'd been looking for all those years. And then going to sound baths, as every chance I could get, I began to experience really deep and profound healing. The light came back in my eyes.”

Students care to come. And I started to mentor other healers in learning the art and science of sound healing. And in 2021, I founded the Sound Healers Academy with the hope of not only teaching others how to play crystal singing bowls, but really how to feel empowered and confident sharing sound baths, making a huge impact and building businesses that bring their healing to the world.

So I'm so grateful and honored to be here today. And so excited to be here not only with you, Natalie, but also with Stephanie, who, oh my gosh, we've had an incredible journey together. And I'll let you share a little bit more about that stuff.

Yeah, absolutely. So hi, everyone. I'm Stephanie Weber.

I am also a Crystal Alchemy Sound Healer, a Mindful Meditation Facilitator, a holistic coach, and also the lead mentor and program director for Susy's The Sound Healers Academy. And I've been in this role for a little more than a year now, which is crazy, but it's truly been just such a dream. And I'm really excited to dive more into that.

But I began my journey actually in corporate marketing. I went to school for marketing. My background is very much in business.

I worked in the corporate world for quite a few years. And during that time, I was very, very stressed out, very overwhelmed. I was working insane hours.

I was just constantly stressed and exhausted and burned out. And I really didn't have any tools during that time to help me, to help me to come back to the present moment, to relax, to focus on self care at all. And it really led me down a part of my life that was quite dark.

I just, I didn't know at that point, like how to handle anything that I was feeling. I was eating really badly. I was, you know, chasing happiness by drinking and going out all the time.

And I just really was not in a good place in my life. And at that point, I actually found yoga. And yoga was kind of my gateway to this whole world.

And yoga really just changed my life. I would literally run from work to the yoga studio every day just to like get that, that really it was just the only time in my life that I was able to truly be myself and to feel good in my body. And yoga introduced me to meditation.

And I was really interested in meditation and yoga and mindfulness. I went through several trainings and then the pandemic hit. And during the pandemic, I actually attended one of Susy's virtual sound baths.

I found her on Instagram and I attended the sound bath and it completely changed my life. I was like, this, this is what I'm supposed to be doing. This is how I want to learn everything about this.

This is how I'm going to help spread this light, spread this feeling to other people. And so I took her sound healing training and my business just took off from there. I learned how to launch a business

I've led corporate sound baths now for TikTok and Salesforce and McDonald's Corporation and Bank of America and Granger and these huge corporations. I've been very, very successful in my business and truly I owe it all to Susy and everything I learned inside the Sound Healers Academy. And it's such an honor now to be able to work for her and work with her to really bring this light and this healing to the world on a much, much bigger scale.

So it's been an incredible journey.

Wow. Just beautiful, really inspiring. I would imagine for everyone listening to hear that, that transformation, those aha moments just, and then leaning fully into your path.

It's, it's really powerful. And I guess for both of you and Susy, I'll bring it back to you first. What were some initial challenges, obstacles when starting your business?

If you can remember any, I mean, you know, just those kind of roadblocks and how did you overcome them?

Apparently, and I do remember them, you know, it's being an entrepreneur, you end up wearing so many different hats. And I didn't realize that when I embarked on that journey, I experienced the magic of sound healing, and I just wanted to learn to play it. And I just wanted to play and I wanted to share healing with the world.

And I think in the beginning, one of the biggest things to wrap my head around was all of the different jobs you do take on when you become a spiritual entrepreneur. It's not just sitting there playing your bulls beautifully. There's a lot that goes into it.

And it's work that fuels your soul. It's soul driven. So it gives me energy, but it was also like, wow, this is a lot.

And immediately, as soon as I began, I started tapping into these really big dreams, right? I started seeing myself sharing with big groups and traveling and building out a big community. And so I think for me, the biggest challenge, honestly, has been patience.

And I've always had this quote in the back of my mind that's been so helpful. It's been a guiding light for me throughout my journey, which is that patience is another form of action. I'm a very action-oriented person.

And so I love, you know, tuning into what that one next indicated action is going to be, but things do take time, you know? And I'm really grateful I've had, I've always worked with incredible mentors, incredible teachers, incredible coaches from business coaches to personal healing mentors. So I've had a lot of support along the way, which I do really, really feel helped to collapse timelines.

Like what has been possible for me in less than eight years is exponentially more than what would have been possible if I hadn't had an amazing team and community around me. But, you know, working with coaches helped me to know what steps to take next. And yet the challenge really was feeling like, ah, there's so many things I need to do.

When do I do what and how? So having patience and then having support around the clarity as to which steps to take really has been, I think, the biggest challenge and solution for me at the same time.

Yeah, I think that's really important. Gosh, we can be just trying to accomplish too many steps at once. Or we're way ahead.

