Can You Feel the Frequency? Exploring Sound, Breath & Conscious Living with Saumil Manek

Introduction to Doctor Talks and the Guest 0:00

Distraction is anything that takes you away from your heart, from your home. Like a movie, you and your husband go see a movie. That's still a distraction. It's a good distraction, right? But it's still a distraction. It's still a distraction to take you away from how you let go of that situation. So let's add some more hurt to it, but we're drinking or we're distracting and it builds up and the inflammation in your body, the weight gain, all of that is inflammation, right? You will lose weight.

You let go of some of that drama in your life. You let go of some of that pain. That's where exercise, that's where spending time with wonderful people who love you, who want actually good intentions for you. 95% of people don't want good intentions for you. Maybe I'm talking out of line and maybe I'm talking those numbers are high. I feel that a lot of people don't really care about other people and their intentions only. And I understand that that's a beautiful way to live. You got to live for yourself, but also live for yourself by not hurting others as well.

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This is Doctor Talks. Real talk from real doctors on the issues that matter to you most. Today on the functional edge, I'm honored to welcome Saumil Manique, the visionary behind Union is Creation, a wellness brand devoted to fostering connection, balance, and self-discovery through sound healing, yoga, and conscious living. Guided by a belief that true harmony emerges when the body, mind, and soul unite, Saumil's work creates transformative experiences that inspire individuals

How Sound Healing Began 1:58

to embrace their inner power and live with intention. Yeah. Through thoughtfully curated events like sound baths, meditation sessions, and yoga practices, Union is Creation offers sacred spaces for healing, growth, and mindful living. Saumil's mission is to help others release what no longer serves them, cultivate mindfulness, and tap into their infinite potential. I'm excited to dive into his journey, the power of sound healing, and how his work aligns with the principles of functional medicine.

Yeah. Thank you for having me, Julia. I'm honored, I'm blessed, and I'm grateful. Thank you. Thank you. I'm so happy you could make this. So what inspired you, and I guess your wife as well, to start Union is Creation? And was there a pivotal moment that led you to focus on sound healing and wellness? So I first started doing sound healing about eight years ago. I opened up a yoga studio with four other ladies. And I didn't want to actually teach the movement portion of it. There were so many people doing that.

There wasn't much sound going on at that time. There wasn't really anything going on with vibration and sound. You could even go to a yoga class and there would no be what you ended with the sound dealer. It doesn't happen. It didn't happen at that time. So I started to, I picked up the singing bowls and they called me and I started playing. and it's all intuition it's all self-taught and no one taught me how to play this came to me i bought all i bought eight of them at the first time first go and i started actually i bought seven and then i started playing obviously just i was trying to figure it out what was happening i didn't know i just kept hitting them i'm into rock and roll and edm so i like those kind of vibrations and that kind of like drumming and hitting and So I just started playing them and then six months into it finally people started showing up.

I had no one coming for six months of my classes at the other studio. I also started playing at different studios all over the city and just to connect, just to build awareness, just to have people understand what the power of the sound can be to your body because it has nothing to do with science, it has nothing to do with religion, nothing with spirituality. It's just feeling how you feel when the vibrations touch you. It's just like listening to a sad song when you're sad, get sad. Happy, happy song, you're happy.

And vibrations, these are equilibrium. So there's no language, any culture, any continent can listen to it with the same intention with love, with heart, you know?

Personal Transformation and Wellness Journey 4:46

And so I'm honored that it's, it's fantastic that it has picked up all over the city, it's picked up everywhere, all over the country. And You know, that's, that's, that's how I first started at my yoga studio. And then discovery green calls me and then the sister and calls me and then I do corporate. Now it's just, it's escalated. It's amazing. It's been an amazing journey. That's great. But first, before I do it, did any of that, I had to heal myself as well. But yeah, I was going to ask, like, how was your personal journey with sound healing, yoga and conscious living?

How has that evolved over the years? So when I first started, I was still okay. So let's, we can jump back four years before I started playing the singing bowls. When I did my first DMP experience, it was a psychedelic experience. And after that, my mindset shifted into helping others. First of all, to help myself. I thought something that, wanting me to take something further into finding purpose into what I was doing. I was just living life in a way that, to me, I felt disconnected. And so I wanted more.

