Awakening the senses: The Sound Bath treatment

We invited lifestyle blogger Plum to try out The Sound Bath. To experience this enchanting treatment through her eyes, read on.

I suffer with a never-ending chattering mind, my brain literally never shuts down. Or at least that’s how it feels when I’m lying in bed, thoughts racing through my head at breakneck speed, thinking about what I have and have not crossed off my far-too-much-to-do list. I confess I’ve often found myself yearning to flick a switch to quieten my non-stop-go life. So when Lush invited me to the Lush Spa in Liverpool to experience their Sound Bath treatment promising that I’d get some time to switch off, I was delighted. And incredibly curious.

Curiouser and curiouser

The Sound Bath is an unusual treatment and quite tricky to put into words. Essentially it does what it says on the tin; you’re bathed in sound. Without giving too much away, it’s a multi-layered experience where all your senses are stimulated using a variety of holistic practices, and all to a carefully composed chorus designed to lead you on a magical journey taking you into a deeply meditative state. The end result is an altogether more relaxed and zen-like you, and one with a much quieter mind. I confess I was initially sceptical. Oh how I was wrong.

I was welcomed to the Spa by manager Sandra who embodies everything Lush; she’s warm and friendly with glowing skin and a smile to match. She led me to an inconspicuous looking door, behind which is where the spa is located. Rather than walking into the all-white minimalist interior typical of most spas, I unexpectedly stepped into what felt like the hallway of someone’s home. The forest green wood-panelled walls were adorned with the kind of vintage plates nanas collect, with vases of meadow-fresh flowers, and I instantly felt at home. Walking up the stairs we entered what looked like an apothecary’s cottage kitchen, there were shelves of jewel-coloured glass vials and bottles with labels like “laugh”, “release” and “serenity”. If Heston Blumenthal created spas they’d be just like this.

Down the rabbit hole

I met with my therapist Gemma who invited me to take a seat at one of the colourful mis-matched chairs around an enormous kitchen table, and presented me with my “Box of Wonder”. Inside the box atop a bed of spongy green moss was a tiny bottle labelled “Drink Me” and a magical mushroom (I jest you not). I felt like Alice about to fall face-first down the rabbit hole.The drink was made from an infusion of elderflower and apple, to open my heart, and the magical mushroom was made of 100% raw cacao, a natural mood enhancer.

Gemma then explained my treatment to me in detail, and what struck me most about my consultation was how personal and extremely knowledgeable she was. I was fascinated by what I was about to experience, the thinking behind it, and I couldn’t wait to for it to begin.

Gemma took me into the treatment room and asked me to lie on the bed underneath a soft towel, and when I was ready, I could tinkle a brass bell for her to come in - one of many oh-so lovely touches. I closed my eyes, the music started and it began. Firstly I had a luxurious facial massage using jojoba oil and hot stones. Gemma concentrated on the area around my jaw which I was later told is where I hold a lot of tension - must be all that chattering I do! After that Gemma asked me to lie on my side and she inserted an Indian Hopi ear candle into one ear, then the next, to kickstart the body’s natural healing process. Once lit, the sensation was incredible, it felt like I was floating and the flame I could see out of the corner of my eye bathed me in a soothing, warm glow. Throughout the Sound Bath Gemma used several apparatus, including tuning forks, to further enhance my relaxation. Placed against various points on my body they buzzed and vibrated, a strange yet comforting feeling. Gemma had explained that on the relax-ometer this was equivalent to an hour of yoga. As someone who rarely has the time for a twenty minute run let alone an hour, I relished the time-saving aspect! Finally Gemma gave me an intense head massage, and then whispered in my ear that my hour-long treatment was over.

Awaken anew

So how did it make me feel? When I eventually came to, I felt serene yet invigorated, and deeply relaxed. The music had taken me on a journey and as your hearing is heightened your mind starts to drift. At one point when it built to a crescendo I literally felt a swelling of my heart, an odd sensation, and it gave me an overwhelming feeling of happiness.There were also moments when I genuinely didn’t know whether I was awake or had nodded off, or even both. This, I was later told by Sandra, is meditation – something I didn’t think I was capable of.

I confess I was initially sceptical. Oh how I was wrong.