With the strike of a mid-sized Tibetan singing bowl, sound healer Kelsey Gorman plunges me into memory. The tone and pitch mirror the distant train horns of my recent home in Colorado: With my eyes closed and head resting on a cushion on the cool, wooden floor of Kelsey’s home studio, I can almost see the street corners piled with melting snow.
The experience reflects an ‘auditory image,’ which Kelsey says comes from the brain’s ability to associate sounds with emotional memories—a phenomenon grounded in neuroscience. The Naples-based registered nurse with Gulf Coast Medical Center and founder of Align with Kelsey blends scientific understanding with ancient spiritual practices. Her target demo lies with go-go-go professionals, looking to clear the mental fog and find tranquility. Kelsey’s popularity soared after an event partnership with Naples wellness-matchmaker platform HatchPath last year.
While she hosts monthly group sessions, with about 20 guests at beachfronts and local businesses like Flora & Fauna, I’ve opted for a private studio experience. The room is dimmed to keep the focus on the auditory sensations, and Kelsey sits among the tools of her trade: a spread of singing bowls, fairy bells, tingshas (Tibetan cymbals), a buffalo drum, rattles and a gong. Each instrument produces distinct tones, frequencies and textures—low vibrations from large bowls are meant to ground and calm; high, shimmering tones from tuning forks and smaller bowls are thought to uplift and energize. Soundless moments in between make the eventual swells all the more resonant. The combination is meant to foster inner balance.
Traditional philosophies attribute each sound to different chakras, or centers of spiritual energy. While these concepts come from ancient Indian and Tibetan belief systems rather than modern science, contemporary research supports the broader idea that certain vibrations can help activate the body’s parasympathetic nervous system, encouraging stress relief and physiological calm through resonance with tissues and cells.
As I settle into the experience, Kelsey picks up a Peruvian shaker; its soft, rhythmic rattle threads through the deeper tones. Each shift between instruments changes the atmosphere: The gong’s droning hum invites introspection; a chime’s timbral waves wash tension away.
By the time she returns to the singing bowls, I find myself drifting between a meditative trance and a state of reflection. Deep, resonant tones root me to the earth; lighter, dancing notes evoke a warm, invigorating sensation that energizes my core and radiates confidence.
When the 30-minute session ends, I feel lighter, as if the static of daily life has quieted. The room is quiet, but something inside me hums with new energy—like a note settling into its natural rhythm.
Photography by Christina Bankson
sound healing kelsey gorman naples
Naples sound healer and registered nurse Kelsey Gorman draws on her medical background and holistic training, using tools like chime bars to support nervous system regulation and foster a grounded, meditative state.