I wanted more for myself. I wanted more for society. I wanted more for my surroundings. I was living in chaos and living in disconnect and discontentment and just being angry. These are just the emotions that I was feeling at that moment. So when I did that experience, I had a whole group of people around me. We were doing a ceremonial. It wasn't about partying or anything like that. It was about getting in touch with yourself. So once I did that, I found out some things. I went into a different journey.

I stopped drinking. I stopped doing certain things, behavioral things that just didn't resonate with who I was. And then I met my wife at 42. And that was the same year that I started Festival, Universal Festival with two other guys. At that festival, we had 75 teachers, all-day event, four different teachers at every moment. It was pretty phenomenal. We had 800 people. and get it for three years, that festival. And that's when it started with the sound healing and just connecting with others and doing these kinds of events are not easy.

A lot of your energy takes a lot of your, you would have to encompass it as a part of your lifestyle to do this. Because I mean, doing it one leg in and one leg out, it's kind of hard. Like when I was doing the diamond business and manufacturing jewelry, I had a yoga studio, so I was doing both at the same time, which in the beginning in this wellness industry, you really don't make a lot of money or you don't make anything because you have to start. And at that time, I'm a singing bowl player. What is that?

No one's going to do anything for that. What is mental health? No one knew that. And then COVID hit. And then once it hit, I was at the perfect place at the perfect time for all of this to happen. I also went inward and became physically, I wanted to be like, why would someone come see me in a wellness community if I was not fit myself, financially, mentally, all the above, I'm talking about financially as well.

What Sound Healing Is and How It Helps 8:06

I'm stable and it's fantastic. So what I'm doing now I can incorporate this whole wellness activity into stabilization and equilibrium. Sound healing has got me there to help me stay present and just to be silent within. Can you share a personal experience where sound therapy profoundly impacted you or someone else? So, there's so many experiences there's so many profound, I mean there's just not one count I mean we've had like one time I played with 1200 people and people were crying afterwards.

We had ice plunge that we do workshops with and people started crying there. I had, I played the cistern and people come up to me afterwards and they see the lights and the grandmother came to them and were telling them. So there's nothing in specific about that, but every time someone comes up to me, everyone comes up and I see about four or 500 people a week. And I have a lot of people come up to me and just tell me their experiences that they have during the sound healing. Yeah, or when they continue to keep coming to my classes, they feel better, they handle challenges differently.

No, it's just about how you and we're all going to face challenges. That's not going to stop. Right. how you, the waves go, you want it to go a little bit shorter instead of so long, so many ups and downs, right? And so that's where sound healing, that's where breath work, that's where ice cold plunges, that's where infrared, that's my daily routine, my yoga practice, that's what I do almost five times a week to keep myself sane, able to get out there. and do podcasts. I've never done a podcast before, so I was excited.

I was intrigued, actually. Good. Well, for those that are unfamiliar with sound healing, how would you explain it in simple terms? Just vibrations. Just frequencies. Some you may like. Some may bring up something that you didn't know that was there. That's just basically how I would approach that. It's just vibrations and frequencies. Yeah. There's nothing else. I mean, you can't label it to me, at least that's what it is. Yeah. Your website mentions that sound therapy can enhance productivity, relieve stress, and even improve sleep.

How does it achieve these on a neurological level? So look, I'm not scientific. To me, neurology is a topic that I can't discuss because I'm not educated in that. I can tell you though, From my experience, from the feelings that I've had and the feelings of my experiences that I've seen all over, because I've seen, I've had 50,000 people come through Discovery Green. I've had 15,000 people come through the cistern. So my experiences from what I've seen is that everybody who comes in, they're skeptics, they have anxiety, they have a little bit of stress.

And then when they leave, they were like, oh my, like, what the F? Like, I feel so relaxed. And I do know that if you feel the tingly sensation, let's take the mystic away from it. Let's take that away from it. It's just blood flow. The stagnant energy that's flowing through your body, that's blood flow. And then yes, it does reset your nervous system.

Breathwork, Movement, and Cold Plunge Practices 11:24

Again, I don't do the research, but the vagus nerve comes up into effect. It's just like doing the breath work. It's just like doing the cold plunge. sound vibrations can activate it to release and it helps with relaxation. And that's the nervous system. And so when I go to these corporations and play during lunchtime afterwards, their whole day has been really nice and their productivity goes up and they want to be there instead of feeling the tension in their lower back. And that's what they focus on the focus.

