Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabrielle Urbani.
Hi Gabrielle, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My relationship with sound began as a deeply personal one. Many, many moons ago, my therapist suggested I try a sound bath as a way to quiet my busy mind and ease the stress and anxiety I was carrying. Within minutes of that first experience, I felt something shift. Sound became a meaningful part of how I cared for myself, helping me rest more deeply, quiet my mind, stay more present, and reconnect with myself beneath the noise of everyday life.
That experience eventually grew into a calling to learn, practice, and share sound with others. Once I began playing my first singing bowls, my curiosity led me into a deeper exploration of sound: its history and traditions, the science behind it, and the ways sound interacts with the human body and nervous system. My years of playing piano and French horn also gave me a foundation in music theory and a deeper understanding of rhythm, harmony, tone, and vibration that continues to inform my practice. I’ve been fortunate to learn from wonderful teachers and mentors along the way, and I remain a student, continually learning, listening, and deepening my practice.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
In some ways, it has been a remarkably smooth road because I have this deep feeling that I am doing exactly what I’m supposed to be doing at this point in my life. There’s something incredibly comforting about that. And how lucky am I that I get to share something that was so deeply transformative in my own life with other people?
Of course, there have been all of the very real challenges that come with building something new. Building an audience, introducing people to an experience that may feel outside of their comfort zone, building my own website, finding venues that feel genuinely aligned with what I offer, building relationships and community with other practitioners, figuring out scheduling and logistics – all of the little pieces that come with creating a business from the ground up.
And then there are the challenges that simply come with being human: doubt, comparison, imposter syndrome, and those moments of wondering whether what I’m creating is enough.
One of the things that has helped me move through those challenges has been leaning more deeply into where I am in my own life and allowing that to shape Hearthsounds Sound Healing. I’ve found so much meaning in creating a nature-based practice, one that follows the cycles and rhythms of the natural world and recognizes that those same rhythms are reflected within us.
My own daily practices, rituals, relationship with nature, and experiences with sound have become part of how I create each journey. I’m not trying to replicate someone else’s sound bath or create what I think a sound bath is supposed to look like. I’ve allowed Hearthsounds to become an expression of who I am and how I experience the world.
That has been one of the most profound parts of building this practice. There are so many wonderful practitioners, and each of us brings our own perspective, experience, and energy to the work. For me, Hearthsounds has become deeply and authentically mine.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Hearthsounds is a nature-based sound healing practice centered around creating immersive sound bath journeys that help people slow down, reconnect with themselves, and experience the rhythms of the natural world within their own bodies.
For me, the experience begins the moment a guest walks through the studio door. I want the entire evening to feel intentional, not just the time spent lying down while the instruments are played. Guests are welcomed into a cozy, thoughtfully created space, offered a seasonally aligned essential oil, and invited to settle into the experience from the very beginning.
Each sound bath has its own seasonal or nature-based theme, inspired by what is happening in the natural world around us. I weave those themes through guided visualizations that are transportive and immersive, creating a world for guests to step into before gradually becoming a bridge into the sound bath itself. I also incorporate sounds of nature throughout the experience, creating a connection between the world outside of us and the world within us.
I also offer ceremonial sound bath experiences around the New Moon and Full Moon, as well as the eight festivals of the Wheel of the Year. These gatherings include a short ceremony and a seasonal craft or ritual before the sound bath, giving people an opportunity to intentionally mark the turning of the seasons and the cycles of the moon.
Collaboration is another important part of my work. I love creating experiences alongside other practitioners whose specialties complement sound, including Reiki and breathwork. These collaborations allow us to bring different practices together and create experiences that can reach people in different ways.
What I’m most proud of is that Hearthsounds has become something that feels completely authentic to me. My love of sound, music, nature, ritual, and the changing seasons all have a place in what I create. I’ve allowed my own experiences, practices, curiosity, and relationship with the natural world to shape my work.
I think that is ultimately what sets Hearthsounds apart. The sound itself is only one part of the journey. Every detail is an invitation to slow down, become present, connect with the season we’re living in, and remember that we are part of nature rather than separate from it.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I wouldn’t describe myself as much of a risk-taker. I’m more of a thoughtful, “step a little outside the bounds” kind of person. I tend to build things step by step rather than jump blindly and hope everything works out. I’ve certainly jumped plenty of times blindly in my life, and I’ve learned that it tends to create more anxiety for me than excitement!
For me, I’ve learned about myself that there’s something really valuable about taking a thoughtful step into the unknown, seeing what happens, and then taking the next step from there. I like allowing things to unfold rather than feeling like I have to know exactly where I’m going from the beginning.
That said, stepping into Hearthsounds was absolutely a risk in its own way. I never imagined that I would have a sound healing practice. This was not some lifelong plan I had been working toward. Sound baths entered my life unexpectedly, became deeply transformative for me, and eventually I found myself wondering what it might look like to share that experience with other people.
Leaving the familiar path and putting myself out there in a completely new way required a lot of courage. There were (and still are) plenty of moments where I have to step outside of what feels comfortable, whether that’s putting myself out there, introducing people to something unfamiliar, or trusting that the thing I’m building has value.
I think I’ve come to see risk less as one giant leap and more as a series of small acts of courage. Sometimes the risk is simply taking the next step when you can’t yet see the whole path. That feels much more aligned with how I want to move through life: thoughtfully, intentionally, and with enough trust to keep going.
Pricing:
- $30 generally speaking, though this can vary depending on host / venue.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.hearthsounds.com
- Instagram: hearthsounds503
- Facebook: hearthsounds503
