Follow along with the transcript below for episode: Tuning Into Sound Therapy With Laura Widney
[INTRO]
[00:00:04] PF: What’s up, everybody? This is Paula Felps, and you are listening to On a Positive Note. Science is increasingly giving us more information about how sound frequencies can not only change our mental state but change how we feel physically too. As you’re about to hear, after seeing how sound frequencies were helping her wellness clients reduce things like stress and anxiety, Laura Whitney set out to find a way to make sound therapy more accessible. She has done that by creating an app called Soaak that provides sound therapy on the go. She’s here with me to talk about how sound affects us and how we can use it as a daily wellness practice. Let’s have a listen.
[INTERVIEW]
[00:00:44] PF: Laura, thank you so much for coming on the show with me.
[00:00:47] LW: Yes. Thank you for having me. I’m so excited to be here and talk with you.
[00:00:50] PF: I love what you’re talking about today because it’s sound and all the ways that it affects us. To kick it off, I want to know your story. How did you get so interested in this topic?
[00:01:01] LW: I was a hair stylist for the first part of my life. For the first 16 years of my life, I did it professionally, and I own different salons. So through a series of events, I had a really good friend of mine that was a naturopathic doctor. Me and her talked for years about natural wellness. What I did in the kind of beauty industry was I’m basically like an honorary therapist, where I listened to my clients all day. I just really had such a heart for helping people. I felt like I was helping people in what I was doing because when you look good, you feel good. So there was a component to that in what I did.
But after years of really kind of wanting to make a change in my life, I went towards the holistic wellness profession. I sold my salons, and I kind of dove off a cliff, so to speak, and went into this holistic health. That’s when I really started studying everything I could get my hands on, as far as energy medicine and holistic modalities, everything from IV therapy, to body work, to chiropractic, just everything. Everything that helps heal the body I really dug in. So I opened a wellness clinic, and I had that for about five years.
That was really where Soaak was born because we did frequency therapy in clinic. So that was one of my favorite modalities was that sound vibration therapy because it’s non-invasive. It works really good. With our Soaak app, it’s now inexpensive versus the clinic. Anytime you go into any holistic wellness, you’re going to spend some money. It’s expensive, and it’s not covered by insurance. So that was why I just loved frequency therapy. I loved sound therapy. It changed my life in so many ways, which I can get into some stories later.
But that’s really kind of how I got into what I’m doing now and creating my company called Soaak is from my experience with my wellness clinic. Having frequency therapy and sound therapy is one of the modalities in the clinic.
[00:03:01] PF: Break that down for the listeners a little bit because when we talk about sound and frequencies, we know what music is, but we might not necessarily associate sound and sound frequencies. Can you really explain what it is we’re talking about?
[00:03:13] LW: Yes, okay. So the frequency specifically are specific megahertz. It’s a sound, and so there’s a lot of different frequency generators that generate the actual sound of the frequency. So there are trillions and trillions of frequencies in the world and in the universe, and we are all made up of a frequency. So your individual human being has its own blueprint, its own signature blueprint frequency. It’s different from everybody else’s. Not one person has the same frequency. We are made up of a composition of frequencies, basically, but everything has a unique frequency. So a healthy heart has its unique frequency. Skin has a unique frequency, hair. Even a cancer cell has a specific frequency.
Royal Rife years ago actually was able to identify all of the different frequencies in which actual megahertz paired with what thing in our body and what physical thing. So when you play a frequency, you can play a specific megahertz, and it resonates that thing on your body. So what we did in our clinic was we actually made frequency compositions. So you can go online and Google 432 hertz, for example, or 528 hertz. Well, that is one specific frequency that’s a megahertz. So it’s 432 hertz. We would take those frequencies, and we would layer them with other frequencies.
We did a lot of clinical trials, research stuff in our clinic that helped us identify, let’s say, if you’re having issues with your digestive system. It could be from a lot of things, and so one specific megahertz isn’t necessarily going to fix everything. So we would identify, okay, what is wrong with the digestive system. Could it be something you ate? Could it be an allergic reaction? Could it be lack of sleep? Could it be stress? Could it be the vagal nerve, all of these things? So then we created these frequency compositions that are layered with all these specific megahertz to address that one area of the body.
Everything in the universe is a frequency. My voice is a frequency. Our thoughts are omitting a frequency. We are all just reverberating these frequencies from the inside out. So it’s very similar to music, where you hear a country song, for example. It puts you in a certain mood. Like it just changes what you’re thinking about. It changes the way you feel inside, your emotions. You can just start crying. Then you put on your favorite gym workout playlist, and that’s a completely different emotion that it stirs up in you right at the moment.