We're thinking way ahead and not being present. That's really actually great advice. Yeah.

Stephanie, how about you? I mean, it sounds like you've actually launched a business that's flourishing. What about any initial challenges for you?

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, there's so many challenges that we have as entrepreneurs, right? Like Susy was saying, we wear so many hats.

We have so many different roles. And one of the big things that was really challenging for me was the fact that my business did take off so quickly and that I was so busy. It was really, there was a point when I was teaching, I think it was last October, I taught like almost 30 sound baths in one month.

And it was a lot. And it's so exciting. And I'm so, so grateful for the opportunity.

And it was also a lot. And I was driving all over the city, up to the suburbs. I'm from Chicago, so I was going to all the different places in the city and it was just, it was a lot to handle that.

And I think the thing for me was just being able to expand in a way that felt sustainable and really aligned. And that's something that I had to learn the hard way was that it's not just about saying yes to every single opportunity that presents itself because there are so many. And I was so excited when I first started my business.

I was like, absolutely, I'll drive two and a half hours. And then the same night drive somewhere else that also took two and a half hours in the opposite side of the city. Why not?

Of course, I want to do that. But I think I've really learned to be more discerning about the gigs that I take on and the opportunities that present themselves in really choosing the ones that feel most aligned for me.

Absolutely. I totally had that experience as well. And then eventually, you learn that you can say no, maybe overdoing it a little bit at first.

And I do think that boots on the ground in your community at first, just to get exposure and your face shown and what you're doing is important for building. But that's right, it can get a lot pretty quickly. And then you can realize, how do I want to specialize?

And that's kind of what I want to go to next. How do we find our niche, our authentic expression, our specialty, especially with so many people coming into this field at once, right? So really blossoming more than ever.

So I'll go to you first, Susy. How did you discover or explore your special part of this sound world? And what would, you know, what advice would you offer to someone that's trying to find their niche?

So I think similarly to what you and Stephanie just shared, in the beginning, you don't necessarily know. And I think in the beginning, it really is important to put your feet on the ground and get out there and share as much as you can and say yes, as much as you can so that you can start to learn, this felt really good. This didn't work for me so much.”

This left me feeling extremely energized and just excited and a lot and felt aligned. And this, you know, maybe I could pass that on to someone else. So I think the exploration is key.

And then I think a lot of self-awareness is also key. You don't have to reinvent the wheel. I think the more that you can do reflecting on your own journey.

And for me, really looking at like, how did I get to where I am? And in the beginning, it was my journey with really learning to love and accept myself. So love and accept myself as someone who experiences alopecia.

Love and accept myself as a bald woman once I shaved my head and fully embraced it. Love and accept myself as someone who has experienced alcoholism and addiction, right? Looking at those elements of my journey.

And in the beginning, a lot of the work that I did, it wasn't reinventing the wheel. It was reaching out to people that I knew in sober community. It was going to work at treatment centers.

It was going to work at sober livings. And from there, it sort of expanded. So I think really looking at what led you to your path in the first place will create a point of authenticity where then people who are coming to your sound baths can connect at a deeper level, right?

So I can speak into an experience of struggle with alcoholism and addiction in a way that somebody who hasn't gone down that path may not speak into in the same way. So to feel that real resonance, I think comes by looking at your own path. And it is a journey to own and embrace it.

And for me, sound is what helped me to do that the most, truly, which is why I was like, I need to share it. It was only through attending sound baths that I was able to come to that point of self-acceptance and self-love and feeling my own wholeness.

Yeah, that's beautiful, right? Really following the reason you needed this, the reason you came into that and how you can share that to help others. Yeah, Stephanie, did you want to add anything to this?

Yeah, I mean, I definitely echo what Susy just shared. There's a saying that I love, that your mess is your message, meaning that the things that you've gone through in your life are the things that you, and that you had that transformation from is what you can then turn around and share with the world. And so for me, in my journey, a lot of my struggle came from being in the corporate world, being stressed, being overwhelmed, anxious, not having the tools to take care of myself and practice good self-care.

So I love going into corporate offices where I know that people are very similar to who I was when I was in their position and being able to give back to them. I just can't imagine how my life would look different had I experienced a sound bath during that time when I was working corporate and so stressed out and so overwhelmed. What if I had had these tools earlier?

I could have been able to really, who knows the direction of my life or where I would be now, but I really like being able to help the people that were similar to me. That's where I find that the niche, being able to lean into who you were and what your struggles were to then help other people.

Yeah. How do you maintain this authentic expression, this unique voice and your values in a competitive market? I mean, it is, in a way, people can see that, oh, there's so many people doing this, you know, and we have this desire to, this pressure to follow trends as well, when it comes to wellness.

