And no, it is not an actual bath.

I attended my first sound bath in Seattle about four years ago, and experienced an amazing state of relaxation that I had not gotten even in a restorative yoga class.

When I moved back to LA, my sister gifted me a Kava tea ceremony and two hour sound ceremony experience at AZ I AM Yoga, and was hooked. I tried out different types of sound baths at the studio including reiki, tuning fork, and gong classes.

You can bring your own yoga mat to lay on or opt for a mat and/or blanket at the studio. You will simply lay down for the entirety of the class while singing bowls and other instruments are played. All of them left me in a great state of relaxation, but I especially loved the tuning fork sound baths and made it part of my weekly routine. This one is in a more intimate setting with less than 10 people, and tuning forks/other instruments are physically placed on you during the experience. This is a great act of self care to disconnect completely for at least one hour a week, and is also a meditation practice for myself.

I have tried out another meditation studio, but it was a very large class and pretty hard to relax with several people loudly exhaling the whole class. I definitely recommend AZ I AM for sound baths, as well as yoga classes for anyone in the West Los Angeles area. They are one of very few studios that offer heated as well as non-heated classes.

Update: Since writing this post, the AZ I AM studio sadly closed down but still offers some classes via Mindbody at the owner’s studio. I have since tried some new yoga studios to find another hands on sound bath experience, and have had the best experience at Mastery-Inner Beauty Collective in Westwood.

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