Music is like a perfect example of kind of how frequencies affect you, but nobody really thinks of it like that because it’s just music. Music is like a universal language. When you think about actual Soaak frequencies or megahertz, they’re kind of doing the same thing. They are tuning your body to a certain frequency. So they’re helping your cells, talking to your cells, and helping them oscillate at a certain frequency for optimal health.
[00:06:12] PF: Are those frequencies paired with a certain type of music? Or how is it – I’ve seen it done different ways. How exactly do you do that?
[00:06:20] LW: So we actually do all of the above. On our app, we have different listening options. So you can do the raw frequency, which is just that raw. You’ll hear it when you go on the app. It’s a raw frequency. Some of them are really pleasant, really relaxing. Some frequencies are pretty high-pitched, a little less palatable. So because of that, we paired them with music, which is guitar. Then we also have another option, which is nature sounds. So even our nature sounds like rain or thunder, stuff like that, and the guitar, we tune those sounds also to a certain frequency that kind of matches the frequency, that underlying frequency that it’s with.
We have lots of different options because everybody’s different, and I get tired of listening to just the raw frequencies. Sometimes, I just want to listen to some music. Sometimes, I want to hear the rain with the nature sounds. So we have lots of options.
[00:07:10] PF: Yes. I think it’s really important to point out that there is just a ton of science that supports what this does. A few years ago, when I started doing some stories on this, people were like, “You’re crazy,” because there was not as much research out there. Now, people really come to understand like frequencies, how they affect us, and also things like our digital world. How does that affect us? Okay, it’s going to be like a two-part question because I want to talk about how this is affecting us and then how we can kind of counter that through using sound frequency.
[00:07:43] LW: Yes. Again, I’ll go back to the statement that everything is frequency. It is so much more popular now. You’re hearing about 5G and standing close to a microwave and all of these things that were kind of they’ve always been a thing. But now, they’re becoming a lot more popular for people to talk about. People understand it and realize, okay, yes, this invisible force that is going on around us all the time is actually affecting our emotional health, our physical health, our mental health.
We get bombarded on a daily basis with frequencies of all kinds. You’re driving and you hear a horn honk. That frequency alone can stress you out and make your cortisol rush through the body and really kind of negatively affect you. It’s the same with standing close to the microwave when you’re microwaving your food or anything like that. Everything affects us. So with sound frequencies and also with positive thoughts, because you’ll know later when we talk about the Soaak app, we have positive affirmations.
So we truly believe that mindset is everything. When you get your mindset into this positive state to where you’re not ruminating on these negative thoughts, that is creating basically a frequency around you that is solid and peaceful. It actually – I believe it’s like a shield where when you are in a good state of mind, all of this negativity, whether it’s 5G or your kids screaming at you, whenever it is, it kind of bounces off you because you are in a good state, and you are holding your peace. You are holding that frequency tight and strong.
[00:09:23] PF: In some cases now, I think people are so attuned to having that digital impact in their life to being surrounded by these frequencies that they either don’t realize that they feel bad because of it. Or they don’t associate the way they feel with the frequencies they’re around.
[00:09:40] LW: Yes. I think that’s probably the second one is probably most of our issues. We just don’t realize what’s happening. We just don’t realize what’s going on. We get very used to things. The technology that happens around us is kind of a gradual thing. When I was 16, I had a flip phone. We didn’t have a smartphone. We played outside a lot as most kids did back then.
Then gradually, now years later, it’s like, man, I am literally either with my computer or my phone or my iPad or at my TV. Or I am sitting next to devices all day long. It’s kind of a gradual thing. Now, it’s just that’s life. So it’s something to be aware of but also not to be scared of.
[00:10:25] PF: But I see using frequencies sort of like house cleaning because it’s like you collect all this garbage in your body through all the digital interactions, through all the electric frequencies that we’re collecting. How does that kind of cleanse the palate as it works?
[00:10:40] LW: So I always like to explain it like we’re Velcro, and all the frequencies that are happening during the day, we’re just like walking through them constantly, and they’re sticking on us. The less protected you are and the less your guard is down, the more that things can kind of latch onto you and kind of get into your system. So we are energy, and our energy just piles on different things, different energies from other people. It can really Velcro to us.
Unless you really take the time to peel off those layers, whether it’s through therapy or going outside and grounding or taking a run, whatever it is that helps you clear your head and clear your emotions, if you don’t do those things, then it’s just layers upon layers every day. After a decade, you’re going to be feeling really sick. You’re going to be really depressed or whatever it is that your ailment is.
