The Perfect Mental Vacation is This Crystal Bed in Dallas

Breathe Meditation and Wellness, one of the prettiest places to meditate in Dallas, has a variety of otherworldly offerings. You can enjoy halotherapy (in a clear glass salt booth), astrology readings, singing bowls, and craniosacral therapy, in addition to beautifully guided meditations on the hour. But the one wellness practice I’ve been most fascinated to try since founders Jenn Moulaison (former operations manager for Chanel) and Chelsey Charbeneau (a meditation teacher and recent Los Angeles transplant) opened their stunning studio at the edge of Highland Park, is crystal therapy.

The multi-sensory experience was created to help realign the chakras and leave you feeling revived, refreshed, and deeply centered. The machine is also undeniably cool. The bed looks like what you might find in any spa (though it conceals a bed of crushed crystals), but the seven Vogel cut quartz crystals hanging above elevates the setup well beyond the ordinary. Ahead of the holiday madness, I treated myself to a little crystal therapy and attempt to get my mind right.

Entering the Breathe lobby, a minimalist masterpiece designed by Gonzalo Bueno of Ten Plus Three, is always instantly soothing. I placed my shoes in a cubby on my way to the crystal bed, secluded beyond the meditation studios, and wrapped myself up in a blanket while a Breathe employee helped me settle in for crystal therapy. She gently asked me which chakras I wanted to focus on (the clear Vogel crystals can be customized to any of the seven). I admittedly know nothing about my chakras (or whether they’re in or out of alignment), so I went with “the works” and had every color hanging above my body. Before she slipped on the noise canceling headphones, she pointed to a dial that could be turned up and down to change the intensity of the bed’s vibrations, and told me that I’d know the session was over when I heard birds chirping. Soothing water sounds filled my ears when the plush headphones finally came on.

And then we were off. The lights turned low and the seven large crystals burned bright as the bed began vibrating at varying rhythmic frequencies. I have no idea how to describe them except to say that, at different moments, the whole structure felt like rocket ship that was taking off. I found myself turning up the dial a bit to intensify the experience — I don’t know what was going on with my chakras but it felt nice. The experience felt like being lulled to sleep on a Technicolor cloud.

Then suddenly, in what technically must have been about 30 minutes later, the birds began chirping. (I thought that may have been some sort of enlightenment riddle, but you do hear literal birds.) I’m not well versed enough in the metaphysical nuances of chakras and healing modalities to pinpoint exactly how the experience left me, but I can safely say that I felt relaxed in a way I hadn’t in months. An individual crystal bed session is priced at $65, which may seem steep for technically immeasurable effects. But to find a moment of calm and rejuvenation in the year 2020, it just might be worth a try.