Good Vibrations

Sound baths have been shown to decrease stress and improve sleep quality

- Akshita Nanda

Once a week, Mr Benedict Choo stretches out on a yoga mat, covers himself with a blanket and listens to yoga instructor Clarissa Eckold play a variety of tones on crystal bowls.

After the hour-long sound bath at health club chain Virgin Active, the 49-year-old make-up artist feels energised and will often head for a high-intensity workout class at the same location.

"The first time I tried it, I thought the sound was irritating," Mr Choo says. "But once you get used to it, you become immersed in the sound. You feel refreshed and re-charged."

Sound baths are a growing wellness trend at fitness studios and corporate retreats around Singapore, according to fitness studios and sound bath practitioners. During a 45-minute to hour-long session, clients get comfortable with bolsters and blankets while a facilitator plays bowls made of metal or crystal, gongs or rainsticks - instruments that mimic the sound of falling rain.

Practitioners claim that sound baths improve sleep and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. And there is some scientific research to back up the anecdotal evidence.

Ms Vanessa Wu goes for regular sound baths at Spirit Stretch, a yoga studio in Orchard Road that incorporates yin yoga - supported stretches held for long periods of time - into the sensory sessions.

The interior designer in her 40s suffered a slipped disc three years ago and lives with physical discomfort. A month ago, she found relief after trying Spirit Stretch's sound bath plus yin yoga class.

"Immediately, I felt the practice relax my body," she says. "It's also easier to go to sleep at night."

Spirit Stretch has offered yin yoga plus sound bath classes since it opened in March 2024. About 200 people have taken sound baths, including through team-building and wellness sessions requested by corporate clients.