With the frequencies, I always say when you listen to the frequencies, and you can equate this to like music too, your favorite song. When you listen to it within a couple minutes, you can feel. You can literally feel almost the chemical response that happens inside your body to make your dopamine or whatever go up and make you happy. You feel the difference. So that’s how the frequencies work. They actually are talking to your cells, and they’re telling yourselves, “Hey.” Your cells are kind of going crazy and a little chaotic because your energy is a little out of balance. The frequencies are like a tuning fork to your cell. So they’re telling your cell, “Okay, oscillate properly. Oscillate properly.” So your cells listen and then attune to whatever the frequency is that they’re hearing.
That’s how the frequencies help balance the energy system and balance the body. When that happens, it’s basically like dissipates or makes that negative chaotic energy disappear. It just dissipates, and it’s like you can take a big deep breath. You feel like you’ve just taken a big deep breath, and you feel lighter afterwards. It’s really crazy, but it really helps with any emotional kind of heaviness. It just makes you feel like you just drank a big glass of water and have been out in the sunshine for a couple minutes. That’s kind of what it feels like after you do it.
[00:12:45] PF: Yes. You had so much experience of treating clients in your wellness center. What would you see in terms of how long it takes for that to take effect, and then how long does that last? Because that’s what people want to know too. It’s like is this something I am going to walk out and then it’s like, “Oh, I’m right back to my old self.”?
[00:13:04] LW: Yes. Energy is subtle. Any kind of modality that works with energy, energy medicine, really even massage, even physical things, it’s working with the subtle energy body. So specifically, frequency therapy, you want to continue to retrain your energy to oscillate properly. So you want to do it every day if you can, and that that was one reason why. That was the main reason why we digitized the frequency therapy in clinic.
That’s where Soaak was really born is because people needed to come. We recommended two to three times a week because that was the practical amount of time I could get people in the clinic. It was $50 a session in clinic. That’s two to three times a week, 600; 800 dollars a month. I mean, that’s a lot. But that’s what was necessary. Me personally and all my staff, we did every day because we had the equipment there, and we were able to. That was what really made a difference.
That’s why we created Soaak because I think everybody should do it every day, if possible, and because that’s what really makes it stick. But as far as how long it takes to help, within minutes of listening to some of the frequencies, you can feel it. There are some things that I have heard people say, “I have listened to this weeks and weeks and not really felt anything. But after listening to it a month, everything changed.” I really feel like we are like an onion. You peel back layers of an onion, and you don’t really even feel or know you’re doing anything. But you’re doing a lot. Then by the time you’ve finally get to that one piece that’s like, “Oh, man. That is what shifted it all,” it shifts at all, and then you feel better.
I always tell people do it as much as you can and be as consistent as you can with it. But also have good daily habits around the frequencies. So when you’re listening to the frequency, drink a big glass of water. Make sure you are super hydrated. Make sure you are either saying your mindful intentions. Or if you have time and can close your eyes and sit down, meditate while you’re doing it. Make it a habitual thing every single day, where you’re also layering other really good habits with it because when you do that, man, I guarantee that you’re going to feel so much better every day. Over time, you’re going to change big things in your life.
[00:15:26] PF: Yes. It’s kind of like exercise where you can start out and just do something really, really gradual. Then before it, it’s become such a part of your daily routines that you can’t really keep going without it.
[00:15:38] LW: That’s exactly right.
[00:15:40] PF: Let’s talk about some of the things that you’ve seen it do for anxiety and depression because those are two of the biggest things that we hear about across the board but then also at Live Happy. We get a lot of requests for information on that. That’s always the biggest demand. What can sound frequencies do to help with anxiety and depression? Not only in adults but let’s talk about children too.
[00:16:00 ] LW: Yes. So that’s such a huge thing that we see testimonials from people using the frequencies is really dissipating that feeling, that heaviness feeling that you get from anxiety and depression. Anxiety can come from a lot of different things. This is where my background in my wellness clinic really comes in handy because I’ve not only studied how energy works and what’s happening to your energy when you’re anxious or depressed but also the physical body.
So a lot of times, anxiety can come from a food allergy. It can come from lack of sleep. It can come from a hormonal imbalance. Same with depression, it can come from pathogens in the gut or in the brain. So there’s a lot of physical reasons why you have these things. It can also come from real trauma, emotional turmoil at home, and stuff like that as well. So it’s not just one thing that causes it. So that’s why our frequency compositions are so powerful because we took all of that into consideration when we made the anti-anxiety frequency or when we made the depression frequency because it’s addressing a lot. There’s a lot going on. There’s places in you that get stuck and that get pent up that need to be released.