And you can focus on the actual productivity of the work. Yeah. That's really cool. Yeah, it's super cool. I'm telling you, it's just like, wow. Yeah, yeah. So union is creation emphasizes fostering connection, balance, and self discovery. How do these principles manifest in the experiences that you create? So every experience is different. When me and my wife build these experiences, for instance, the cold plunge, the breath work, the sound healing during the breath work and the movement class.

All of these experiences are different health modalities that move the stagnant energy around your body. Now everyone's experience is different. What headspace you're in and what headspace somebody else is in are completely different. So the experiences are different. One may have a energizing experience. One may just go internal and start crying. It's just every experience with the beautiful thing is that you have it within you to do it. You don't need pills. You don't need that kind of medicine to feel that.

Right. Right. Many people struggle to let go of what no longer serves them. What practical advice would you give to someone looking to release negative emotions and cultivate mindfulness? So for me, to let go means that you need to love yourself. You need to love yourself wholeheartedly. Yeah. If you're keeping stuff and that means there's something inside of you that's holding you back and you're not able to let go just you have the only things that I would say is to be compassionate to. We're human beings at the end of the day.

We're not some spiritual gods, you know, that's determined. So be loving to yourself. Every experience of mine, it's about self-love. It's about, if you don't love yourself more than anybody else, there's no point. There's no sense of loving anybody else. So in that aspect, I do feel that letting go, it would be the only way to do it is if you work on yourself internally. I just forgot the question, by the way. That's always the million dollar question. How do you let go of stuff that you're hanging on to?

You may not even realize that you're hanging on to pain or difficult emotions. Exactly. And that's where the hip pain comes in or the shoulder pain comes in. That's where you hold it. So people eat. and they drink or they do something that takes them away to let them go because they're distracted. The distraction is anything that takes you away from your heart, from your home. Like a movie, you and your husband go see a movie. That's still a distraction. It's a good distraction, right? But it's still a distraction.

It's still a distraction to take you away from how you let go of that situation instead of distracting yourself and keep on from that. And then you're like, okay, so that's, that doesn't feel that hurt like it did before. So let's add some more hurt to it, but we're drinking or we're distracting and it builds up and the inflammation in your body, the weight gain, all of that is inflammation, right? That's, that's You lose weight, you let go of some of that drama in your life. You let go of some of that pain.

Letting Go of Pain and Self-Love 15:30

That's where exercise, that's where spending time with wonderful people who love you, who want actually good intentions for you. 95% of people don't want good intentions for you. Maybe I'm talking out of line and maybe I'm talking, those numbers are high. I feel that a lot of people don't really care about other people. And they want their intentions only. And I understand that that's the beautiful way to live. You got to live for yourself, but also live for yourself by not hurting others as well.

Yeah. Yeah. What, um, what role does breath work play in your wellness practices and how does it compliment sound healing? Oh, I do breath work every day. I do the Wim Hof five rounds. I do it in the infrared sauna. Okay. The sound healing has gotten stronger for me. I mean, I play quite intensely and it took a toll on me before I started getting into the cold, the breath, all of that into it. My back was hurting, my arms were hurting. And because of the breath rate, it oxidates your body. I mean, I just turned 15, I was still young.

My skin is still feeling good. I'm feeling my cells are regenerating. and the breath work has helped me stay focused on the sound healing as well. I can keep going for an hour and I'm not tired. And just to let people know, you mentioned Wim Hof. He is an author of A Breathing Method and also Cold Exposure, but he has learned to regulate his autonomic nervous system through this. featured in an article for the biohacking community. It's been nice. I'm a big biohacker, so that's what they say. Oh, that's great.

You curate events that combine movement, breathwork, and sound healing. What makes the combination so powerful? First of all, the movement is for your physical body. we have to move our body around. If you don't use it, you lose it. So if you don't walk, you're going to lose walking. If you don't move your arms around, you're going to lose that. So we start off with that. We start off with the movement to work our body, to get it into a state where you're in relaxation at the end. And then you add the breath work into it, which oxygenates your body.

It releases cells. It makes you feel good all over. We do those for five rounds while I'm doing the sound healing. The vibrations while you're doing the breath work, it goes into another cellular level, goes into a deeper level where you're feeling like, wow, it's just these colors are coming out. And, you know, just it's pretty cool. And then we get into the cold plunge. They bring everything in. and you get that discipline being in discomfort. They're comfortable. There's discussions that you have with people that you feel uncomfortable, but nothing is uncomfortable because that's evolution.

It's how you grow. It's almost like we need to get out of our comfort zone to make things better. Exactly. And with all those things, I do those things because I know now my reaction towards situations have, I'm not reactive.

