We all know the power of music...the combination of sound and vibration. We sing in the shower, sad notes of violin or piano can make us tear, we get transported to another world when we're clubbing and some of us cannot spend a day without music on...and then there is Miami Music Week, starting in the city for a week of non-stop "music therapy".
If music makes us feel so good and can affect our mood of the day, trigger emotions, it is because its vibration and frequency really have the power to affect our cells and our subconscious. Sound therapy is an ancient healing art that has been used for a thousand years, to take us from a place of imbalance to a new one of balance. Sound pollution is a real issue of our modern lives and really affects our nervous system and causes stress.
We recommend visiting that link if you would like to find out more info about sound healing: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-17515/what-you-need-to-know-about-sound-healing.html
Sound Massage Therapy was created by a Chiropractor named Dr. Jeffrey Thompson back in the 1980’s in California, in his Center for Neuroacoustic Research, discovering how sound can be used to affect the body/mind in two parallel ways:
1. Healing the body with physical resonance using sound frequency vibrations
2. Changing states of consciousness using sound with sympathetic resonance of brainwave function - Brainwave Entrainment. Through the implementation of Primordial Sounds, Bio-Tuning and the Binaural Beat, sound therapy tables induce a deeply relaxed state. While the calming signals are being sent to the brain via sound, gentle body massage helps create harmony and balance throughout the body.
The SPAcialist explored for you sound therapy options to best resonate with your subconscious*:
- Sound Massage Therapy @CARILLON MIAMI WELLNESS RESORT
- Tibetan Singing Bowls @ TURNEBRRY ISLE AVENTURA - AME SPA
CHALLENGER #1: Sound Massage Therapy @Carillon Miami Wellness Resort
50 minutes $165 | 80 minutes $240
Description from spa menu: "Experience this profoundly unique therapy that results in reduced stress, improved sleep, pain relief and a unifying of the physical, mental and emotional self. Music, healing vibrations, aromatherapy and expert massage techniques come together to create a soothing symphony of relaxation that will abolish even the toughest of tension and stress."
The Carillon Miami Wellness Resort is one of the few spas in the city equipped with the Sound Therapy massage table and equipment. If you have read our previous detox article, you know how unique the spa amenities and thermal experience of The Carillon are...with a spa of more 70000 square feet and unique features as igloo or herbal laconium, the thermal experience is the perfect prelude to detox, regain balance and completely disconnect from daily stress. It can be close to a maze on your first visit, please do not hesitate to ask where are located the different amenities and be escorted to the relaxation lounge, the very helpful staff will happily guide you. You will find a choice of apples and nuts in the relaxation lounge, as well as calming herbal tea or water.
After your therapist picks you up is when the magic starts. I really appreciated the expertise of the therapist, explaining to me the concept of the treatment before we get started, highlighting a very important point: it is not a body therapy but more of mental, emotional one affecting our states of consciousness and the massage and hand movements accompany the music and bring balance to the body and mind. He explained to me the different options of brainwave playlist available and we choose together the Alpha, to put me in a zen-meditative state while helping me focus, sharpening my mind for the whole day (there is also delta, for a deep sleep, in a infant state, and theta to stimulate creativity and inspiration).
The therapist starts for a few minutes on the neck before putting the headphones on, while the table starts vibrating, in accordance to the sound of the playlist. The massage is light to medium pressure to allow your brain to focus on the frequency of the sound therapy more than possible pain from massage movements. The whole ritual quickly guides you into total relaxation, another state of consciousness indeed. I left the massage table with a very clear mind, and felt empowered throughout the day, with a very clear to-do list in my head without feeling stress or urgency over my shoulders. Zen state. Open and clear mind. Good job The Carillon!
