SPACE 2B

After a 12-hour day, the most useful thing to do is lie still while someone else plays a gong.

SPACE 2B is the CBD's best excuse to lie down after work. It is a studio at 2B Stanley Street, a short hop from Telok Ayer MRT, whose main event asks you to lie on a mat, close your eyes and let someone else make all the noise. It suits sceptics and first-timers as much as regular meditators, because there is nothing to get wrong. The compromise is the calendar: sessions are ticketed and dates change, so book before you plan an evening round it.

The CBD is very good at noise: phones, aircon, the Telok Ayer lunch rush, the Slack notifications that follow you home. There is something pleasingly contrary about a studio a few streets away that runs on gongs. SPACE 2B describes itself as "more than just a meditation studio", and sound has long been its draw.

Its signature is the Gong Nidra, a guided gong-based meditation, and it is the one to book first if you have never meditated. Other sessions have included Sacred Rest, an evening of yoga nidra accompanied by gongs and Tibetan singing bowls, with a guided practice of body sensing and breath awareness; a one-hour sound healing session with gongs, alchemy crystal bowls and Tibetan singing bowls; and a Pilates class that finishes in a crystal-bowl sound bath. For when you are ready to go fully in, there has been a two-hour Moon, Sound and Cacao Ceremony with cacao sharing and intention-setting.

The format is simple. You lie down, you are guided into slower breathing, and then the instruments take over. Whether you leave calmer, sleepier or just pleasantly bemused is up to you; nobody is marking it. That is why it works as a first step for the sceptical: the only skill required is lying still, which most office workers have been practising in meetings for years.

How to do it well: book an evening session when your head is still buzzing from the day, or bring the friend who has been threatening to try something wellness for months. Wear loose clothes, eat lightly beforehand and switch your phone off rather than to silent. Tickets go through SPACE 2B's own site, Eventbrite or ClassPass; if you book via Eventbrite, note its refund window before you commit.

Good to know 2B Stanley Street, near Telok Ayer MRT. Sessions are ticketed and dates change; book tickets via SPACE 2B's own site, Eventbrite or ClassPass. Eventbrite's stated refund window is up to seven days before the event.

SPACE 2B | 2B Stanley Street, Singapore 068721 | Nearest MRT: Telok Ayer