Sound Therapy at The Bristol Hotel

Earlier this year, I delivered two sound baths as part of The Bristol Hotel’s health and wellbeing programme.

Anastasia, one of their health and wellbeing representatives, explained that being in hospitality includes many events involving parties.  The health and wellbeing team were keen to create more inclusive and healthy opportunities for their colleagues to relax and rejuvenate. This is why they decided to give sound therapy a try.

“No one at work had heard of sound therapy and people didn’t know what they could gain from it. Ruth positioned sound therapy in a way that resonated with people, explaining how it’s a short-cut to meditation. We had a great turn out. A good mixture of males and females, as well as managerial and non-managerial staff”

How did people benefit?

Many colleagues said they’d never before had the opportunity to be in their own thoughts and free to focus on themselves for that amount of time. They discovered how to enter that zone with the guided meditation, breathing techniques, and by listening to the different sounds. 

“Everyone had a similar but different experience, unique to them. People felt present, in tune with their bodies, appreciating the time to reconnect with themselves. The intention setting at the beginning was a really powerful way of helping people focus on themselves, supporting them to be in the moment. What’s been great is that they’ve been able to take some of these learnings forward in their own lives; finding more space to focus on themselves through mindfulness activities.”

People felt they could relax and let go of stresses they had been holding on to because the setting was familiar - it took place in a meeting room at the hotel. 

“Sound is so accessible. It’s kind of like therapy without the talking. A lot of people said to me how delighted they were that they didn’t have to sit around in a circle and talk about their feelings”

What was it like working with Ruth?

Ruth’s background in working in a corporate environment helped massively, as she really understood our stance on things - how our systems and processes work, as well as the admin required.

Ruth was great at staying in touch each step of the way but she didn’t bombard me with information. I also really appreciated her support in preparing communications to encourage colleagues to come along, explaining the benefits of sound in a way that resonated. 

Ruth also prepared advice and guidance on ‘intention setting’ for the team. This was really helpful for me as I had great content I could adapt easily to suit our corporate tone of voice. 

Ruth’s content and templates saved a great deal of time for me. The follow-up debrief was also very good, as well as the feedback survey. 

Afterwards the team and I shared our experiences and because of how well Ruth explained the process with sound, I was then able to expand further on why certain things happened during the experience.

For instance, how our brain waves went from Beta to Theta, which puts you into a relaxed, meditative state where insight occurs, and your body's natural healing systems kick in.

What would you say to other organisations
considering sound therapy?

Work with Ruth to develop a programme to suit your needs. You may want your teams to experience deep relaxation as part of your health and wellbeing programme, or you may even want some support for teams to generate a space for creativity on a certain project. Ruth will be more than happy to adapt to your needs. 

Perhaps start with a small group and run a test. It’s a unique experience your team will never forget. There aren’t many things like this experience available. You could go to a comedy night or a Zumba class - but this is something new that stays with people.

“The team have been inspired since the experience. They’re intrigued. It’s opened up a different part of their minds, and how they look at things. They now know how relaxing listening to sound is and how powerful it can be. It’s rejuvenating and even helps you sleep better. Every organisation wants this for their colleagues.

This is not a hit and run event - it inspires people to seek mindfulness and meditation in their own lives. It helps them learn about themselves, and to work on themselves. It has supported them to be more grounded and connected in their daily lives.”

Everyone enjoyed the experience, and we’re glad we have taken this step.  

We are looking forward to continuing with these types of mindfulness activities as the impact has been wonderful.