Douglas Cardwell

Douglas Cardwell is a percussionist and sound bath practitioner in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he founded Lotus Sound Bath. He studied music education at James Madison University and percussion at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music, then spent three decades playing and teaching, including years as principal timpanist of the New Mexico Philharmonic and concerts in halls across the United States, Germany and Russia. He later trained in sound meditation with Ascending Sounds and in energy work with Jeffery Allen, and designed a mallet for singing bowls and gongs that is now sold by a percussion maker.

His sessions are wordless and instrumental: people lie down while he plays tuned quartz crystal bowls, several symphonic gongs at once, chimes and other instruments, as a way into deep rest and meditation. Once a month, on a Monday evening, he leads a free sound bath in the Cathedral of St. John downtown, seasonal sessions at yoga studios and outdoor venues around the city, and private group sessions in homes and workplaces. Recordings of his sound baths, along with short spoken mindfulness pieces, are free on YouTube and Insight Timer, where he also streams some sessions live.