Why deep listening is making sound waves in wellbeing

This year's Spa Business Spa Handbook looked at the trends and technologies shaping the spa industry and amongst them, deep listening has been making (sound) waves, helping us to be in the moment, slow down, and get back into our bodies. The mechanism? Deep listening, also known as active listening.

The lost art of active listening

Highlighting how our ultra-connected culture has made 'active listening' something of a lost art, Spa Business writes:

"Back in the days before music streaming services, listening to music was a more active activity; you put on a vinyl album on and just listened."

Sound familiar?

Noting that Gen Z is rediscovering the beauty of the vinyl, a counterculture of slowing down and regaining quality, value, and wellbeing over speed in our experiences is being picked up by the wellness sector.

Spas and wellness practitioners have always incorporated different senses into our experiences. The whole spa environment is geared towards rest, from the sultry music to prioritising acoustics, the sound of water, to treatments like sound baths.

What is active listening?

Active listening isn't limited to the spa and wellness sector. On the contrary, it's something we can, and should, do in all aspects of our lives to achieve meaning and connectivity, The National Library of Medicine writes:

"Active listening is a fundamental aspect of professional interaction, and mastery requires cultivating deliberate practice. Communication is characterized by an exchange in which one party, the sender, transmits information via verbal, written, or nonverbal means to another party, the receiver. In active listening, it is critical that the receiver acknowledges receipt of the information and provides feedback to the sender to ensure mutual understanding. The ability to communicate effectively is not innate; it is a learned skill that requires ongoing practice and refinement."

Meanwhile, Spa Business's Spa Handbook writes:

"It's a kind of mindful practice, with aspects that could dovetail nicely with wellness programming."

Going on to quote development manager Lasse Eriksen at Farris Bad in Norway, who has introduced Deep Sauna Listening, where guests listen to complete albums in a sauna, they write:

“Deep listening means paying full attention to the music, understanding the emotions, intentions and stories behind it, and being fully present in the moment”.

How are spas embracing deep listening?

The beauty of using sound in spas is that there are so many ways to incorporate it. As the Spa Handbook highlights, some innovative spas have introduced it to extended sauna experiences.

In other places we have seen technology used to create high tech meditation using sound. In the Mind Therapy Room at Rockliffe Hall, for example, they use Spa.Wave bed technology from Gharieni. The write:

"The Binaural Acoustic & Dynamic Stimulation is a computer-controlled acoustic and vibrational therapy that trains the brain to relax and benefit from deep relaxation techniques."

Other sound-based therapies include sound bathing with Tibetan sound bowls, or at the opposite end of the spectrum, sensory deprivation floatation tanks can be used to help you reach a state of deep relaxation and truly help your mind switch off.