Why we’re getting behind the sound healing holiday trend
If you like trying out a wellness treatment as much as I do, then the new sound healing retreat at the rather lovely Baglioni Masseria Muzza resort in Italy’s Puglia is a must for you. it’s basically wellness on steroids, not literally, but it could be as addictive when you come to realise the benefits.
Imagine this…
The sound of a mediterranean breeze rippling along the shallow waters of the hotel’s infinity pool, forming a natural sonic backdrop to the soothing vibrations of the crystal singing bowls that are being played by leading London-based sound therapist Farzana Ali. She sits a few feet away from guests, including myself, as we bask in the last of the afternoon sun on loungers, she moves effortlessly from one bowl to the next putting us all in a meditative state to either explore the affirmation she’s asked us to make at the start of the treatment or simply using the sounds to relax the mind and body. Yes, it’s pretty idyllic. And the benefits run deep. It’s not all about the relaxation or “deep emotional, physical and mental rest”, the 1-1 therapy sessions and private sound massages can help you work on everything from relationship, career and personal growth journeys to tackling health and sleep issues through sonic and life coaching techniques.
So, what exactly is sound healing?
The wellness practice, which is rated by everyone from Kendall Jenner and Meghan Markle to Robert Downey JR and Adele — who credits sound baths for helping her get over her divorce, has been making headlines over the last few years. “Sound therapy is a holistic treatment that uses sound, vibration and different frequencies to put you into a deep state of meditation,” Ali, author of Sound Healing: How to Use Sound to Beat Stress & Anxiety, tells me after the group sound bath on the water’s edge. “Sessions are called sound baths, since the sound is said to ‘wash over you’. Group sound baths tend to focus mainly on relaxation, but bespoke individual sessions include a self-reflective process where you can address, and then work through, any stress, self-limiting beliefs and even anxiety.”
Sounds like the ideal way to find focus after a season of partying…
I arrive at the retreat after a summer that’s involved three-weekend festivals (including a five-day Glasto), too many gigs and late nights to count, putting the giant autumn issue of the magazine to print, three days of champagne drinking at the Italian Formula one Grand Prix and Fashion Week madness. I’m ready for some ‘me’ time before the autumn events and festive season gets into full swing…is sound healing the answer?
“Sound healing is great any time of the year, but it can be particularly beneficial after extremely busy periods,” says Ali, who is better known to her clients as The Sound Therapist. “Giving yourself time to check in with yourself and engage in deep rest is a perfect way to recentre and refocus on your goals for the coming months. We often talk about how rested and relaxed you can feel physically with sound, but sound healing also works to reset the mineral levels in the brain, so you feel mentally refreshed too, this in turn helps increase clarity and even boost productivity.”
I’m offered a 50-minute one-to-one session at the hotel spa and given the option of ‘sound healing’, which focuses on relaxation, ‘sound therapy’, which is more about the use of therapeutic sound, and life coaching or ‘Vibroacoustic Massage’, which alleviates muscle tension and physical discomfort though using the sound healing tools on and around the body. I opt for the therapy as a chance to refocus on the things that are important to me but often get sidelined because of my fast-paced living. Ali doesn’t ask for exact details but rather about how the situation makes me feel, where in my body any negative emotions sit, and what those feelings look like if I were to visualise them. It’s easy to answer her questions even though they’re not anything I’ve ever thought about before. The next 50-minutes are about tackling those emotions with her sound tools — just one session gives me clarity and the tight knot in my chest that I’d described at the start of the practice already starts to loosen.
Ali, who uses crystal singing bowls, Himalayan singing bowls, drums, chimes and gongs during her sessions, explains: “Personalised sessions that are combined with reflective work can also help you through challenging transitional times such as changing jobs or becoming a parent.”
Why Baglioni Masseria Muzza?
Firstly, the resort is stunning: think a white washed 17th century farmhouse which has been converted into charming rooms and suites, indoor and outdoor pools, an underground spa, restaurants serving local Puglian ingredients and dishes such as traditional handmade orecchiette pasta, olive oil and burrata; oh and gorge views that stretch over acres of local countryside. It’s located in Otranto which sits in the most easterly point of Italy, right in the ‘heel’ of the landmass, where the Adriatic meets the Ionian Sea around Greece – where coincidentally the use of music as therapy through drumbeats and chanting dates back to ancient times. The resort is offering a three day resort option during September and October which includes three sessions with Ali as well as an aroma massage at the spa. Or you can book an individual sound healing session as part of a regular stay.
Ali explains that being on holiday is the perfect time for sound healing. “The beauty of sound healing is that you don’t need to save it for when things feel “wrong” or are “going badly”, it’s a great tool to use when you’re feeling well such as when you’re on holiday,” she says. “Firstly when you’re physically rested, it’s easier to work on becoming both mentally and emotionally rested too. It allows you to explore deeper and open up more fully in a therapeutic sound session. Plus, being somewhere as scenic as Otranto also means that you can combine your sound healing practice with the calming sounds of the nearby ocean and birdsong to boost the benefits further.”
If you still need more wellness…
As well as totally immersing myself in sound healing every day, the hotel spa became a home from home, with regular trips to the boutique gym, indoor spa pool with various water showers and features, a sauna and steam bath. I also opted for an outdoor yoga class with Adriana, a local yoga teacher from nearby Lecce. I did make it out of the resort a couple of times, once on a three-hour (pretty flat) coastline trek from Otranto town with local tour company Tourango, the guide was a marine biologist who was super knowledgeable about the long history, changing geography and biodiversity of the region. On another outing I took the five-minute free transfer from the resort to Otranto to wander around the breathtaking old town and then to the beach to take a dip in the turquoise waters.
How to book…
The Baglioni: Sound Healing Retreat starts from €1,890 and includes a three-night stay with breakfast in a Baglioni Masseria Muzza Deluxe Room, three invigorating sound therapy sessions with Farzana Ali, The Sound Therapist and a 50-minute ‘Mind Relaxing Aroma Massage’ at the Baglioni SPA. Book here.
Or book individual 50-minute sound therapy sessions from €130.00 through the hotel’s spa.
*All available between 25th September and 8th October 2023
