Gwyneth says yes to a sound bath - and so do I

The sound bath is a kind of meditation trend sweeping the world's hippest wellbeing and yoga studios. Jane Clayton went along to one in Auckland and found herself floating... no togs required.

On a recent evening in the deeply-gentrified-but-openminded Auckland suburb of Grey Lynn, about 40 people and I show up to a warm low-lit studio. We roll out our mats and grab supporting cushions – the usual prelude to a tough sweaty yoga class, except in this case we simply get comfortable and lie back to enjoy a smorgasbord of aural sensations – tinkling chimes, drum beats and crystal bowls, all performed live – a combination with the power to put you into a deeply meditative state.

Yes it's called a sound bath, but it has nothing to do with water and there's no need to bring your togs, to answer the most common question. It's also not about sensory deprivation tanks. But it does leave you feeling rather floaty and it brings a sense of relaxation that's hard to beat. After my first experience I feel kind of out of it, with no hangover to fear.

Orchestrating the experience is former lawyer, Sophie Correia who's been hooked on sound baths since trying them in Los Angeles about four years ago. "I was kind of blown away," she says.

With a background in yoga and Pilates, Correia has been immersed in sharing the sound bath experience at her Crossing Paths studio ever since.

LA is likely to be where wellbeing guru and Montecito resident Gwyneth Paltrow reportedly became enamoured with the practice; but you don't have to travel there, or even to Auckland, to experience one – a quick Google shows sound bath studios popping up in several places around New Zealand.

"I try and encourage people to come in with no expectations, because it can be so different depending on how you enter the room emotionally, physically and mentally," says Correia.

Tonight's room is packed with a mix of regulars and those new to the experience.

We're instructed to notice the inhale and exhale of the breath and relax into the sounds. I find myself falling into an almost trance-like state; random thoughts come and go but my brain is mostly taken over by what I'm hearing. The sounds can be whooshing, melodic, peaking loud before ebbing to soft and soothing.

"The sounds and the vibrations will always work towards where your body is at energetically," says Correia. "I like to promote it as a way to unwind, relax and rebalance so most people will have a session and feel very reset afterwards.

"I play quartz crystal singing bowls – you'll hear seven different notes that come in, correlating to seven different chakras: fom the crown, the third eye, to the heart, throat, solar plexus to the sacral and root chakras. So I have those bowls, and a Tibetan brass bowl," says Correia. "I also play a Ravat which is a tonal drum which is really beautiful. And I play another gong which has the same resonance as earth which is very grounding."

Apparently ancient cultures have practiced some form of sound healing or vibration for thousands of years. Some indigenous Australian peoples have used the didgeridoo as a sound healing instrument for over 40,000 years. Tibetan monks use singing bowls made of metal in spiritual ceremonies.

But there's absolutely no religion in this class, this is a very modern interpretation of sound healing that's grown out of wellness culture.

Correia moves around the room with her chimes, while wafting aromatherapy oils through the studio. The scent factor adds a key element. "I started with Siberian fir and that's a very woody, forest scent," she says. "And I usually finish off with a lavender blend so that it's very relaxing, but I do change my oils seasonally."

Meanwhile the sounds feel like they come in one ear and out the other, the sound waves described as a kind of flossing.

"A lot of people struggle to not think about anything and I think they just love the fact that they are so stimulated, but not visually," says Correia. "It's quite a weird perception really, we are always subject to sounds but not necessarily beneficial ones. When we have that beneficial sound and take away the visual input it's pretty amazing – from a sensory experience – what you can achieve."

It can all sound very woo-woo but there is plenty of science backing the positive effects of meditation and, similarly, regular practisers of sound baths believe they can decrease tension, anxiety and depression.

As a first timer, I'd have to agree. Both during and after the experience I feel slightly out of this world. It's a little bit transformative – stress melts away and that night I sleep like a baby.

"I like to promote it as a way to unwind, relax and rebalance," says Correia. "So most people will have a session and feel very reset afterwards."

In the studio lying on my back, looking at the ceiling, the sound of rain beating down on the roof joining the vibrational noises within, I could feel stress and tension leaving my body.

At $55 for a one-hour session, a sound bath session isn't a bargain, but as an occasional way to recharge, it's worth it. Would I do it again? Hell yes. Have I stopped raving about the experience? Not yet.