How Hyatt’s Miraval Resorts and Others Are Tuning In to Sound Healing

In the ultra-competitive world of luxury wellness travel, companies need to do more than just offer gorgeous views, great-tasting food, and aromatic gardens. They need to think about sound too. Increasingly, properties including Hyatt's Miraval Arizona are employing sound therapy to pull in wellness-oriented customers. The idea is that people's ears offer a path to relaxation and healing every bit as powerful as eyeballs, nostrils, and fingertips. And companies are citing ancient wisdom known to groups as disparate as Australia's aborigines (think didgeridoos), Tibetan monks (think singing bowls), and Native Americans (flutes, drums, and rains sticks) as part of healing practices. "Sound can signal the body to release its own tension and negativity, dropping the brainwave into a meditative state quickly and effectively,” said Pamela Lancaster, a widely regarded guru in the field and "master healer" at Miraval Arizona. What Mirava