What have you done, you know, just to really keep authentic, to say no sometimes? You know, either of you want to share on that?

Yeah, I think this is a huge one. And I think it is, it's so tempting to look at the world and get into a state of comparison. You know, I'm so grateful, so much of my business has been created through social media.

And I can sometimes find myself getting on there, starting to scroll. So for me, first and foremost, having my own daily personal practice is key. Before I start my day, before I go on social media, before I go out into the world, I spend time with myself, I spend time with my bowls, I meditate and I really get clear on who I am and what's true for me.

And the trends can be fun and they can be tempting to engage in, but at the same time, and I think there's value in always being open to innovation and growth. But as soon as it shifts into a state of comparison, I think it becomes paralyzing and crippling. So for me, it's being really clear on who I am, what my values are, and I deeply believe and it's been my experience, not only for myself, but what I see in hundreds of other healers that I've gotten to train a mentor is when you live and share from your most authentic place of truth, there is no competition.

There is not. Everyone has their own unique journey, their own unique experiences. There is no one who vibrates at the frequency that I do.

There is no one who vibrates at the frequency that Stephanie does or Natalie does. And with over 8 billion people on the planet, I just think what would happen if everyone experienced a sound bath, right? And there's people who need the sound bath in the way that I share it.

And there's people who need the sound bath in the way that you share it. And so when I stay really grounded in my own true frequency, I don't need to worry about what anyone else is doing. You know, people feel it.

Energy doesn't lie. So I think that that sinking beneath the noise, the swirliness, the chatter of the world is really what helps me to stay true and just follow my North Star.

Yeah, amazing. That's really, really good advice, right? Everybody actually needs this, in my opinion.

Everybody needs to receive this. So there is your special way, right? Your people are going to come to you, right?

And yeah, I think that's just such a powerful message. So I'm going to go to you, Stephanie, and I'll have both of you answer this. We're going to get into marketing now.

What marketing strategies have worked best for you? What's maybe your main tools that you use in marketing?

Yeah, absolutely. I love this question. And I will say, I think Susy does such a great job of the way that she shows up online through social media and the way that her strategies have worked.

It's, for me, I think just the way that she shows up so authentically in what she does. She doesn't, you know, like you were saying, necessarily not following trends, but showing up and being vulnerable, sharing what's really going on in her life, really speaking from the heart. And I think that that's the biggest strategy for us is really speaking from the heart, what's present with us in our training and our students and the world and what is the message that people really need to hear right now.

And so I think sharing vulnerably in captions, showing up in videos. Susy does a weekly Gratituesday sound bath that people love. People come to that sound bath all the time.

They look forward to it. They have it in their calendars. They get upset when they can't make it, right?

And it's just, it's so authentic and it's so her. And so that's something that I think has really helped to grow this brand is just the absolute authenticity of showing up and showing up consistently.

Absolutely. Yeah. Showing up and, you know, I'm going to ask you that too, Susy, but any advice for someone that marketing, reels, you know, social media, that's not their wheelhouse.

Any, any thoughts on strategies for them?

I would say, you know, marketing, it's, it's something that can stretch you outside of your comfort zone, no matter who you are. And you don't need to follow trends necessarily, or do what everyone else is doing. There's no one size fits all approach.

So I think it's really a matter of finding what works for you, looking for honestly, the path of least resistance. And for me, it's felt really natural to get online on Instagram. I've used it as my own personal outlet for sharing what's true for me, what I'm going through, what I'm processing, what I'm inspired by, what I love.

And then same thing with my email newsletters. Those are my two main ones. And there's so many platforms today.”

Stephanie has done amazingly building out her LinkedIn. For me, I'm like, right, but no wonder Stephanie has such an amazing corporate following, right? So that's worked incredibly for her.

For me, not so much. TikTok, I've always felt like, I'm not sure about this one. You know, I'm like, this feels a little risky, and who knows what's even going to happen with it.

So I've never given it too much energy. You could go down the path of being in love with Pinterest. If that's something that you love, that's an amazing marketing tool.

People who go on Pinterest, that audience, they're there because they want to spend money. They're there looking to plan an event, right? Looking to build out a space.

 So if they come on there and they find beautiful pictures of your bulls or that, they're then going to come to you and be like, wow, so that can be an amazing channel. My assistant loves Pinterest. She started building mine out, but it's not for me.

For me, it's so natural to get on Instagram. Also, my newsletters, like that gives me a platform for longer form writing. Another thing that you find in my newsletter is every week, it starts with a quote.

I am obsessed with quotes. Ever since I was a child, I started writing in a notebook. I still have a notebook from literally childhood on my desk.

I can see it of like quotes that I would write down. My mom would tell me quotes. I have a dear friend who sends me a quote in my email inbox every day, and I save it.

