We were thrilled to learn of an alternative to sitting meditation that doesn’t require that you actually DO the impossible-for-many-people practice of following your breath. Instead take a sound bath, immersing yourself in soothing “sonic resonance” that sound therapy practitioner Sara Auster says will help you achieve the benefits of meditation in the form of deep relaxation, decreased stress and increased focus and clarity, among other benefits. Sound can help facilitate shifts in our brainwave state by entrainment: synchronizing fluctuating brainwaves by providing a stable frequency to which the brainwave can attune.  Private sessions in her NYC studio include her improvisations with Himalayan and crystal singing bowls, tuning forks and gongs; your work is simply to lie snug on a comfortable cushion.

We found a trove of Auster’s calming music on Sound Cloud. Taking time out to lie down and listen through our Bose noise-cancelling headphones made for a truly meditative experience. We also find playing Auster’s music through good speakers (we love the Sonos Play 1) can calm our space (and us) down radically.

Here’s a sample:

Read more about sound baths here.

Photos by Deneka Peniston