SINGAPORE – “I’ve enjoyed acting for the past five or six years, more than before. Now I see the goal of life on a very different spectrum,” says Singaporean actress Cynthia Koh.
What has changed for the big screen veteran, who has over 30 years in acting? In a word: conscience.
Talk with Yahoo Southeast AsiaKoh began her two-week transformative sound healing course in Spain, how stumbling on her journey to wellness has changed her, and how self-healing has positively impacted her acting career.
Koh’s healthy and healing adventure in Spain
Koh’s latest adventure was a trip to Alicante last month to get a diploma in sound healing, with his friend Yvonne. Prior to Spain, Koh had traveled to Scotland to participate in a tuning fork sound healing group session.
She recounts the “playing your name” activity as one of the most impactful lessons of the course, where she experienced many emotional openings and energy shifts.
“Our name has so many vibes. When you add a last name, it’s called an ancestry vibe.”
The activity requires you to play your name continuously. After a full morning of sound names, participants were asked to stand in two rows in the afternoon. The group would then play the name of a designated person who would walk through the group, as in a choir.
During the process, you would have a conversation with yourself, something Koh found extremely difficult. As someone who had struggled with negative thoughts, self-worth, and self-validation, many emotions surfaced for the actress.
“How many times do we say ‘I love you’ to ourselves? Very few, right?” she said.
“I’ve realized that I don’t give myself credit for the things I do. I always tell myself I’m not good enough and that I can do even more. I’m always pushing the limits, even at my age. I’ve been very hard on myself itself, it was during the lesson that I discovered that I don’t accept myself very much.
“My voice became louder and clearer. I was also able to recognize my self-confidence and my ears became sharper and more sensitive to sound.”
Koh emphasized that for the process to work, one must be able to “be open to receiving healing.” During the course, she witnessed an elderly lady in her 60s who struggled with mobility issues, stood for longer periods, and walked better.
How her self-healing journey has helped with her patience
Koh first embarked on her self-healing journey in 2011, which she recalls being careful to share her interest in energy healing techniques like Reiki because the public would consider such practices to be “woo-woo.”
“I was a very impatient person. I can’t work with people who are slow. I need everything fast. I used to interrupt or try to complete a person’s sentence in a conversation,” she said.
In some situations, Koh’s frustration came before he could grasp an understanding. To help manage his impatience with him, he had tried Bach Flower Remedies “Impatiens”.
“I still feel frustrated. I still have a temper but it’s changed. When something happens and I’m feeling sad, I sit and meditate and ask myself, ‘Why am I feeling sad? Why am I disappointed?'”
Now try to understand a situation first, before allowing yourself to feel the frustration. Noticing positive changes in herself, Koh sought to learn more and took correspondence courses until 2016. She also returned to practicing Reiki in 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over the years, her intuition has strengthened, allowing her to tune into the energy field of those around her and having the occasional premonition.
He would experiment with techniques before sharing them publicly across his social media platforms, skillfully sharing nuggets of wisdom and personal reflections.
How energy healing has benefited her acting career
Koh is currently a certified practitioner in healing practices such as Reiki, Bach Flower Remedies, and more recently, sound healing.
She describes her self-healing journey as a “personal ecosystem,” which allows her to channel depth into her acting.
Each time Koh came up with a new script, he would look at 38 different Bach Flower Remedies grouped into seven emotional areas and ask, “Which Bach flower is this role suitable for?” He finds the process fun, like he’s putting a puzzle together.
“I’m very lucky to do this healing work. Sometimes I talk to the universe and say, ‘Okay, I’m going to play this role. I have no inspiration, show me something.'”
Koh also draws inspiration from her work as an energy healer and therapist. She occasionally referred to the stories of her clients to build character for the roles she plays.
Alternatively, the 49-year-old would go to a café with a book to sit and observe her surroundings, or sit by the window at home and gape at the robins flying into her planter. In times like these, inspiration always strikes.
“Some people feel guilty for not doing anything. I don’t feel guilty at all. I think it’s a duty.”
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