I have a Google document of like thousands of quotes. So every week, my newsletter starts with a quote that's inspiring me and then starts with a message of my heart. Instagram's limited.

You can only have 2,100 characters, but in my newsletter, sometimes it's pretty long. Sometimes it's pretty short, and it's like a little poem. So that I create in a way that feels inspiring for me.”

Honestly, sometimes there's a lot of resistance to writing it, and it'll be like the night before it's supposed to come out, and I'm like, oh, I need to write something. And then in that pressure, I channel something, and it feels really good. But I'm not necessarily sitting there like, oh, let me always write this long newsletter.

It's some weeks, yes. Some weeks, it's more like, do it, Susy. And then from there, I hope that what I share inspires people and brings people value, and then they read through it, and then beneath that, they'll find my offering.

So it doesn't come out as I feel. It doesn't come out as this like salesy thing, like buy this, buy this, buy this. It's really just an offering.

And that's what I feel with my Instagram presence, and that's what I feel with my newsletter, is I want it to be a gift first and foremost, which gifts are my love language. And when you give gifts in whatever form it may be, whether it's a written word, whether it's a sound bath, whether it's a physical gift, it activates the laws of generosity and abundance and reciprocity. And then people feel inspired to complete that energy exchange, and they're like, wow, this has moved me and touched me in some sort of way.

I'm gonna sign up for her sound bath. Like it just gets that energy flowing. So all of that's to say, do what feels right for you and explore.

And especially if you're getting started, do not necessarily overwhelm yourself by saying like, I need to build out my Facebook, my Instagram, my LinkedIn, my YouTube all at once. I've given more energy at certain times to YouTube. I think that's a great platform as well.

But as Stephanie was saying, consistency is key. So find something that you can be consistent with, stick to that. When you have more time, more space, more energy, a team who can support you, great.

Expand into other channels, but do what feels easiest and most effortless knowing that it's all gonna generate some resistance at some point. There's days when I'm like, I don't wanna post, but I'm like, oh, I know that when I post, it actually like gives me life. Like it makes me feel so good to share that as a gift to the world.

So tune into what feels good for you and be consistent.

Yes, yes. Great advice. Great recommendations, both of you.

And as, you know, how important has community building been in your growth and really how do you foster those connections as your scale grows bigger and bigger, right? How do you keep those connections?

Oh my gosh. Community is everything. It's everything.

I'll get so excited talking about this because it really makes all the difference. You know, I spoke about the value of having mentors and coaches, but even more than that, being a part of a heart centered community that resonates for you makes a world of difference for me. I mean, surrounding myself with other people who are on this path, who are excited, who are a yes to life, a yes to success, a yes to bringing healing and inspiration to the world, who are your biggest cheerleaders.

It makes a world of difference. For me, one of the things that I say a lot is you are not alone. And for so much of my life, I did feel alone.

I didn't feel comfortable sharing who I was. I kept it a secret that my hair was falling out. I didn't want anyone to know when I was struggling with drinking.

I felt like there was something wrong with me. And when I shared all of that with the world, I attracted people who were like, yes, I see you and I love you for your wholeness. You are not broken.

You are human. And I have goose bumps as I say it. And that brought in this community, which began, you know, it's the Copper Vessel community.

And now it's really expanded into the Sound Healers Academy community of other healers, who what we do is we celebrate each other. We lift each other up. We support each other.

We send each other opportunities. We collaborate. I was just on a call with two of my students yesterday, well, one of them, and she was like, oh my gosh, I'm in San Diego right now.

I got to meet someone from in the Sound Healers Academy. Everyone's in a small group. So that's another thing that your question is the scaling, right?

So if there's sometimes 50 people in our training, at least, how do you still feel that sense of intimate community? Yes, I'm leading the calls. I'm a part of it.

I'm in touch with everyone and everyone's assigned their own personal mentor. So for example, it could be Stephanie, and that's always a group of six students with your mentor. So you're in touch with them every day.

You're in a group chat. You're meeting regularly. You're getting to know each other on a deeper level.

And this alumni who I was talking to yesterday, she graduated years ago, I think it was like three years. And she was in San Diego visiting someone from her small group. They're meeting in person for the first time.

They've just done an Instagram live sound about together. They're doing a collaboration now. And it's like, that is what we see happening all over the world.

People are meeting up in Amsterdam and Paris and New York City. And they're collaborating, they're creating each other. If I can't take on, you know, if I get an opportunity, I'm like, I'm not available for that.

I literally just had an opportunity to come up for a weekend in June for this amazing experience. It's going to be in Zion. And I'm like, I'm I'm having another event that weekend, pass it on to someone in our community, right?