So that’s what sound frequencies do, again, is they help release kind of that stagnant stuck energy in that spot, and it helps your cells to oscillate properly. That’s when you feel kind of that flood of relief. Or I keep saying it just dissipates, but that feeling of anxious, anxious. You’re clinching your fist, and you listen to the frequencies, and you kind of just let it go, where it just kind of goes away for a second.
Then that’s when it’s so important to get that mindset in there as well to really help yourself make it stick. You’re saying, “Okay, I’m going to have a great day. No obstacle is going to stress me out today.” Really get your mind right to where you just are in a completely different thought process after that.
[00:17:59] PF: Yes. Can you address how a parent could use this? Because a child – we see so much anxiety with children. The stories I’ve heard are just absolutely heartbreak, especially post-pandemic, and parents don’t know how to help their children with anxiety. Now, a child’s not necessarily going to slap some headphones on and listen to some sound frequencies. How can they do this? How can parents integrate that into their children’s getting ready for school, driving to school routine?
[00:18:25] LW: Love it. The cool thing about kids and even pets is they are so much more susceptible to the good energy. They just kind of receive it. They don’t have any like mental blocks of like, “Oh, what is this? This isn’t going to work.”
[00:18:39] PF: “I’m not sure this is working.”
[00:18:41] LW: Yes. They don’t have that mind barrier that adults do once we get older and get our own opinion. So it seems to really work well. We’ve seen it with pets too. Again, you can play it through your cell phone. You don’t even have to have headphones. You can just play it right through the speaker on your phone.
[00:18:58] PF: I think what you’re doing is just incredible, and you’ve referenced the app. Can you talk about how you took all this learning, all this knowledge that you had for it and then turned it into something that was so accessible through an app?
[00:19:10] LW: Really the biggest barrier that I kept seeing was time and money. That’s kind of the case with everything. So I kept saying, okay, how can I make this more accessible to people and more affordable? Because the essence of the treatment was really inexpensive. So I kept telling my team. I’m like, “We need to digitize this. We need to get this in an app where people can do it 24/7.”
The other issue was if we have somebody with severe depression or chronic anxiety, they could come in for a treatment and do great. But what happens at midnight when something triggers them, and they’re having an anxiety attack or a panic attack or deep depression? That was when they needed the frequency the most is right in that moment or if they couldn’t sleep. We have a sleep frequency. So I kept telling my team, “We have to digitize this.”
We got with some developers, and we were able to create an app and put all of our frequencies online. So we took the top 30 frequencies that worked the best in clinic and that we got the best reviews and testimonies. We put those on our Soaak app. So that’s how the Soaak app came to be and why it’s available now.
[00:20:17] PF: That’s incredible. I know that we’re going to give our listeners a free trial to it. I know it’s a company for you, but it’s so much more. For you, it’s a mission. I’m just impressed with how you’ve just kept elevating what you’re doing and making it more accessible to more people. So what is it ultimately that you hope to see? As you look down the road, what do you hope that everyone starts learning about sound frequencies and how it will change the world?
[00:20:42] LW: Yes. I love that. Thank you for that question. I love answering this question. The sound frequencies are amazing, and I hope everybody tries them, and I hope it gives everyone relief in the moment they need it. Because I feel like when you have an accumulation of things that happen to you that set you back, after weeks or months or years of that happening, you’re just in a funk. It’s really hard to get out of that.
So with Soaak, I’m hoping that people don’t get in that funk. I’m hoping that they can hold their peace and hold their joy and hold on to the positive things in their life through daily mindful intentions and through daily uplifting sounds and frequencies.
[00:21:23] PF: Laura, you’re doing wonderful things. I’m so excited that you had time to sit down and talk with me. I thank you for everything that you’re putting out. I’m really excited to share this with our listeners and let them experience it for themselves.
[00:21:35] LW: Thank you for having me. This has been awesome. You’ve been so fun to talk to.
[END OF INTERVIEW]
[00:21:42] PF: That was Laura Widney of Soaak Technologies, talking about how we can use sound to improve our mental and physical well-being. If you’d like to learn more about Laura, get a free trial of her app, or follow her on social media, just visit us at livehappy.com and click on the podcast tab.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of On a Positive Note and look forward to joining you again next time. Until then, this is Paula Felps, reminding you to make every day a happy one.
