Floating away in 'dream-like state' at the council pool

It is surely one of the stranger sights witnessed during the 120-year history of an Edwardian swimming pool: about 30 men and women, all clothed and wearing masks, are lying on air beds and floating on the crystal-clear water.

From one side of the pool comes the sound of musical instruments being played – a gong, crystal bowls and rainsticks.

The beds move across the pool silently, like giant plastic lily pads, gently bumping into one another, and soon, the sound of snoring can be heard.

In the beautiful, ornate surroundings of Beverley Road Baths, a council-run pool in Hull, it looks a little like an art installation, but in actual fact it is what is known as a "floating sound bath" – a type of meditation designed to help people relax.

Organiser Emma Lockett argues it can benefit those who "struggle to switch off".

"Everyone is overstimulated these days without the chance to relax," she says.

"In a sound bath you are listing to instruments being played, which makes the meditation side of it a lot easier."

She adds: "This experience sends participants into a dream-like state.

"Essentially, it's an hour to yourself with nobody bothering you, to relax."

Sound baths are not new – they can be tried while lying in a room with the lights dimmed – but the floating element "increases the relaxation" and offers a sense of "weightlessness".

Leeds-based Lockett, who came across the technique in the US and was inspired to start her own business, Synergy Body & Mind, adds: "There's a moment in the sound bath, probably about 10 to 15 minutes in when you realise people have dropped off and from thereon in it's peaceful."

I gave the floating sound bath a go at Beverley Road Baths. Here's what I experienced:

The pool is still and empty when I arrive, as staff inflate the mattresses and bring in a gong, crystal bowls and rainsticks.

Soon, about 30 women and one man have gathered in the foyer and we're told to remove our shoes and socks.

The pool is now full of floating mattresses and we are each invited to lower ourselves on to one, fully clothed, using the pool steps while a member of staff in the water holds the mattress steady.

We are given a blanket, a cushion and an eye mask, and before long the pool is filled with floating people and calm descends.

Calum Lewis, one of the staff on hand, asks us to breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth before he plays the relaxing sounds of gongs, bowls and rainsticks.

The sensation is blissful. You can feel your mattress very gently nudge into another, sending it slowly floating in another direction.

Before long, I am having strange, waking dreams and I can hear others snoring.

An hour later, I come to as the sound of a xylophone playing muffled, melodic notes echoes around the pool hall.

What happened in between was a light, pleasant and deliberate sleep in the middle of the afternoon.

Knowing that I'd planned and arranged it made it better, as did the fact that I was sharing the experience with 28 other people.

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