So that exchange becomes so supportive and makes all the difference, not only for business success, but also mental health. And when you're on this path and you're putting yourself out there and it's vulnerable and you're like, is anyone going to sign up for my event? Can I really do this?

Who am I to do this? All that imposter syndrome comes up. It does.

To have people who are like, no, you've got this. Post again, show up. It's going to be the perfect group.

You've got this. You're amazing. And then you do it and it's everything, but you know you're not alone in any of it.”

And I think if you're someone like me, who this is my Dharmic path, I don't ever plan to retire. I can imagine myself leading sound baths until the day I die. And to create a business and a practice that is sustainable and carries me through the rest of my life, it's essential to have a beautiful community and cheerleaders that are with you along the way.

So yeah, just community, everything.

Right. And that keeps it not competitive. If you're supporting each other, I mean, collaboration is such a good tool.

It's a great way to just learn something a little different, create a different type of sound bath and networking, right? That person has their own connections and you do. So yeah, collaboration is actually a really good tool.

Oh, true. And it's also the kind of thing where there's certain Sound Healers that I absolutely love and I'll regularly go to their sound baths, but I'm not going to say like, I only go to this one person's sound bath. I love exploring and experiencing different sound baths.

I've taken so many trainings throughout my life. So there's plenty of people I'm sure that have taken trainings with you that would come take your training with me, that would come to your sound bath, that would come to my sound bath. And like to have that real synergy and harmony in a conscious and intentional way, I think is what our world needs now.

In a world where so much of what you see is the polarity. It's like, how can we create the connection, the oneness, the unity that we're all craving at this deep level, you know?

Yeah, absolutely. I love this conversation so much. I mean, community really is, it is everything.

It makes such a difference in your journey, especially as an entrepreneur. It's such a path that can feel very alienating sometimes. You can feel like you're in a silo building a business and like you're the only one going through the issues that you're going through.”

And sometimes your friends and your family, even though they're your closest people, they don't always understand what you're doing. And they're there to support you to an extent, but they're not necessarily going to be the people who are cheering you on, or sometimes they won't understand at all. And I think that that's something that really sets the Sound Healers Academy apart.

 And that really helped me when I went through the training was that community aspect. And being around all these people who love sound healing and love entrepreneurship and are so excited to see each other grow. And it really is that collaboration over competition feeling, which is amazing.

And it's so hard to find, I think, in the world sometimes. And it makes such a difference when you're putting yourself out there and you're afraid to show up and you tell other people in your group that you're made a post and everyone jumps into your post and is hyping you up. And it's like, yes, we're so excited for your event and they're sharing it.

And everyone gets it and is so excited for you. Like that energy changes the way that you show up. It changes your mindset from being like, oh, I'm afraid.

I don't know if people are going to like this, how they're going to respond. Like, I don't know if I'm good enough. I don't know if people are going to like this post.

Like, what if it doesn't work to being like, of course it's going to work. Like, how could it not work? I'm putting my whole heart and soul out there.

I know the value of what I have to offer. And I have a ton of people backing me up with it. And I think just in today's world, it's such a, community is such a hard thing to find.”

And it's really nice to have The Sound Healers Academy community, or just in general through social media, I've met so many strangers, random people who I've never met in person. And I don't know if I ever will meet them in person, that literally just hype us up and get where we're going and also have been through the same thing. So I think having a community of people who are on the same path, who are wanting to do the same things and get it, it's just invaluable as an entrepreneur in the business world, moving forward and really feeling confident, putting yourself out there.

 That's really great. And I think that support system, those hype people, whether you know them in person or they're on social media, they're also kind of like your accountability, people to show up, right? It's a reminder.

Oh, yes, if I show up, I'm getting some support and engagement and motivation to show up. So I think it goes all ways, you know, anybody listening, let's hype each other up, right? Let's do that.

Well, and another thing that I think is important to say about community is when you have a community that you trust and you've built that relationship and you really know each other, you can also go to them, not just for accountability, but for feedback. And when you want to grow to say, hey, what do you think of this? Does this sound good, or I mean, for us, we do a lot virtually for me. 

It's like, so who can I turn to do a soundcheck before I go live to make sure that my audio settings are working, my microphone sounds good. And for someone who's really going to say, hey, I hear a little background noise. Have you tweaked this?

Can you do that? So people who are really going to, from a place of love, be honest with you and give you constructive feedback in a way that's supportive, you know? Because otherwise, sometimes you're like, am I doing this?

Like, what? You know, I, one example is sometimes I can get into a habit of saying um, and to have people who care enough to say, hey Susy, I noticed that in your intro, you're falling back into your umming. I'm like, oh, thank you.

