ArcaMax

Palm Beach, Florida, is well known for Mar-a-Lago, beaches, golf courses, extraordinary wealth, President John F. Kennedy's Winter White House -- and spas. Since I don't golf or have extraordinary wealth, that's where I focused my energy.

Spas are ubiquitous -- and most offer similar services: massages, facials, reflexology, hot-stone treatments. I've had several different massages over the years as well as facials, and they all had one thing in common: tactile manipulation of various body parts. That and soft New Age-y music in the background to induce relaxation.

Neither was true at SiSpa at the Palm Beach Marriott on Singer Island. My body remained untouched by a masseuse, and the sounds were Tibetan bowls that more reflect a spiritual journey -- an affirmation of self -- than the usual relaxation escape.

In 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 and pore.

There's a theory underlining the enchanting experience. Mostly it's based on aligning the chakras -- apparently there are seven of them, points along the spine said to represent energy sources in the body. Each is associated with physical, emotional and spiritual functions, ranging from the root chakra between your legs up to the crown chakra atop your head. There are also 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.

Enter the Tibetan bowls -- a sort of sound therapy to entice your brain to incorporate relaxation, health and peace; to release tension in the body; to bring clarity, improved self-esteem and the healing of negativity. One bowl placed on each chakra emitted its own sound when struck. I know that one bowl was on my solar plexus, which is related to survival, heart and communication, and another was on my head, connected to prayer and intuition. I lost count after that.

Elsa, a trained Reiki master, 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 the bowls, to focus on their message. Meditation was key. There's a separate chant for each chakra, which Elsa repeated while circling the table on which I was lying. Each chakra is said to have its own color, but fortunately I didn't have to concern myself with that.

She struck different bowls at different times, sometimes in conjunction with each other, other times in concert. The concert -- I mean, the treatment -- ended with a grand crescendo finale of all seven bowls playing in unison. It was mesmerizing.

I may not have understood it all; I may have been a tad preoccupied with trying to remember the experience as opposed to just experiencing it. But it did feel somewhat mystical and magical -- and I really didn't want the session to end.

But there's even more to the overall spa experience to be explored at leisure either before your scheduled procedure or after. And yes, you can get all kinds of massages and facials you want. There's a nail salon, a fitness room, a room with stone beds to lie on with cold cucumbers on your eyes, a steam room, a relaxation room with tea, infused water, fruit and a Chex Mix assortment -- and, of course, a Jacuzzi. The actual treatment might be the least of the relaxation options, and the mimosa at the end satiates the only sense not yet gratified.

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WHEN YOU GO

For more information: thepalmbeaches.com/listing/sispa-at-palm-beach-marriott-singer-island-beach-resort-spa

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Fyllis Hockman is a freelance writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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