I am on my back on a yoga mat, eyes closed, in the acoustically enhanced atrium of the Irena building in Masdar City.
I am meant to be taking notes on this Celestial Sounds Immersion session, and the person leading the corresponding guided meditation has said something I feel is important to write down. The only problem is, I am rendered immobile, in the sweetest, most succulent way possible. My limbs are heavy. I am suddenly deeply calm and I do not want to move.
An assortment of instruments has plunged me into this state. They include a crystal quartz bowl; a range of differently sized and tuned Tibetan singing bowls; a crystal lyre, or harp; drums; rattles; a luscious-sounding "rainmaker"; an electronic sitar; and, to conclude, the ping of tiny Tibetan bells, which reverberate deliciously from the top of my head to the tip of my toes.
"I needed that," proclaims the friend I brought along, when we sit up an hour later, feeling dopey and as though we have been asleep for hours.
A dozen people have turned up for this, the first such session that the organisers have held in Abu Dhabi. Our fellow sound bathers include Marie-Pierre Bouchet, from France, who admits that she dragged along her husband, Chris Hibbert, an Australian. But he is not complaining. "It really took me away from all the noise in the background and allowed me to go within myself, which I haven't been able to do in a very, very long time," he says.
Bouchet, who has practised yoga and meditation, says the sound added a different dimension. "The way I would compare it is if you are in the sea and you had a wave come over, but gentle," she says.
Sonia Gonzalez, 47, an opera singer and reiki master from Venezuela, leads the session. She was drawn to sound healing after she was diagnosed three years ago with Hashimoto's disease, an autoimmune condition, and credits a paleo diet, regular exercise, daily meditation and sound healing for her recovery.
“For me, that is the main reason I’m doing this,” she says. “It was my own experience … I did it by myself, I bought a crystal bowl and I started singing with my crystal bowl and at night I put on a recording of Tibetan bowls.”
The sound healing, or sound bath, trend has been sweeping North America and the West in recent years, through music, gongs, drums and bowls. And sound healing has most definitely landed in the UAE, with a wave of teachers – including Gonzalez – who can be traced back to Mathilde Souffront, the French expatriate holistic therapis and teacher who got into Tibetan singing bowls three years ago. "I went to Bali, that's where I first heard Tibetan bowls," she says. "l left my body."
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She began, in April, offering teacher training in the method through her Dubai-based Ascension Platform. So far she has trained about 50 people, and led a Level 1 sound practitioner course at the Hot House yoga studio in Abu Dhabi over the National Day weekend. Souffrant credits the increased interest in – and receptivity to – sound healing to the expansion of the wellness scene in the UAE over the last three years. People are also much more willing to try new methods of relaxing, she says.
The bowls work, she explains, because they offer so many different aspects in one: “The sound, the resonance, the frequencies, the harmonics, the vibrations, the binaural beats and the music.”
And the reason it feels so good? The basic explanation is entrainment, a concept in biology where one aspect (your brain) will gradually synchronise with another (the sound of the bowls). It is what happens in drum circles, when birds fly together in the sky and in those "binaural beats" phone applications, where two different sound patterns are transmitted through each ear.
The deeply meditative and peaceful state created by entraining with the sound of singing bowls also creates the perfect condition, Souffrant explains, for mental and physical healing, creative thinking, clarity of mind and even intuitive messages.
Tasha Meiring, a yoga teacher and the owner of Abu Dhabi’s Hot House studio, also studied with Souffrant and now holds Tibetan sound healing sessions once a month at the Al Zeina studio. “When I did the course I didn’t fully comprehend what I was getting myself into,” she says. “When I started to receive sound healing it changed my life… I had imbalances in my body – physically and energetically. I didn’t realise how much I needed to slow down and it brought me mentally around as well as balanced my energy centres.”
Sound healers say the sessions, which for groups cost from Dh80 to Dh100 for about an hour, can reduce stress and anxiety and lower the heart rate. It is common to hear the words physics and science, and references to vibration and its effect on water, when they are explaining how it all works. There are a number of studies into the role of music in reducing pain and promoting healing, and a growing body of research showing that meditation can strengthen neural pathways and reduce stress-causing hormones.
Researchers at the University of Western Ontario in Canada, for example, are studying how music and rhythm can help compensate for the brain in diseases such as Parkinson's. The National Institute of Health, in the UK, has been studying the effect of sound stimulation of patients with fibromyalgia, with promising initial results.
Dr Mitchell Gaynor, an oncologist and director of integrative medicine at the Strang-Cornell Cancer Prevention Centre in the United States, is a leader in the field of "sound medicine". He began learning about singing bowls after watching their positive effect on a Tibetan monk he treated, who in turn taught him about the power of entrainment on physiology, all of which can be created with music. It's an experience that he chronicles in his book Sounds of Healing.
Lina Jarad, a Bulgarian who heads collaboration at Khalifa University, leads monthly sound healing sessions at Body Tree Studio in Abu Dhabi, as well as private sessions. She uses a variety of methods, including Tibetan singing bowls and Nadabrahma, or Tibetan humming.
Humming is immediately relaxing, particularly when done in groups, she says, and is probably why it is something we as humans instinctively do to feel better. Sound therapy works in the same way.
"In general you can improve your life, even if you just become a little calmer and more focused, and you sleep better," says Jarad. "It's general improvement of your life."
The next Celestial Sounds Immersion is on Friday, December 8, at 11am outside Melius restaurant at the Irena building, Masdar City, Abu Dhabi. Admission is Dh180 with a kit including yoga mat, pillow and blindfold or Dh100 with your own own equipment. For more information, go to Facebook.com/celestialsoundsimmersion
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THE SPECS
Engine: 3-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 424hp
Torque: 580 Nm
Price: From Dh399,000
On sale: Now
EXPATS
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
If you go:
The flights: Etihad, Emirates, British Airways and Virgin all fly from the UAE to London from Dh2,700 return, including taxes
The tours: The Tour for Muggles usually runs several times a day, lasts about two-and-a-half hours and costs £14 (Dh67)
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is on now at the Palace Theatre. Tickets need booking significantly in advance
Entrance to the Harry Potter exhibition at the House of MinaLima is free
The hotel: The grand, 1909-built Strand Palace Hotel is in a handy location near the Theatre District and several of the key Harry Potter filming and inspiration sites. The family rooms are spacious, with sofa beds that can accommodate children, and wooden shutters that keep out the light at night. Rooms cost from £170 (Dh808).
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THE LIGHT
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Traits of Chinese zodiac animals
Tiger:independent, successful, volatile
Rat:witty, creative, charming
Ox:diligent, perseverent, conservative
Rabbit:gracious, considerate, sensitive
Dragon:prosperous, brave, rash
Snake:calm, thoughtful, stubborn
Horse:faithful, energetic, carefree
Sheep:easy-going, peacemaker, curious
Monkey:family-orientated, clever, playful
Rooster:honest, confident, pompous
Dog:loyal, kind, perfectionist
Boar:loving, tolerant, indulgent
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Company: Instabug
Founded: 2013
Based: Egypt, Cairo
Sector: IT
Employees: 100
Stage: Series A
Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
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Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
THE BIO
Favourite book: ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren
Favourite travel destination: Switzerland
Hobbies: Travelling and following motivational speeches and speakers
Favourite place in UAE: Dubai Museum
Racecard
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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