That was totally unconscious. Now next time, I'm going to be at, you know, a more professional and eloquent way of speaking because I have the bad awareness. So community, I think, is not just valuable in terms of the support and cheerleading and celebration, but also really saying, or if you're getting down the path of getting sucked into a trend or comparison or losing touch with your vision, to say, that doesn't really feel like the authentic you.

And I've had that experience too, where mentees that I've worked with have shared content or put up their website and said, Susy, what do you think of this? And I'm like, that actually looks a lot like my website or my membership. And, you know, not from a place of like, oh my gosh, you can't do what I'm doing.

But more so like, can you dig deeper into your creative spirit, right? Because copying or stealing from someone else is really only stealing from yourself and your own creative ability. So to say, hey, why don't you try again and see if you can create that in a way that feels like so Natalie or so Stephanie so that no one comes to your page or membership or sound bath and thinks, that's Susy, right?

So one of the things that I really, I always say whenever I teach and work with healers is like, I'm not here to create millions of other copper vessels. I'm here to empower you to be the most expressed and authentic version of yourself.

 Yeah, right on. Yeah, that was really important. I'm really glad you brought that in.

And as people get into this work, sometimes we're offering a sound bath. It can feel mutually healing, right? You're getting the benefits as well.

But a lot of this work is not just the sound bath. There's a lot more that you're having to navigate and how... So this is kind of the work-life balance.

It could get overwhelming initially at first. What have you done in your life to kind of balance that for your own self-care and wellness? What's maybe your practice been that you've developed?

I'm like the biggest self-care advocate ever. And I'm also, it's because I'm such a doer. Like I have a joke with someone on my, with Sean on my team is like, who can I pay $200 to strap me down to a table so that I can be still?

 Like, is it a massage? Is it acupuncture? Like left my own devices.

 I am gonna go, I'm gonna do, I'm gonna stay up till midnight working because I just, I love what I do so much. And if my cup is empty, I can't give from a place of abundance and overflow. I know I'll get burnt out.

So no matter what, I'm committed to a morning practice. I have two little babies right now. So I wake up at 5 a.m. and I sit in the dark with my red light and I do my sadhana and I meditate and I chant and I play my bulls and I pray before I go out into the world.

So first and foremost, that's how I start my day. And inevitably there are days that that doesn't happen. This past Sunday, it did not happen.

And I feel a difference that day. So I give myself grace when it happens, but I do my best to be consistent. And then I schedule self-care, whether that's booking a workout class in advance, scheduling bodywork, scheduling a healing session, going to see a Reiki Healer, a Sound Healer, making sure that I am receiving healing at least once a week.

And I know that that can be pricey. It's not always inexpensive. And especially when you're at the beginning of your journey, it can be like, oh, I can't afford to go get a massage.

 

But what I've really come to experience and what I deeply believe is like, I can't afford not to, because we're in the business of energy. And if I'm not filling my cup, I'm not burning myself out, like that, whatever it may be, 100, 150, 200, I mean, you can pay $500 for healing, whatever it may be. It's like, it's worth it to fill cup.

And then from there, when I show up and I share my sound baths, I don't feel like a fraud. I don't feel like I'm trying to share something that I'm not also embodied in, right? Like I'm like, I know I've done my practice.

I know that I've taken my time to be still. I know how hard it is to be still, which is why I share sound healing, because it was really the thing that got me to be still and relax and reset my nervous system and come back to that place of wholeness within myself. So I have to, I have to schedule it into my calendar.

And I do. So at least once a week, some committed form of self-care, at least once a week, some committed form of movement. I try to walk every day.

I meditate every morning. But it's like the most non-negotiable business expense, in my opinion, if you're a healer.

Yeah, I absolutely agree. And I think it's so important to take time to do the things that really nourish you. So whether that is your sadhana, your morning practice, or like for me, I know movement is really non-negotiable.

 Going to yoga, going to the gym, working out, being in nature, eating, nourishing foods, really being intentional about where my energy goes, what I'm putting into my body. I think that's one of the things that entrepreneurship has really brought into my world that I wasn't so aware of before, is you have to be so intentional about the energy that you're surrounding yourself in with what you're putting in your body, what you're doing on a daily basis. And so just really focusing on the things that give you energy versus taking away energy.

Also another thing that I've noticed, and this is as you grow your business, of course, but being able to delegate your tasks is huge. And that's something that Susy and I have really been working on a lot lately, is finding out where our strengths are, finding out what the things that each of us are independently good at and being able to kind of divide and conquer in that way. I love to write.

That is one of my favorite things to do. I love creating content. And so my job that I've kind of been delegated is creating social media content and writing emails and creating sequences.

And I love that stuff that just like lights me up. I could do that all day, every day. I love spreadsheets.

