The practical half
What to wear to a sound bath
Loose, soft clothes you can lie still in for an hour, with a layer you can add. That is the whole answer. The rest is detail.
Wear whatever you would happily lie still in for an hour with your eyes shut. Most people wear loose, comfortable clothes and bring a blanket or a warm layer. Nothing with a tight waistband, and nothing you would fidget with.
This page is general guidance about sound baths rather than a set of rules for my own sessions. Nobody is going to look at what you are wearing. You are on the floor with your eyes closed and so is everybody else.
What most people wear
Soft layers in natural fabrics are the usual advice: the sort of thing you would wear at home on a slow morning.
The things commonly suggested against are anything that digs in when you lie flat, a stiff waistband, a zip or a hard fastening under your back, jewellery that jingles, and fabric that rustles every time you move. In a quiet room a rustle carries further than you would think.
Layers beat one warm thing. You can push a layer off without sitting up, which you cannot do with a jumper.
Socks are worth having. They are commonly suggested alongside a blanket, and a pair takes up no room in a bag.
What to take with you
For my own sessions, this is the list, and it is on the ticket listing too.
- A yoga mat
- A blanket or warm layers
- A cushion
- A bottle of water
- An eye mask, if you like one
The mat is the one people forget. Mats are not provided at my sessions, and an hour on a hard floor without one is a long hour. It does not need to be a good mat.
Every venue is different, so if you are going to somebody else's session, check their own list before you assume mine applies.
What to bring to a sound bath in Ramsgate
I held my Ramsgate sound bath at The Falstaff, a hotel on Addington Street. No mat was provided there, so put a yoga mat at the top of the list. Free parking is behind the hotel, on a first come, first served basis.
In my own words, the space was “warm, soft, and grounding”, with candles for ambience. The rest of the list is a cushion to go under your head or knees, warm layers or a blanket, water to drink and, if you want it, an eye mask.
Wearing and packing for a one-to-one session
One-to-one sessions are offered from £55, just for you. The bring list on this page comes from my public session listing, so it does not automatically carry over to a private booking in somebody else's room. If you book a one-to-one, check with me before the day about what you will need.
You can enquire about a private session for yourself before you book.
Does it matter what the room is like?
Only for how much you can see, and the answer is usually not much. Rooms for this are generally kept low-lit. Mine is candlelit.
That is why an eye mask is on the bring list as optional rather than essential. Some people like the total dark of one. Plenty of people just shut their eyes.
It is also why nobody is looking at your clothes. By the time the first bowl is played, everyone in the room is flat on their back with their eyes closed.
Getting in the door
Doors open ten minutes before the start, and there is no entry once the session has started.
Those ten minutes are for parking, getting your mat down and picking your spot, not for arriving. If you are the sort of person who arrives at the exact minute, this is the one to plan around.
The hour itself, and the questions first-timers actually ask, are on what to expect at a sound bath, and my Kent page lists the towns I drive to.
If you would like to come to one, my group sound baths in Ramsgate are the place to start, or you can ask about a private one-to-one session if you would rather have the room to yourself.