The Four Seasons Hotel Montreal, a bastion of luxury, romance, and the poorly kept secret of the coolest Montrealers we know, is launching a series of experiential evenings based on well-being: Equilibrium.
In the city, amid the chaos and ice-covered concrete, our nervous system is in fight-or-flight mode (or just flight) during the long winter months. Equilibrium, through guided and therapeutic evenings, offers to calm the nerves and restore to Montrealers and those visiting the city a body-and-soul rebalancing that usualy only exists in the deep forest after the rain. Moreover, Equilibrium takes place in the famed hotel’s Guerlain Spa -the only Forbes Five-Star spa in the city and in all of Québec.
For the first edition of Equilibrium, we are celebrating the Lunar New Year with a sound bath guided by Amarys, founder and practitioner of the Montreal sound therapy studio Leshift. The session is immersive, based on the vibrations of the body and the universe, and aimed at boosting the immune system.
Sound bath, light bath—and I gently sink into the cool earth
The relaxation room at the Four Seasons Hotel Montreal’ Guerlain Spa appears like somewhat of a magical cavern at the end of a series of white-walled corridors.
The sound bath begins with a preparation of the body involving long breaths and pressure points that are massaged first counterclockwise, then clockwise. My feet tingle and I cross and uncross my legs. I’m afraid I won’t be able to relax properly, but after a few minutes I let go of my thoughts and immerse myself completely in Amarys’ soft voice and the deep vibrations of the gong.
We lie down on yoga mats, and the Kala red light lamps are turned on. The Canadian brand that produces them supplies Team Canada’s Olympic athletes for their post-exercise recovery. They are medical grade, promote cell regeneration, and the light pulses behind my closed eyelids like a second sun.
Ana Mendieta – “Untitled: Silueta Series”, 1976. ©️The Estate of Ana Mendieta Collection, LLC. Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York – via @anamendietaartist
Amarys guides us, accompanied by vibrational sounds, through a meditation that makes me sink, almost as if in a dream, into cool soft earth that my body remembers even on the coldest days of winter.
Under the ground, under the rain, under the ocean, in the clouds—the mental journey conjures images that flash between something cartoonishly miraculous like Fantasia 2000 (1999) and an Ana Mendieta series. The Cuban-American artist, known for her “earth/body” sculptural and performance art, has placed herself in situations of returning to the earth and her works are like a primal whisper. Naked in a stream, leaving red marks on rocks, or leaving an imprint of fire in the rain.
At the end of the experience, we drink tea and talk about acupressure points—and I leave the Four Seasons feeling refreshed, as if I had just spent a day in the countryside on Spring’s most gorgeous day. As if I had swum in the sea, walked barefoot in the grass, and taken a nap in the sun.
Perhaps that’s the theme of Equilibrium evenings—a return to nature with therapeutic techniques that awaken our primal senses. To participate in the next evening,keep an eye on the Four Seasons Hotel Montreal’ social media accounts and the Instagram account @fsmontreal.
Thank you! And enjoy your relaxation,