I'm a Virgo. Like that is my whole, like it gives me energy. But there are some things, parts of businesses that definitely don't give me energy and that really drain me.

 

And so when we're both really aware of those things, we can take on the tasks that give us energy and split those evenly so that we're able to really, you know, again, divide and conquer and get more things done. And then another thing I will say that has been very, very helpful for me is just being really cognizant of my time. And when I close my laptop at night, because I have a tendency to work and work and work, I could just keep typing and writing captions and writing sequences and I could like look up and it'd be 10 o'clock at night and I'd be like, Oh my gosh, like I just got in the, I was so in the zone that I, you know, forgot to eat and it's like, you have to really be cognizant of that.

So you don't burn out because you can burn out doing the things that you love. I feel like that's a, something that a lot of people say is like, you can't burn out when you do what you love and you absolutely can't, you have to be very careful not to push yourself to the point where you're doing it so much that it's actually starting to drain you, so putting in boundaries, knowing when it's time to close your laptop at night, taking breaks during the day, going for that walk, doing the things that nourish you so that you can have the energy to show up every day feeling your best.

Absolutely. You mentioned a really important word, their boundaries. What are your boundaries within your work, your time, and what are your non-negotiables?

Like Susy was saying, I have to do these practices, so I can show up. Yeah, really important what you just shared there. Thank you.

And just exploring the last couple of questions here, where do you see the sound healing industry going in the next five, 10 years? I mean, just look at the past five years, what's happened? What are you seeing?

What are you thinking? Susy?

I see it getting bigger and bigger. I see it becoming completely mainstream, similar to what's taken place with yoga, where I feel like in the early 2000s when people were kind of like, oh, yoga, like, oh, yoga, I've heard of that. I do that.

Like, there's a yoga studio in town. I feel like, and now everywhere you look, there's yoga studios, everyone's yoga teachers. There's, it's so accessible.

It's how can you not be connected to yoga in some way? I feel it's the same way with sound. You know, I think that we're really in this huge surge of people who are waking up to the healing power of sound, how it really can support you in so many areas of your life.

I mean, no matter what it is you do, bringing one singing bowl into your life can transform everything, right? Whether it's a physical healing that you're moving through, whether it's energetic or emotional, a personal practice is huge. And I think people will more and more begin or continue to have that.” 

And then going to sound baths is becoming completely normalized. You know, there's sound baths on airplanes. Like I said, I have sound baths on United Flights.

And I was just talking to someone this morning. They were like, I was watching a show last night. And in the show, they were like, oh, I just got back from this amazing sound bath.

Like some show on NBC. I don't know what it was. I'm not a TV person. But, you know, like to see that in the mainstream media is huge. So I think that there is such a demand. I know that there is such demand for this work.

You know, people wanting to bring it into the workplace, people wanting to go and have sound as a part of their spa experience. You see people who are going and not just getting a facial, but there's singing bowls involved or, you know, at the end of your massage, there's a sound bath incorporated in it. It's just, it's everywhere.

 And I think it's going to continue to grow and bring beautiful peace and healing. And I'm here for it.

Me too. What do you think, Stephanie?”

Absolutely. I have seen just so many people being open to sound healing where it's very interesting. I began more so in mindful meditation, which is very much silent meditation focusing on your breath, tuning into the present moment.

And what I noticed is that people were very intimidated by it. They would say, oh, I don't meditate. That's not for me. Like I don't think I'm going to try it. I'm afraid I can't stop my thoughts. Like they're very hesitant to try traditional meditation.

But when I started introducing sound, people were so open to it and like very excited to try it. And I think it really brings a level of accessibility to meditation and wellness and mindfulness, which hasn't really been seen before, which is so exciting and so amazing. And especially in the corporate world is, you know, kind of where I've found a lot of success and where I tend to go into quite a bit.

It's that people are very open to it. I think that there are some people that are like, I don't know, well, we'll give it a try and see what happens. And then by the end of it, they're like, that was amazing.

Like, what's your, can I have your card? Can I follow you? Can I attend another one?

Like, can you come to my birthday party? Can you come to my mom's house? Like, I've done, had so many opportunities come from these corporate events where people are just blown away by how relaxed they feel, by just how centered and grounded they are.”

And they go about their days just feeling more creative and inspired and relaxed. And it's just, it's so incredible to see how people are responding to sound. And I think it's just, I think we're hitting a new wave of the wellness industry.

I think it's gonna be even bigger than yoga. I think people are just gonna be so, we're seeing it. They're just so excited about it.

 And it's really helping people, even people who aren't quote unquote spiritual, right? Like there's a lot of people who are kind of iffy about they don't want to do anything to woo-woo or that feels too hippy or it's kind of like not something they'd be interested in. It's so accessible for everyone.”

