I’ve been filming ASMR videos for four years now and I still love making them as much as I did when I was first starting out. I adore the creative freedom, working independently, connecting with viewers, discovering new things and overcoming challenges that inevitably crop up during the creative process.

Having made over two hundred videos, I’ve also noticed an odd occurrence. Whenever I am planning a rather complicated video requiring a multitude of props, logistical issues and days of research, when I hit record,  it goes without a hitch. Conversely,  the videos that have very few props or none at all, basic lighting and a simple premise end up being the most challenging.

This week’s videos fell into  the latter category. Both were viewer requests and because they seemed so simple I decided to film them back-to-back. The first request was for me to run my hands across a grey-blue towel creating a soft shushing sound rather like waves on the  ocean. The second video was tapping on different boxes. Both videos were just the sounds with no talking so all I had to do were basic movements for about an hour each to get a finished 30 minute video.

Five minutes into filming I realized how much of a challenge they were going to be. Without me talking throughout the video the ambient sounds became even more prominent and I kept having to stop filming to wait for a delivery truck to finish rumbling by or the ever-present train ( I live so close to the train I can see it out my window) to thunder past my house .

And running my hands over fabric for an hour straight or tapping endlessly and rhythmically was actually physically difficult. My arms and back muscles kept cramping and I would have to stop to stretch. It was quite painful and amusing at the same time. I can garden for hours hunched over or digging and hauling dirt but sitting down and tapping on boxes  almost did me in.

But the most challenging aspect was being alone with my own thoughts without any distractions for the two hours it took to film both videos. I have been struggling to make meditation a regular part of my routine and ten minutes is about as long as I can handle before wanting to bolt from the room. And these videos much to my surprise were very much like a mediation. I didn’t need to think about what I was going to say or do next, I could let my mind relax into the sounds I was creating and then I had nothing to do but feel the painful muscle cramps and observe the random thoughts that kept bouncing and nudging around in my consciousness.

It took until the very end of filming before the urge to be distracted and the uncomfortable feeling of just being subsided. What was left was a deep sense of peace. I don’t know if the viewer can sense what was happening to me while filming, I hope they can’t as these videos are meant to be relaxing, but that being said, I also wonder if the switch in my energy to that deeper relaxation could also be felt. You can watch the videos below and tell me what you think.