Our innovative Mind Oasis is a place to recharge your mind and meditate away your stress. We put it to the test. 

The Mind Oasis, situated at the top of our flagship store House of Rituals and at Antwerp Meir, is a world first. It’s a place where you can experience an array of immersive guided meditations and mindful group sessions. Wellbeing is about more than just our bodies, our minds need care, support, and training to help us navigate the stresses and strains of modern life too. Just as you train your body in the gym, at the Mind Oasis you can train your brain. 

A luxury space, the Mind Oasis is a relaxing retreat where you can escape the hustle and bustle of the world below. On arrival, you’re greeted at reception where you can hand in your belongings for safe keeping. There is a full menu of treatments you can try but I booked in for the new offerings, the renewed brain massage and the hydro massage.  

Brain Massage: An immersive experience 

The new and improved brain massage takes place in your own personal pod. Close the doors, lay down in the ergonomic bed under a blanket and ready yourself for an immersive meditation experience.  

A high-tech experience there is a digital screen in the ceiling, soft lighting and speakers by your head that adjust to your height when the treatment begins. To start, I was taken through a short breathing exercise that effectively helped me relax and leave the worries of my day outside the pod. Afterwards the meditation begins, for this Rituals partnered with Elusis, expert audio engineers producing 4D music in combination with haptic vibrations through the chair. The technique is called brainwave entertainment and it is designed to change your brainwave frequencies into theta brainwaves, helping you to reach a deeply meditative state.  

During the session you can choose to close your eyes or watch the screen – a night’s sky with shooting stars, while the lighting in the pod morphs from red to green and blue. I spent some time with my eyes closed but I couldn’t resist a peek or two at the stars above me. The combination of the music and the vibrations helped to lull me into a state somewhere between awake and asleep, so afterwards I didn’t feel groggy but rather energised yet calm. Whether you choose the 30- or 55-minute session, you will leave your private pod feeling deeply rested and recharged as if you have had the best nap or night’s sleep.  

For anyone who struggles with finding the flow when meditating or if you just want a relaxing pit-stop during a busy day in the city, the brain massage is a wonderful way to recharge your body, mind, and soul. 

Hydro massage: A treat for brain and body 

At just 20-minutes, the hydro massage is seriously effective at relaxing body and mind in a short time. A truly unique experience, it takes place on a warm waterbed to relieve stress with pressurised jets to massage your body relieving muscle pain and physical stress. There is also music and scent to relax your mind; and a hood with collagen-boosting infrared light to treat the skin on your face. On a rotating arm, there is a screen where you can select the intensity of the jets, aroma, and infrared light, as well as the volume of the music throughout.  

During the session, the combination of The Ritual of Jing (Rituals’ most relaxing aroma), the massage that moved up and down the back of my body, and the calming music with sounds from nature, helped to lull me into a really relaxed state. The session felt longer than 20 minutes and, as a huge fan of infrared light, this felt like a huge bonus to be able to treat my skin, as well as my body and mind.  

I hiked the intensity of the jets up to high and, while it wasn’t as intense or personalised as a masseuse administering a deep tissue massage, it felt great. And the fact you can do the session fully clothed and it’s only 20-minutes makes it easy to fit into your busy schedule. Where the brain massage is truly about the mind and meditation, the hydro massage is more about treating your body, with some relaxation for your mind thrown in too. If you have time, I’d recommend booking the brain massage, followed by the hydro massage for the ultimate experience.