And I think it's just, it's such a beautiful way that we're bringing healing and wellness into this world in such just an an easeful and beautiful way.

I think you are. I mean, I think it is so accessible because everybody needs relaxation. Everyone needs stress relief, right?

 And that really seems to be the number one benefit of this work. So everyone needs it for sure. Yeah, this has been really an inspiring and I think beneficial conversation.

 I just want to leave it open for any last things you want to say or maybe a key advice for someone just about to launch their Sound Healing business. What is maybe your final advice for people? Susy, I'll start with you.

 I would say, if you feel the inner whisper, the inner call that this path is for you, just to keep listening, to keep listening and to trust it. And know that your journey of becoming a spiritual entrepreneur does not have to be black and white. It doesn't have to be that you quit your day job tomorrow and go full time into becoming a Sound Healer.

But follow the breadcrumbs, right? Like if that whisper is within you, it's not going away. And the more that you can listen to it and create space, you know, through your daily personal practice, meditate in the morning, listen to a sound bath every day, and just open and say, okay, one of my favorite prayers from A Course in Miracles is God, where would you have me go?

What would you have me say? What would you, where would you have me go? What would you have me do?

What would you have me say and to whom? So just being curious and open and looking for the obvious signs, right? Whether it's 11, 11 on the clock, or you think of someone and they appear and there they are, they pick up the phone or they call you, or you notice, you know, all of a sudden more sound, sound baths coming into your field.

And you're like, let me go attend them. And then trust your intuition. When you feel that resonance, that connection with a teacher, ask them.

That's what happened for me. I literally, I went to a breathwork sound bath and in that sound bath, it was like, just go ask. And at the end I got up and I asked the instructor, I said, how can I learn this?

He said, I'll teach you, right? So just that simple. You don't have to reinvent the wheel.

And when the time comes for you to leave your corporate job, you're gonna know, right? But take care of your nervous system as you're in a period of growth and expansion and transition so that this can be something that sustains you for the long run. But the key thing is just follow the breadcrumbs, keep taking the next step.”

 It might feel scary, but when you feel that, it can feel scary to your mind, but that quiet voice of truth within you, which is steady and unwavering, when it says, yes, trust it. That's my key thing. And that will take you places beyond your wildest dreams, beyond what you can even imagine.

I did not plan to leave my corporate job when I did, but I knew it was time when it was time. I didn't plan to become a sound healer, but I knew it was time when I was in that sound bath and I just felt inspired to ask. So miracles are possible and your miracle is waiting.

And it's just a simple matter of following the breadcrumbs and listening to your heart.

That's beautiful. Thank you, Susy. Stephanie.

Yeah, I absolutely just echo everything you just shared. And truly, if you feel the call, it's there for a reason. And it was one of those things is when I did that first sound bath and I just I felt that huge call to learn it.

I didn't understand it at first. I was like, why? You know, I'm a yoga teacher. I'm all these other things. Why am I feeling this call towards the bowls? But if it's there in your heart and you feel that call, it's there for a reason.

It's because it's something that's interesting to you. And it's part of your gift that you're able to then turn around and share with the world. And I will say from an entrepreneur standpoint, investing in yourself, investing in the trainings, investing in the coaches, getting to be part of a community of people who uplift you and inspire you and will keep you going when you inevitably hit that roadblock or hit that challenge, that you're able to turn to other people and get that support.

And I think that that's so important. You know, there's no barrier to entry necessarily for sound healing, right? Anybody can bang on a bowl and call yourself a sound healer. But really there is so much to learn when it comes to being a healer, a true healer and learning how to help your clients in a way that feels really accessible for them and in a way that is trauma-informed. There's so much to learn about healing from a teacher. So I think just investing in yourself, investing in the training, investing in the mentors, like there will never be a time where I regret investing in yourself.

You are always going to be your best investment. And the thing that's going to help you get the farthest in life. So trust, trust if you feel that call, it's there for a reason.

 And don't be afraid to make that jump for yourself.

Oh, thank you so, so much both of you for really your powerful messages. I think this is so valuable. And I'll be sure to share links and point people in your direction so they can find you and find more information.

But again, thank you so much for this inspiring, important of this time discussion. I appreciate you both.

Fresh, thank you so much, Natalie, and sending you so much love. And can't wait to stay connected and keep shining our light and sending this healing out into the world.

Thank you for tuning in to this episode of Sounds Heal Podcast, sponsored by The Om Shoppe & Spa. You can keep up to date with what's coming up next at soundshealstudio.com, on Instagram, Natalie Brown Sounds Heal, on Facebook, Sounds Heal Studio, and listen to meditations, music, and podcasts on the YouTube channel, Sounds Heal Studio. Thanks again for listening and for your support.

Be well and stay tuned.