My 20th Trip to Leroy Merlin: What Moving to Lagos Taught Me About Stress and Rest

When I moved from New York to Lagos, I pictured long walks on the cliffs and slow mornings by the ocean. What I got first was furniture. My apartment came furnished, but making it feel like home still meant buying a desk, a dresser, a bookshelf, plants, pots, and pans, then setting it all up, and doing it in a country where I didn't even know which stores to go to. Everything was different. I've been to IKEA at least five times. I've been to Leroy Merlin twenty. At this point, I could probably give tours.

It's a good kind of stress, but it's still stress. And it's a reminder of something I see in my work all the time: changing where you live doesn't automatically change how your body feels.

I'm a sound healer based in Lagos, and I offer private one-on-one sound baths and small private group sessions across the Algarve. If you've recently moved here, or you're simply carrying more stress than you'd like, a sound bath is one of the easiest ways I know to help your nervous system catch up with your life.

Why Moving Is So Stressful, Even When It's a Move You Wanted

Moving is one of the most well-documented stressors in adult life. The Holmes-Rahe Stress Scale, a widely used tool developed by psychiatrists Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe in 1967, lists a change in residence as a significant life stressor, alongside changes in work, routines, and social activities. Move countries, and you usually get all of them at once.

What makes it tiring isn't just the big decisions. It's the hundreds of small ones. Which store sells what you need. How things work here. Where to get your coffee. When everything is new, your brain never quite gets to run on autopilot, and your nervous system stays a little bit "on."

I think of the nervous system like a large ship. It doesn't turn just because you've changed course. It turns gradually, with steady input.

What I'm Doing to Settle In

I won't pretend I've figured it all out. I'm still working on the balance between work and fun, and I'll be honest: I love a to-do list, and I can sit at my computer 24/7 if I let myself. I know I'm prone to burnout. So I've been deliberate about the small things that help me feel at home:

• Cooking in my own space. Making a meal in a new kitchen is a quiet way of claiming it.

• Feng shui around the apartment. Arranging and clearing the energy in my space helps it feel like mine.

• Playing my bowls. A few minutes of sound is how I reset during the day.

• A morning coffee shop routine. It's become an anchor, and a way to slowly become a familiar face.

• Building community. I'm meeting people both for business and for friendship.

• Time alone to recharge. As much as I'd love to be out meeting people every night, I need quiet time on my own to re-energize, and I've stopped feeling guilty about it.

I'm also making time for sound baths, meditation, and yoga, because taking care of my mental health isn't something I save for when things fall apart anymore.

How Sound Changed the Way I Handle Stress

My first sound bath changed my life. That's not an exaggeration. It was the first time I really paid attention to my nervous system, and it started a daily practice of looking after it.

The biggest difference isn't that stress disappeared. It's that I notice it sooner. I can pick up on a bad mood before it turns into me really raging. If I'm sad, I let the emotion out, and then I'm able to shift and feel better instead of staying stuck there.

That's what a regular sound practice gives you: not a life without stress, but a quicker way back to yourself.

What the Research Actually Says

The research on sound baths is still growing, but it's encouraging.

A 2017 study in the Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine found that after a singing bowl meditation, participants reported significantly less tension, anger, fatigue, and depressed mood, and people new to sound meditation saw the biggest drop in tension. A 2023 randomized controlled trial in the European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education found that a singing bowl session increased heart rate variability, a key marker of the body's "rest and recover" response, and reduced anxiety more than progressive muscle relaxation.

What a Private Sound Bath in Lagos Looks Like

Before we book, we have a conversation about what you'd like to work on, whether that's stress, a big life change, burnout, or simply feeling more like yourself. That way, when we arrive at the session, we can dive straight into the stillness.

A private session lasts 60 minutes. You lie down on a mat with a pillow and blanket while I play crystal singing bowls, which create long, resonant tones you can feel as much as hear, and a chime, which adds lighter, shimmering notes. There's nothing to learn and nothing to get right.

Sessions are one-on-one or for a small private group, like friends, a couple, or family. I'm based in Lagos and offer sessions across the Algarve. For locations further from Lagos, a travel fee may apply.

The Bigger Point

Arriving somewhere new takes longer than the move itself. Your boxes can be unpacked and your furniture built (eventually) while your body is still catching up. Be patient with that. And give it some help along the way.

If you'd like to book a private or small group sound bath in Lagos, contact me by email. If you're not ready yet, try my free 5-Minute Sound Bath Reset at home, or stay in the loop for future sound baths.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a sound bath?
A sound bath is a guided relaxation session where you lie down and rest while instruments like crystal singing bowls and chimes are played around you. You stay fully clothed. The "bath" is the sound. If you've never been to one, here's what to expect at your first sound bath.

How long is a private sound bath?
A private session is 60 minutes. We talk beforehand, when you book, so the session itself can go straight into rest.

Can a sound bath help with the stress of moving?
A sound bath won't build your furniture, but it can help your body relax after a stressful period. Research has found singing bowl sessions reduce tension and support the body's "rest and recover" response.

Do you offer sound baths outside Lagos?
Yes. I'm based in Lagos and offer private and small group sessions across the Algarve.

How much does a sound bath in Lagos cost?
It depends on the format and group size. Email me for current rates.