CHALLENGER #2 and chosen by The SPAcialist:
Tibetan Singing Bowls @Ame Spa - Turnberry Isle Miami
50 minutes $149 100 minutes $279
Description from spa menu: "This energy-balancing treatment is the perfect antidote for our modern, distracted, too-busy lives. This sound therapy promotes total relaxation and unification of the body, mind, and spirit. Tibetan Singing bowls are placed on and around your body, and your energy fields are balanced through their resonating sounds and vibrations"
My spa experience at the Ame Spa at Turnberry Isle Resort was certainly one of the most appreciated one so far on The SPAcialist selection. Welcome to a Tasteful, elegant world where the spa menu is absolutely enticing and original with unique selection of original treatments (cryotherapy, salt bath float, amethyst himalayan massage)
Upon check-in you will be offered champagne and/or water. What a great way to make you feel like a VIP in a world of luxury. The stairs or elevators take you to the refined locker rooms, with carpet all the way, in this grey and white elegance you just feel at home...your dream home. Everything is in details...until the robes that are incredibly comfortable and fluffy
The spa attendant walks you through the different spa amenities of this Forbes Four Star Spa and Fitness Center, which were absolutely delightful: so far one of the best steam room The SPAcialist has tried, at a perfect temperature - neither too hot or too cold, combining aromatherapy (lavender that day) and chromotherapy (therapy through color). The spa also offers one of the only Himalayan salt rooms in South Florida - contrary to a sauna, the room is at room temperature which can be surprising. Benefits to only name a few are to purify the air and improve breathing, generating negative ions in the room.
Spa as well features an experiential shower that combines 19 jets for standing hydrotherapy, targeting every tight area or in need of a boost for circulation. It is heaven on hearth, extremely regenerating. It is important to note that the SPAcialist always explores spas on Mondays, which evidently favors the enjoyment of spa amenities - this is a highly recommended day to get the most of your spa day, if you're looking for maximum tranquility and privacy.
The relaxation lounge is in line with the stylish and elegant outline of the spa. The beautiful lounge chair welcome you in total relaxation, where you can enjoy pretzels, almonds, apples and a selection of organic teas while waiting for your treatment. Once your therapist picks you up, you can only expect for the experience to be as blissful in the treatment room as it was before. The therapist explains to me today the concept of the sound therapy that I booked, using 3 tibetan singing bowls, used to restore balance and relax deeply the body and spirit. There is no body work in the 50mn version (110 minutes version includes a full body massage) and everything happens through the healing of sound frequency and vibration. I can already tell you that I felt as relaxed as after a massage.
May I just take a second to praise the best face cradle in the world? no more uncomfortable face cradle crushing your face, having you move up and down the bed, needing adjustment... this one is part of the table and cradle itself is made of water...like a water bed to rest your face on...absolutely exquisite!
The therapist has you lying on both face down and face up, and does a fantastic and symmetrical work for the vibrations to go through every single limb up to your brain - you are covered throughout the whole treatment (one bowl at the feet, others on both sides of the head, one on lower back, other at the feet, etc...)
I went into a complete trance, dreaming intensely and I could feel my muscles twitching, symbol of energy release,
The final result was absolutely amazing, I felt as relaxed and balanced as after a massage, without the need for the therapist to touch my body. This demonstrated the efficacy of sound therapy and how it can alter your consciousness only through sound frequency and vibration. The therapist was very professional and enthusiastic and showed me other rooms the spa is equipped with such as Vichy shower, or quartz warm massage table.
The Turnberry Isle Miami definitely stands out as a unique and extremely high standards, refined overall spa experience. Looking forward for the next visit!
*The Spacialist also experienced the treatment It's All In Your Mind - @ The Standard Spa (45 minutes $125), however the experience was not at the height of the expectations and standards of review for this treatment.
Description from spa menu: "Free up some space in your mind and cervical spine with an upper body treatment focused on stimulating energy and blood flow to the brain. Our therapists will work to release tension and restriction in the neck, scalp and jaw while you listen to holosync, a revolutionary audio track that induces brain wave patterns of deep meditation. The end result is increased concentration, tension reduction and an improved sense of well being."