Sound as an Instrument of Healing

By Lynn Taylor

Lindy Romez

LINDY ROMEZ

Lindy Romez believes in the power of sound.

“Music and dance have always been an integral part of me, ever since I was young and growing up in a Spanish household,” says Romez. “It was and is a big part of our culture.”

Romez began playing the trumpet at age 11. She entered the military as a musician, serving in the Army at the 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina.

“My main job was to boost morale, and since I played trumpet, I also had the job of paying final honors to fallen soldiers by playing “Taps” at their funerals.”

But a car accident in 2000 left her with a neck injury and paralysis down both arms, threatening her chance of ever playing music again.

“My reality was I would never be able to play an instrument again,” she says. “In severe pain, I was given opioids and other medications, but it really didn’t help. Every medical doctor I saw didn’t have a long-term solution for me. They just filled me with fear and prescribed more medication.”

Four years into her recovery, Romez took herself off all medication and started researching Buddhism, Sanskrit, meditation and other Eastern philosophies. Everything she read brought her closer to starting her own meditation practice.

“I began with sound,” she says. “I thought I knew the power of sound since I played one of the most powerful instruments in the world, the trumpet. I found a practice of meditation that used sound and something profound happened: I discovered that the true power of sound was deep within. I now understand it to be some kind of awakening.”

Romez also began playing the trumpet again, writing songs for her first CD, a collection of original contemporary jazz compositions titled “New Day,” and released it independently on her own record label, Amrak Records. Soon after, she assembled a band named Sol Y Mar after a song of the same name on the album. The band released a Christmas album and performed at charitable events and art festivals in her hometown, Orlando.

She also continued her meditation practice, and in 2017 traveled to India and became certified in sound healing using Tibetan sound bowls.

“Before I left for India, I took part in a 22 push-up challenge to help gain awareness for veterans who were committing suicide at the average rate of 22 service members a day,” she says. “The question [of] why it was happening kept me up at night. My experience may have been different than most other jobs in the military, as I went in as a musician, but I believe that all who serve in the military are affected by post-traumatic stress – because first you are a soldier. I wanted to be part of the solution instead of sitting in the problem.”

When she returned from India she began offering sound baths to anyone who wanted to come. Romez began working with veterans suffering with PTSD using sound therapy, particularly the frequencies that sound bowls emit. Under the umbrella of Calm One, she founded the EkoSync Meditation App, which is designed to stimulate restful sleep, reduce pain and heal past trauma.

“Similar to tuning an instrument to the rest of the orchestra, the orchestra as a whole plays more harmoniously together, making the whole unit harmonious,” says Romez. “If you think of each of us as an instrument – when one gets out of tune, it affects the whole. We want everyone to be whole, happy and complete and are happy to provide the tools in a sacred place.”

These days, Romez lives a yogic lifestyle and is certified in yoga, meditation, sound healing, and is a Reiki Master and shamanic practitioner. Her band has played at events around St. Petersburg, her home for the past decade. She can also be heard playing trumpet outside friend Brenda McMahon’s gallery in Gulfport during art events. Romez offers a Yin Yoga class followed by a live sound bath at Gulfport Beach every Wednesday evening at 5 p.m., all by donation. More at fb.com/lindy.romez.

Lindy Romez