Kaylor uses sound as a way to help people relax and breathe deeper

If you know Laura Kaylor, you might think of her as the long-time owner and stylist at Hello Gorgeous hair salon in Greenville. While she does have a faithful clientele as a hairdresser, she is also offering a truly unique experience for those looking to relax and breathe a little deeper.

The Sound Center is a “profound relaxation experience,” Kaylor said. She guides clients toward relaxation through the use of nature sounds, crystal bowls, spoken meditative words, and relaxing music.

Step into the quiet room, and the smell of essential oils greets you. A massage table with a special infrared crystal mat is there to lie down and begin to unwind. The relaxation journey depends on the client, and Kaylor said she designs each session with their needs in mind.

Laura Kaylor with a crystal bowl at Hello Gorgeous in Greenville. (LN photo/Stacie Barton)

“If you’re coming off a busy workday, we might be looking to get the reactivity down, cool the nervous system a little bit,” Kaylor said. On the flip side, for those who are feeling depressed, Kaylor works to uplift.

Kaylor uses a range of tools to assist her clients into deep relaxation. She has a set of crystal bowls of various sizes, that sing when she strikes the rim with a mallet. Each tone vibrates at a different frequency, and is said to stimulate a corresponding chakra - the seven points in the body of physical and spiritual energy, according to some eastern philosophies.

Another tool Kaylor uses is music. She will play meditative or uplifting music on state-of-the-art headphones that can register high and low frequencies. “You can’t necessarily hear it, but it has an influence on your nervous system,” she said.

For Meg Kirby, a visit to the Sound Center is a way to take a break from her busy life. “I am a teacher and a mom, and I love taking care of all of my responsibilities and people. However, like most women, I struggle to make time for myself,” she said.

Kirby said a session with Kaylor is a way to intentionally carve out an hour for herself, to recharge and disconnect from technology too. “In other settings it’s so easy to reach for the phone and just peek at the notifications,” she said. “Once the relaxation begins, the phone is the last thing on my mind.”

Certified in massage for hands, feet, and scalp, Kaylor will also incorporate essential oils and massage into the session, depending on her client’s requests for a hands-on or hands-off session.

“Some people don’t love to be touched,” Kaylor said, “So I just like to meet you where you’re at and ask for your preferences. I know how easy it is to get derailed when you’re trying to relax, so I try to understand the person on the table and figure out where their sweet spot is.”

Sounds can help a person relax and meditate, and Kaylor said it can help people get out of their mind and into their body. This also goes the other way around, she said, by helping people get out of their body and into their mind, if their body is in pain.

Kaylor has clients who also come to her to help relieve their chronic pain. She uses guided visualization and breath work. “Some people don’t realize how shallow their breathing is until they learn how to breathe correctly.”

Kaylor also uses infrared light therapy to help her clients who experience chronic pain. She says this is great for arthritis, fibromyalgia and other persistent pain.

A lifelong love of music and the solace that can be found there has brought Kaylor to this point. She has spent years studying sound therapy techniques, and wants to help people find comfort.

“Laura does such a great job of providing a safe and peaceful space, walking you through relaxation techniques, which leads to true rest of the mind, body, and spirit,” Kirby said.

“It’s that peaceful mind that we can never get to, that once you find it, it’s very powerful. It’s a joy that is not coming from a person or activity, or any possession. It’s a joy you can access yourself.”