Patrons at Pittsburgh’s Mount Lebanon Public Library (MLPL) play with tonguing drums, rainsticks, and singing bowls, instruments used in MLPL sound bath sessions. Photo by Katie Donahoe
After talking to students struggling with mental health issues, Katie Donahoe wanted to do something to help.
Donahoe, a teen librarian at Pittsburgh’s Mount Lebanon Public Library (MLPL), said many of the elementary, middle, and high school students who visit the library tell her they have issues with stress and anxiety. She said she wanted “another way to introduce this age group to mindfulness and stress management that they don’t get in a health class. It’s really common.”
In fall 2022, Donahoe began hosting sound bath sessions twice a month for students in the sixth grade and above. During these sessions, also known as sound therapy or sound healing, participants typically lie down while an instructor uses instruments such as singing bowls or gongs to create sound waves that calm the participant’s central nervous system. Proponents say this leads to full-body relaxation and healing. Instructors are typically certified sound bath practitioners with a background in alternative physical therapies or an interest in meditative practices.
Sound baths are a service that’s now on the rise in public libraries across the U.S. “It’s one of those practices that can be a personal spiritual experience, but at the same time you’re in a room full of people,” says Gao Yang, community partnerships and programs coordinator at the St. Paul Public Library (SPPL) in Minnesota, which hosted a sound bath session earlier this year. “I think it’s really special.”
“Energetic and refreshing”
Several scientific studies have linked a healthy meditation practice to positive outcomes for the mind and body. In a 2016 study, participants reported reduced stress and pain levels after a session. “These health benefits are great,” says Sarah Greenberg, adult services coordinator at the Buena Vista (Colo.) Public Library (BVPL), which hosted the session in the spring. “But… [offers a] It’s the community spirit and meeting new people and building new friendships.”
Kirsty Bogenleaf, a licensed massage therapist, leads BVPL sound bath sessions using tuning forks – metal instruments that produce different vibration frequencies – which she says help balance energy both internally and externally.
Greenberg said the program was well-received, with about 15 people attending, and BVPL is considering making it a quarterly event. Bogenleif also teaches other meditation classes at BVPL, and says the library is a non-intimidating environment to introduce patrons to these unique practices. “People feel comfortable and safe in their local library, so they don’t feel scared or weird,” she says. “Yoga studios and fitness centers can be intimidating for some people.”
“In today’s society, financial access to health care, let alone alternative therapies, is extremely limited,” said Katie Donahoe, teen librarian at Pittsburgh’s Mount Lebanon Public Library.
SPPL’s session in March was part of the library’s annual Read Brave program. The community reading program includes five books all focused on one theme. The theme of the 2023 program is mental health, and one of the featured titles was My Grandmother’s Hands by Resma Menachem, which explores how trauma and mental health struggles can also impact physical health.
Inspired by the message, Yang said she contacted singer Pagnia Xiong and her sister Nancy Xiong, who specialize in Reiki, a healing technique that uses gentle touch to relieve stress. Yang said the sessions were well received.
“What I’ve seen with this program is it really reduces people’s anxiety,” Yang said. “People feel energized and refreshed.”
Touching emotions
MLPL’s sound bath sessions take place in the afternoon after school and last about 45 minutes. Donahoe said about 15 to 20 students participate in each session. Students work with Karen Romano, owner of Inner Light, a local wellness business that specializes in sound healing.
During one session, Donahoe recalls, a 13-year-old client was in tears within the first five minutes. The boy said he didn’t know what made him cry, but Romano told Donahoe that the sound bath allows people to get in touch with their emotions deeply, eliciting a range of responses.
Participants’ reactions to the session were, “It was really interesting. [Romano] “What are you doing?” Donahoe said.
For library staff interested in offering similar programs, Donahoe encourages them to look into local businesses and practitioners to see if there are potential partnerships; she was unaware that such services existed in her community until a colleague mentioned them. “In today’s society, financial access to any form of healthcare, let alone alternative therapies, is very limited,” Donahoe says. “The fact that the library is an opportunity for someone to learn about these services and experience them for the first time, and that it’s free, is very important to me from an economic and health justice standpoint.”
Updated Nov. 9, 2023: The names of Pagnia Xiong and Nancy Xiong have been corrected due to a typographical error in an earlier version.
