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I stir in the dark. So do the others. There are around 30 of us, maybe more — all experiencing the soundscape of the quartz bowls; a tech-free hour designed for us to commune with memory, creativity and emotion. A chime brings the sound bath to its formal end, signaling us to reacquaint ourselves with the physical present, to officially “wake up.” Slipping out of blankets and off of tall, puffy mattresses, we give thanks, take a crystal, a mantra card … and leave the giant mattress warehouse for the bright lights of Glendale Boulevard.
While not affiliated with any specific modality, the sound bath inside the Atwater Village branch of Mattress Central has a cult-like following. The brainchild of practitioner Alice Moon, the event (which often sells out) is one of many nontraditional wellness offerings from her company Moon Soul Sound Baths. At the monthly event, her patrons gather at the store, select a mattress (alone or with a friend), get cozy and swap the static of the world for the soothing harmonics of Moon’s quartz bowls.
As you might imagine, Moon is fairly nontraditional herself. She grew up in New Orleans and after Hurricane Katrina she felt compelled to make a change. She came to L.A. for a long vacation and ended up staying.
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“I just wanted to take a month-long trip,” Moon said. “But when I got here I was like, this is the missing puzzle piece that my life needed.”
In Los Angeles, Moon embraced cannabis culture. She became a self-taught cannabis industry PR professional and even created a tech start-up for locating edibles based on dietary needs (a kind of Yelp for cannabis, she explained). But after being diagnosed with cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, a condition in which long-term cannabis users can suffer from symptoms like severe nausea, she again felt a need for change.
“That kind of flipped my world upside down,” Moon said. “I went on this journey of trying to find things that brought me joy, the same way that cannabis did.”
Sound baths were the answer, helping Moon feel calm, positive and connected to herself. After years of practicing, Moon felt inspired to share her love of sound baths with others. “One day I woke up and I said, you know what? I feel like it is my time to bring that type of peace to other people.”
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With her social media savvy and PR sensibilities at play, Moon wanted to create an experience that would be extra comfortable … and, of course, memorable. Inspired by other wellness practitioners, Moon reached out to Mattress Central to create her own version of the trend. A couple million views on Threads and hundreds of fans later, her baths book well in advance and to rave reviews. While Moon’s frequently sold-out mattress store offering has clearly made a splash on the L.A. wellness scene — it’s not the only one.
In West Hollywood, Barry Raccio is also host to a highly coveted mattress store sound bath. With a background in Kundalini yoga, breath work, meditation and sound healing, Raccio is a 20-year veteran of the wellness space. In Hästens mattress showroom on Beverly Boulevard, he hosts a small but sought-after sound bath happening called the “Deep Reset Luxury Sound Bath Experience.”
At the event, Raccio — who’s facilitated baths for companies including Chanel, BMW and the Parker Hotel — pours tea, plays instruments (including the traditional quartz bowls) and holds court among ultra-premium Hästens beds, including the $720,000 Grand Vividus mattress, called “the most expensive mattress in the world.”
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On these ultra-luxury mattresses, a small group of 10, maybe 12 people experience the crystal bowls and “heal their nervous systems” much deeper than a normal bath — one profound, restful hour away from the chaos of the modern world. It’s a more intimate, more opulent version of Moon’s baths, but with a similar healing effect (and yes — you can book the Grand Vividus for the occasion).
“Rest is a luxury,” Raccio says. “Because [the mattresses] are so comfortable, they conform to bodies without needing anything under your knees or even a pillow. You’re just so supported that the nervous system drops in much quicker and the relaxation process is even more profound. The effects of the sound healing even go deeper.”
In their own ways, Raccio and Moon’s mattress store sound baths are tapping into a collective need for rest, but beyond that — a gentle pause from technology for one’s own well-being. The chakra-balancing work of a sound bath coupled with the uniquely relaxing context of a mattress store gets guests there and beyond (deep sleep and snoring are commonplace at these events).
“At the mattress store, it’s like, you can really, really relax. And I just want people to feel comfortable and safe and, you know, just a moment for them,” Moon said. “That’s what it really is. It’s a moment for everyone to just, like, be there for themselves.”
