10/14/2026
Content Note: This post discusses SA…
The stories being shared in response to the Cornell 7 case have stayed with me. I’m holding the people who have come forward with care and respect, and I recognize the courage and vulnerability it can take to speak about experiences of harm.
I also have a personal connection to this conversation. My first experience of SA happened when I was 12 years old and involved multiple boys I believed were my friends. There were other experiences in the years that followed. Those experiences affected the ways my nervous system learned to respond to the world, even long after the events themselves had ended. Responses such as vigilance, numbness, disconnection, or feeling unsafe can be understandable adaptations to what someone has lived through… not signs that anything is wrong with them.
I’m sharing this not to ask for sympathy, and not to suggest that my experience represents anyone else’s. I’m sharing it as a reminder that we can never fully know what another person has lived through or what they may be carrying.
As someone who works in the spiritual and healing space, these conversations matter deeply to me. Whether we offer sound healing, Reiki, yoga, breathwork, intuitive guidance, or simply hold space for another person, trauma awareness and ongoing education are essential to ethical practice.
Trauma-informed care means recognizing that each person’s responses, needs, boundaries, and preferences are unique. It means not assuming that a practice will feel calming, supportive, or healing for everyone.
Sound can comfort, regulate, awaken, and connect us. It can also feel activating or overwhelming, especially for someone whose nervous system has learned to stay alert to danger. The instruments we choose, the volume, the pacing, the physical environment, our language, and the invitations we offer all matter.
Consent must be ongoing, informed, specific, and freely given. Continued in comments…
