I’m currently standing in one of Singapore’s private Peranakan museums. At The Intan, tours are very much available for visitors to peruse an impressive collection of Peranakan artefacts, led by owner and avid collector Alvin Yapp. But I’m here for an entirely different purpose: to attend a sound healing session in the two-storey post-war home’s very own living room.
In contrast to the sleek, clean walls of a yoga or wellness studio, the view from where I’m sitting paints a wholly different picture. I’m surrounded by a dizzying array of objets d’art and antique furniture, as The Intan’s practitioner begins to lead me into an unconventional sound healing session. It’s currently one of the experiences as part of Raffles Singapore’s Raffles Enlightenment Retreat—indoctrinating our country’s rich cultural identity into the meditative therapy of sound.
Singing bowls, chimes, handpans and didgeridoo, a wind instrument, are just a few of the sounds you get to hear during the experience. Along the way, the session is more educational and interactive than it is isolating and immersive—with the practitioner leading us through various movements, involving rubbing our abdominal areas as the instruments were played one by one. Through this, the sound reverberates through the body and in the process, calms and soothes. The linkage to sound and mood, efficaciously reveals itself, just like how we’re brought back to a certain memory with a nostalgic song. Speaking of, this unorthodox sound healing experience might also include Yapp’s spontaneous serenading as he plays on the piano.
There’s a sense of bewilderment and serenity all at once. My mind and soul feels adequately renewed, but what of my body? A quick 20 minute drive later, the answer is found in the Raffles Spa—specifically the Absolute Relaxation Massage. Led by traditional Swedish Massage techniques, this 60-minute session applies deep stretching and long strokes with a gemstone massage oil. Scents of chamomile, sandalwood and vetivert formulate the perfect mix to lull one to the sweet spot of a hypnagogic state. And aside from the brief disorientation after the session, my body feels loose and delicate. Before heading out to the real world however, carve out an extra half hour (or more) to soak in the Raffles Spa’s vitality pool. It’s filled with mineral-rice Peruvian Pink Salt, known for its healing properties.
If this isn’t the perfect day to spend a leave day in the city, I don’t know what is.
Check out Raffles Enlightenment Retreat here.
