We had the good fortune of connecting with Crystal Cao and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Crystal, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I saw a hunger in people to feel relieved of the heaviness and I recognized that I could provide a soothing environment for the bodies natural healing abilities with sound and meditation. It is incredible what transformation unfolds through an honest human connection; so many of us have been conditioned to keep a defensive mask on. In the spaces I create, there is no judgement. Just calm. Before the pandemic shut us down, I held a full time job in event production. I was operating some pretty sexy events with high profile clients in LA and I thought, why not do the same for something more nourishing? I knew it was time for my personal practice to take center stage.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
What I do as a healing artist is create ethereal spaces for people to let go of any emotional heaviness. The vibrations of my special instruments calm and recalibrate the parasympathetic nervous system responsible for rest and digest. The tones sooth the brainwaves from the activated beta wave to the slower theta wave. So, what I do is a combination of science and art that encourages the individual to move stagnant energy. What sets me apart from others are the exciting locations for these healing experiences. I do one within a grounded hot-air balloon secured to the ground. Once inside of this “massive tent” we have a multi sensory sound bath meditation. Millennials love to bring their loved ones and take pictures for this. I also am known for co-hosting a free/donation base sound bath at Elysian Park. It is called Slow Morning for Fast Times: A Gratitude Journaling Meetup. We start with a slow arrival with coffee, donuts, and records. We then go into a 30 minute sound meditation, then we pass out prompts and whoever chooses to share can speak on what they are grateful for. This is a totally heart opening experience. It went viral on tin-tok and now 200+ people come every time, I stopped counting. For me, making the healing sciences accessible is important and this is the most diverse crowd I have ever seen. They come alone, they bring their besties, children, and fur babies. My favorite is when (adult) kids bring their parents. This community is saving lives.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to recognize my teacher Ana Netanel who has been so generous with her time, wisdom, and wits! She has empowered me to be my most authentic self in this line of work that could seem so intimidating at times. She is a wonderful vision of what it possible.

Website: https://www.crystalhealingsound.com

Instagram: @Crystal.HealingSound

Image Credits
Emily Rosenblatt

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.