We had the good fortune of connecting with Helane Marie Anderson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Helane Marie, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
Thanks so much for this question. I honestly don’t think I had a choice as the arts felt like a calling from my earliest memory. The musician & artist side of me was always the most prevalent driving force, always stepping into any space where I could express my voice. When I was young, music, drawing and dance were the things I was most drawn to explore. In those moments of creation & connection I always felt, and still do, truly in my purpose. I also feel that the arts are what reflect humanity in the deepest ways and music is especially powerful in its ability to move energy, change energy and create the ripple effect of healing. As my career developed, I originally pursued the classical music side of my studies (I was a classical piano major and also studied classical voice) and spent more than a decade on the Arts Administration side of the business before pursuing my own music & healing practice full time. Part of my crossover between the two careers has been through teaching an Arts Leadership & Entrepreneurship class at the USC Thornton School of Music in the fall semesters. Teaching this class has bridged my musical offerings with my background as an arts producer and given me the chance to give music students a different perspective on leadership. My own process of exploring all sides of my musical & artistic endeavors, including teaching, has led me to improvise & compose healing music, and to apply all of my energy healing studies into my transformational voice work & leadership program that I just finished developing. At this moment in time, given the major world-changing events, I think it’s more important than ever to use music, healing and leadership in this format. I feel that my mission is to help people step into the true power of their unique voice and be able to express this through music and speaking with full alignment, empowerment, confidence and grace.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
One of the main intentions I hold with Sacral Sounds is that I put myself through the process of everything I teach and create in my business. I truly feel that when you are on a creative, healing path in your work, it is imperative to do the work on yourself consistently as an example. Like all of us humans, I am an evolving work in progress, and continue to step into my deeper spiritual & healing practices so I can show up deeper for my clients, and let that energy come through my music. My personal meditation practice and dedication to showing up everyday has also graced me with the opportunity of teaching guided sound meditations twice a week, further grounding my practice and insight. I am also very proud of the sound healing trainings I have taught and developed over the past two years and how the course changed into its current online format during quarantine. My students have gone off to do amazing things with their sound practices and I’m a very proud teacher. I have also been writing more music centered around mantras using the piano and other instruments and plan to record these offerings soon! Finally, my vocal transformation sessions & leadership work also keeps growing and I’m really excited to teach a new curriculum I’ve created (and mentioned earlier) for my upcoming POWERFUL VOICE LEADERSHIP INTENSIVE to empower people to step into powerful vocal action and purpose. I will be starting this course in September 2020 and look forward to continuing to help others step into the power of their true voice.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This is an interesting question given the current state of just re-entering the real world with quarantine and a lot of uncertainty….. so I’ll go with my favorite things to do in the best of times and some of the things that have kept me sane during quarantine. I love walking on the beach from Santa Monica Pier to Venice Pier; hiking the trails at Temescal Canyon, Griffith Park and in Malibu; dancing at Kate Shela’s 360 Emergence Classes (used to take place at Soho Dance and currently taking class online); walking around my neighborhood in Culver City. For healthy eating and amazing coffee I love the vegan restaurant MAKE OUT – I often stop there on my neighborhood walks. For an easy day trip or overnight my favorite place to venture is Ojai to spend time in the healing waters at Ecotopia, hike through the many trails, and stay at the Pepper Tree Retreat run by the Krishnamurti Foundation.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are many people I have to thank who have brought me to this place in time and it is imperative that I first thank the organizations that have supported my sound bath performance and healing work wholeheartedly. I owe much gratitude to InsightLA (Mark Koberg, Martin, Akemi & Anisa), SoulPlay Yoga (Nathania Stambouli & Cheryl Moss), Olandar Foundation of Malibu (Leigh & Carla McCloskey), The Mindry (Willow & Jen) & the group of women sound healers I perform with called Sonic Devas (Lynda Arnold). In recent months with the quarantine & social justice movement, I feel my work has gone through a big transformation and I’m stepping into a further level of service with my offerings. For that I would like to thank my clients and students who teach me so much every time I step into the healing space. Finally, I have to give my deepest gratitude to a few people who have provided amazing support getting me to this current place of evolution: my cousin Katy Daixon Wimer and my friends Kristi Sandeno, Scottie Thompson & Adam Morganstern. I am truly grateful for all of the support.

Website: www.sacralsounds.com
Instagram: @sacralsoundsla
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HelaneMarieAnderson
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjBv9zGISPAOpeJxwJ3VN_g
Other: I have a dedicated Facebook group YOU ARE MEANT TO SING! where I post guided meditations, vocal activations and more that is FREE. You just have to click here to join: https://www.facebook.com/groups/343172996266716/?epa=SEARCH_BOX

Image Credits
Adam Morganstern (beach photo) Tomer Peretz (event photos) Lauren Urbiztondo (VastDrum photo, pink dress photo) Tanya Nesta (singing photo)

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