2023 Winter Solstice Vibes in Paris
Sound baths to celebrate the light and herald the arrival of a new year
Before we dig into this week’s Parisian wellness events, we’d like to announce that this is our last newsletter of 2023! We wish you holidays filled with cheer and time spent with the people you love. We are looking forward to closing our laptops and enjoying the season’s many fruits: persimmons and clementines, obviously, but also meditative walks to the Seine and unhurried asana by candlelight at home. All the best to you and yours in the new year. Looking forward to what 2024 has in store…
This Thursday marks the Winter Solstice in the northern hemisphere, the time of year when night and day hold each other in perfect equilibrium.
And though we mark the solstice on a single day twice a year, the truth is this: the actual solstice only lasts a moment. A moment! An instant! Even in the universe, balance is fleeting, not fixed. This is something we would do well to remember all year long whether we’re in tree pose or juggling life’s commitments and responsibilities.
To mark this seasonal inflection point, this week gift yourself a cosmic pause and welcome Winter with a renewing, resonant sound bath. The events below are, in most cases, the last ones of the year so take advantage if you can.
Want to know more about cosmic vibes?
Solstice Sacred Circle Gong Bath & Super Gong Bath
with Various at Zen & Sounds
There are a lot of places now in Paris that offer sound baths, but Zen & Sounds is the first and only one designed specifically for sound healing sessions (both group and individual.) The studio’s superior acoustics and thoughtful mat arrangement ensure that each participant has a well calibrated and transporting sonic voyage.
As you’d expect, Zen & Sounds is acutely attuned to the changing seasons, and their schedule of winter solstice sound baths is nearly full. There are waiting lists for most of the sessions, but spots do open up so do try to secure one. If you don’t snag a session, shoot for welcoming the new moon in January (gong and super gong sessions starting Jan, 10th, 2024).
Tuesday Dec. 19th, 2023: Solstice Sacred Circle Gong Bath (11h-12h15 or 16h30-17h45) and Solstice Sacred Circle Super Gong Bath (19h-21h15)
Wednesday Dec. 20th, 2023: Solstice Sacred Circle Gong Bath (11h-12h15 or 16h30-17h45) and Solstice Sacred Circle Super Gong Bath (19h-21h15)
Thursday Dec. 21st, 2023: Solstice Sacred Circle Gong Bath (11h-12h15 or 16h30-17h45) and Solstice Sacred Circle Super Gong Bath (19h-21h15)
37€/Gong or 58€/Super Gong
Reservations required
Bain Sonore de Noël
with Mélanie Zadeh at Centre Élément
Mélanie has prepared a singular celestial symphony with gongs melding and resonating with the vibrations of the sun, the universe and consciousness itself. Harmonizing with the gongs will be Tibetan singing bowls whose frequency matches those of the planets. This experience will be one of captivating sound which will conjure the vastness of infinity.
Friday Dec. 22nd, 2023
18h30-20h30
40€
Reservations required
Vinyasa & Yin avec Bain Sonore
with Céline Barrelet at Ashtanga Yoga Paris
An all levels special class to end the year in style. In the first part a Yang Vinyasa practice will ignite our inner fire; and in the second part, Yin energy will aid us in observing sensations and emotions, help us relax and lett go in our poses, all the while being cradled by a sound bath.
The solstice is an optimal time to set an intention, a way to mark this noteworthy bridge between the end of the year and the beginning of a new one.
Friday Dec. 22nd, 2023
19h30-21h
25€
Reservations required
OTHER SUBSTACKS TO ENJOY BY WINTER CANDLELIGHT FOR MAX HYGGE:
Leyla Kazim’s A Day Well Spent (purposeful living that doesn’t take itself too seriously)
Hilary Hattenbach’s In With The Old (musings on aging with grace, style and wit)
Chelsey Pippin Mizzi’s The Shuffle (tarot with a dose of critical analysis)
Farrah Storr’s Things Worth Knowing (ok, ok, she’s head of Writer Partnerships at Substack but her ‘stack is not phoned in)
Emma Gannon’s The Hyphen (well-being and creativity in one handy place)