Creating Safe Healing Spaces and Community Events 19:06

Yeah. It feels great. Cause I don't have that anxiety. I don't get that heavy chest feeling that when you're in an uncomfortable situation and it's because of the modalities that I work on myself and then I'm walking it. And so people see like, well, you're living the medicine. What are you doing? I want to come see what you're doing. Yeah, yeah. And so that's why people keep coming back. Yeah, that's great. What kind of transformations have you witnessed in people who regularly attend your sound baths and wellness events?

So there's a group of people that come to my Tuesday night classes and then the sound healings and they've come to different events and so many of them and I just see a sense of happiness. They like themselves a lot more. They look like they've taken care of themselves, hygiene, mental. I mean, I don't know finances because we don't talk about that. That's never ever. It just seems like they're taking care of themselves. Their practice has gotten stronger, which means they get to know their body a lot better.

Yeah. They're staying present more with their loved ones and they're spending more time with them instead of being on the phone while you're at a restaurant having dinner. And one time everyone's on the phone on the circular table and why would you go to have dinner if you're just on the phone? You could stay home. Right. Yeah. Yeah. So maybe those kinds of conscious thoughts start coming up. Yeah. Yeah. That's great. I don't know. I mean, that's what could come out of it. Who knows? Yeah. I don't know.

Everyone's different. Yeah. How do you approach creating a sacred space for healing and growth during your sessions? So it goes first with my personal development. If I'm not safe, if I don't feel good, I can't build a safe space around, right? And so those maintenance that I do with my yoga practice, my vibrating plate, with my Dead Sea Salt bats, I do that all the time. That is what prepares me for my events in the evening time where I can hold space Be calm, be happy. I mean, it's about coming to a happy space.

My events are about being happiest. You're not coming to be stressed. You're coming to feel like you're not here. You feel like you're taking a one hour break and you're taking it for yourself. And so I build that, I build a welcoming space for my, whoever comes, safe space. If you're single, if you're a woman, you're not going to be hit on. That's not that kind of environment. There's no alcohol at my events. Yeah. Right. And so kids will be there. You get that energy too. It's beautiful. Yeah.

That's great. Why can't they be allowed? So what's next for Union is Creation? Are there any upcoming events or projects that you're particularly excited about? There's projects going on all the time. We're working on the Mahatma Gandhi Museum, where I will be curating with the old nonviolence and peace and love that he presents. And we're excited about that, me and Lillian. The Spindle Top has always been wonderful. That happens every week, that's happening. today. I really enjoyed the atmosphere at the spindle top and the fact that you can see the view all around Houston, but you're still on an inside space.

Yeah. And then the system has been for five years. I mean, I have three shows or three performances a week, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. That's my heart. I love that. It's garbage green also. I've been doing that for eight years and that free yoga and sound healing every Monday and Tuesday. That's great. So the Mondays and Tuesdays in English, floating sound baths are coming. I have a hammock aerial next weekend or next week.

Upcoming Projects and Closing Advice 23:06

So a lot of events are coming. You can just follow us on Instagram. Yeah. And we'll give a link to your website podcast too. And Lillian is starting her Spanish yoga at true fusion. Okay. That's great. Yeah. Yeah. We worked together. She does the meditation as well. I do the sound. Perfect. If someone is just starting their journey into conscious living and wellness, what small steps would you recommend them to take today? I would say just to be kind to yourself. everything at the beginning, everything has an end and everything has a middle, you know, so just be kind to yourself, love yourself more than anything in life.

That's the first thing. That's the first step and recognize that you want to grow. You want to be a better person and just spend time with people that love you, man. That's it. Seriously. That's it. Life's too short. Yeah. Yeah. Have fun for most of them. Yeah. Yeah. Have fun. Don't take life too seriously. Okay. What is one message or piece of wisdom you hope every participant walks away with after experiencing your sound therapy sessions? that they love themselves more and more every time. That's beautiful.

That's beautiful. Love yourself. Well, I'm so excited to experience some more of your events. Like I said, really enjoyed the sound healing at the spindle top. I thought that was fantastic. So excited to do more. I hope so. I hope to see you more and more again. Thank you for this. Yeah, thank you so much. I really enjoyed talking with you and learning more about all the things that you do. So, yes. Well, again, thanks so much. Thank you for tuning into Dr. Talks. We hope today's episode has enlightened and inspired you on your path to optimal health.

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