Holism Haus is ‘on a mission to make holistic trauma healing accessible’

Across eras, regions and cultures, humans have channeled music and sound as a therapeutic release from the toils of day-to-day life. At Holism House, which opened April 1 in west Lansing, Maranda Houston takes that concept a step further, helping people “overcome trauma through sound.”

She does so through a handful of sound-based meditative services, the most beginner-friendly of which is the sound bath, she said. In a standard session, which lasts about 30 minutes, Houston homes in on the client’s breathing patterns to create a relaxing series of sonic vibrations. The client wears a steam eye mask and lies on a heated massage bed while Houston produces a canopy of sounds and frequencies with a set of quartz bowls and metal tuning forks.

“Sound alchemy is what I like to call it,” Houston said. “Based on the sounds and frequencies that are coming back when I’m in a session, I’m able to understand some of the traumatic experiences someone might be working through or emotions that may need to be recentered.”

The results vary from person to person. Some see sessions as spiritual or metaphysical, while others point to scientific studies that have found sound baths and similar sound-based therapies can relieve stress and depression and even lower blood pressure in some individuals.

Houston said she tries “not to dive into the spiritual aspect of it” but instead prefers to let her clients form their own opinions on the results of the sessions.

“I don’t want to retraumatize anyone or put myself out there in a way that’s not in alignment with the vision. And that vision is to be able to have a community of people who have accessible healing and don’t have to jump through hurdles to get it,” she said.

Holism Haus also offers guided breathing meditation sessions and immersive herbal baths, which combine aspects of the sound bath with an aromatic herbal soak. The front end of the space features a shop with wellness products, apparel and more.

Having “experienced life at its fullest capacity,” Houston cited her upbringing in the foster care system as the main “spark” that led her to open Holism Haus.

“Usually, the stigma is that people in foster care go a certain way. I set out to change that trajectory by turning my pain into a purpose,” she said. “I wanted to provide a support system for my community to help them understand that there are other resources out there that they can turn to when they’re feeling let down by the way the system works when it comes to getting access to care.”