In our increasingly hectic lives, many of us struggle to quiet our busy minds. And no matter how many times we hear that meditation is key to calming a stressed mind, finding the time, or knowing where to start with meditation can feel like another chore on your to-do list.
I'm no stranger to guided meditation, and as a qualified clinical hypnotherapist, I've seen clients transform their lives by adding meditation into their daily routine. I work with people to help them improve their sleep, overcome trauma and boost their confidence and each session contains an element of guided meditation, so I'm well aware of the benefits – but I still struggle to switch off during my own meditation practice.
Keen to supercharge my meditation, I decided to spend 20 minutes in a Somadome at RePlace in Notting Hill, which claims to make meditation easier - and more effective - to see if it made a difference to my overall happiness, which took a battering after a breakup last year.
What is a Somadome pod?
The Somadome is a meditation pod that combines LED light therapy, healing magnets, sound waves and guided meditation to help deep relaxation and enhance your meditation practice.
The pod claims to help realign our disrupted EMF frequencies with our body’s natural electromagnetic signals, with the aim to improve our ability to heal, focus and rest.
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What's a Somadome session like?
Once you're settled in the pod, there's a touchscreen to choose your meditation for the session.
There are different meditations available depending on what you want from the session, with sounds and light sequences created with the aim to boost confidence, help you to recharge, enhance clarity and focus, as well as settings to help you relax and even sleep.
Depending on your session choice, the colour of the light in the pod changes, as different colours are said to cause different chemical reactions in our brains.
What happens during a Somadome session?
The futuristic pod opens, and you recline on a comfortable leather seat with both your head and feet supported.
You close the egg-shaped dome by pulling the lid down over your head. Due to the shape of the pod, it feels cosy, safe and spacious inside, so there are no worries about feeling claustrophobic.
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It is also an option to leave the pod open if that feels more comfortable. Once you’ve selected your meditation, you put the noise-cancelling headphones on, close your eyes and begin to relax.
Does Somadome work?
Many people find that the difficult part of meditation is switching off your mind, and the Somadome makes this much easier.
It generally takes me a long time to switch off, but in the pod it happened almost instantly.
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I chose the 'healing' session, and I found the whole experience incredible. The combination of the light, soundwaves and atmosphere in the pod made sure that I entered the meditative state almost immediately, and my 20 minutes felt like 20 seconds.
My mind drifted in and out of consciousness, so my memory of what happened inside feels hazy. It’s a similar feeling to when you’re drifting in and out of sleep.
At times I felt wide awake, and my whole body tingled as the soundwaves increased and decreased.
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Once it ended, I felt remarkably calm and had a sense of clarity, but also felt energised and invigorated. The immediate sensation afterwards was powerful, and I emerged feeling lighter and brighter.
The rest of my afternoon was spent with higher levels of concentration and focus. Twenty minutes is the optimal time needed to reset - and that’s exactly how I felt.
I’d recommend booking a session at the RePlace Somadome for anyone who wants to experience an immersive mediation or enhance their existing practice. It's remarkable how much progress you can make in 20 minutes towards calming a busy mind, replenishing your energy or just taking a general step towards looking after yourself.
Book a 20min session in the Somadome for £25
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