Palm Beach, Florida, is well known for Mar-a-Lago, beaches, golf courses, extraordinary wealth, John F. Kennedy’s Winter White House, and yes, spas. So that’s where I focused my energy. Also, I don’t golf. Or have extraordinary wealth.
Spas are ubiquitous, and most offer similar services: massages, facials, reflexology, and hot/cold treatments. I sought out the unusual. I’ve had several different massages over the years, and a couple of facials, but they all had one thing in common: tactile manipulation of various body parts, along with soft New Age music in the background to induce relaxation.
Neither was true at SiSpa at the Palm Beach Marriott on Singer Island. My body remained untouched, at least by a masseuse, and the sounds more resembled bells, Tibetan bowls to be exact, reflecting more of a spiritual journey, an affirmation of self, than the usual relaxation escape.
The Tibetan bowl treatment at SiSpa at the Marriott Resort in Palm Beach, Florida is a one-of-a-kind spa experience.
Every kind of sound, different tones and pitches, highs and lows, soft and loud, close and far away. I felt the reverberations throughout my body, a magical, musical symphony coursing through every organ.
A Different Kind of Treatment
There’s a theory underlying the enchanting experience. It’s based on aligning the chakras, points along the spine said to represent energy sources in the body. There are seven of them, each associated with physical, emotional, and spiritual functions, ranging from the root chakra between your legs up to the crown chakra atop your head. There’s also the heart, throat, and solar plexus, and each chakra controls a different body part. If the energy in any is blocked, it can have physical and emotional repercussions.
The Tibetan bowl experience at the spa at the Marriott hotel in Palm Beach, Florida, also offers a lesson in how the chakras in our bodies influence our emotional makeup.
Enter the Tibetan bowls, a form of sound therapy designed to encourage relaxation, health, and peace, release tension in the body, and bring clarity, improved self-esteem, and the healing of negativity. One bowl was placed on each chakra and emitted its own sound when struck. I know one bowl was on my solar plexus, related to survival, heart, and communication, and another on my head, connected to prayer and intuition. I lost count after that.
Understanding the Experience
Elsa, a Reiki-trained master, a step above my chakra-addled brain, encouraged me, in her soft voice in the dimly lit room, to be calm and listen to the sounds of the bowls, to close my eyes, breathe in and out, and connect with their message. Meditation was key.
Beyond the Treatment Room
I did the best I could, while trying not to think about all the notes, paper ones, not musical, I should be taking. There’s a separate chant for each chakra, which Elsa repeated while circling the table on which I was lying. Apparently, each chakra also has its own color, but fortunately, I didn’t have to concern myself with that.
Different bowls were struck at different times, sometimes in conjunction with each other, other times in sequence. The concert, I mean the treatment, ended with a grand finale, a crescendo of all seven bowls playing in unison. It was mesmerizing.
I may not have understood it all. I may have been a bit preoccupied with remembering the experience for this article instead of simply experiencing it. But it did feel mystical and magical, and I really didn’t want the session to end.
A Lasting Impression
The Tibetan bowl master circled my body, chanting almost as if in a trance, and I suspect I was meant to be as well.
There’s even more to the overall spa experience, to be explored at leisure either before or after your treatment. And yes, you can still enjoy traditional massages and facials. There’s a nail salon, a fitness room, a room with heated stone beds and cold cucumbers for your eyes, don’t ask, or at least don’t ask me, a steam room, and a relaxation lounge with tea, infused water, fruit, and a Chex Mix assortment, along with a jacuzzi.
The actual treatment may be just one part of the experience. The mimosa at the end satisfies the only sense not yet indulged.
For more information: Visit SiSpa at Palm Beach Marriott Singer Island Beach Resort & Spa.
