The Lane Cove rooms are at 2 Austin Street, directly opposite the Lane Cove Library and a few metres from Longueville Road. If you are coming from the village it is a walk of two or three minutes, and the parking behind the library is the easiest option in the middle of the day.
Lane Cove sends a particular mix of problems through the door. There are the desk-and-commute necks and low backs from St Leonards and the city, the shoulders and elbows of a suburb that plays a lot of tennis, and the knees and Achilles tendons that come with living on a hillside — the stairs down to Tambourine Bay and the streets off Burns Bay Road are their own kind of training load. Lane Cove also has a lot of people in their thirties and forties carrying small children, which is its own demand on a back.
A first appointment is mostly questions and movement testing: where the pain is, what makes it worse, what it stops you doing, and how it has behaved over weeks rather than days. From there you should leave knowing what is proposed, roughly how long it is expected to take, and what would mean changing the plan.
Worth bringing: any imaging or specialist letters you already have, a list of medications, and the shoes you actually walk or train in. If the pain is new and severe, follows a significant fall, or comes with numbness, weakness, fever or any change in bladder or bowel control, see a doctor first — that is a medical assessment, not a treatment question.
The nearest alternative if Lane Cove does not suit you is the Freshwater side, about 14 kilometres away across the Spit.
A sound bath means resting while instruments are played, not getting wet. If lying still is uncomfortable, a few questions beforehand make a big difference.
The phrase sound bath can be confusing. It usually means lying or sitting comfortably while instruments such as bowls, gongs or chimes are played around you, with no water involved. For anyone whose back, neck or hips stiffen when they stay still, the practical details of a session matter just as much as the sound itself.
Sessions vary in length, in the instruments used and in how much silence is woven between sounds. Some are mostly gentle tones; others include louder, more resonant instruments. Asking what a particular session involves is more useful than assuming every sound bath will feel the same.
Before booking with Dr Christine Shen, Acupuncturist, ask how long the session lasts, how loud it tends to be, what positions are possible and whether you can pause or leave without fuss. If lying flat aggravates your lower back, you might rest on your side, use bolsters under your knees or stay in a supportive chair. Mention tinnitus, sensitivity to sound or anything that makes keeping still difficult, such as restless legs or joint pain.
Sessions like this are intended purely as rest and relaxation. A first session does not need to produce a dramatic emotional release or any particular experience. Many people simply enjoy a rest. Choosing a format that feels manageable is far more useful than expecting something extraordinary. Persistent pain, low mood or poor sleep should be discussed with your GP as well.
Volume, distance from the instruments and your position can all be changed during a session. There is no right way to react and no requirement to stay perfectly still. Let Christine know if anything becomes uncomfortable.
Arriving a few minutes early at the Lane Cove clinic gives you time to try different cushions and positions, so you can settle in before the first sound begins.
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