A Moment of Calm At Stretch & Sound

On a rainy Auckland Sunday afternoon, a sound bath, a stretching yoga session, and a botanical spritz changed the rhythm of the week.

Up two flights of stairs in a corner of Auckland city, something quietly remarkable was happening. This was not a typical brand activation for ANTHEA — and that was entirely the point. Stretch and Sound, now in its second year, is a Sunday afternoon event that invites you to genuinely step away: from the week behind you, from the inner noise and from the thrum of Ponsonby traffic just below the windows.

The afternoon began with an hour of yoga led by Shelley Smith of Santosha Health Coaching. It was warming and grounding. Twenty-four participants moved through the practice together: complete beginners alongside the more experienced, all welcome, all working at their own pace.

Then came the shift. Warm blankets appeared. Eye masks from LULA were gently placed. The room settled into something altogether different as Jasmine Donald took us into an hour of meditation, accompanied by a surround of quartz crystal sound bowls. The sound bath that followed was immersive, intuitive, and — for more than a few in the room — unexpectedly profound.

"That minute when you come back into reality — the Ponsonby traffic thrum drifting back into earshot — is when you realise what a gift it was to check out, if just for a couple of hours."

Stretch and Sound sits squarely within the philosophy of lifestyle medicine — the growing body of evidence showing that how we eat, sleep, breathe, move, connect, and live purposefully is both medicine and prevention. When you layer yoga movement, breath, deep rest, sound immersion, and social connection into a single afternoon, you have ticked every box.

The afternoon closed with conversation and connection — guests lingering over a restorative botanical spritz from ANTHEA, stories of the session shared softly around the room. Soft eyes, relaxed postures, and a palpable sense of restored calm. It was a gentle re-entry: a soft landing back into the lanes of regular life.

For ANTHEA, this felt like exactly the right room to be in. Non-alcoholic beverages that are genuinely delicious belong in spaces that take wellbeing seriously — and Stretch and Sound takes it very seriously indeed. Thank you to Shelley and Jasmine, for creating something this considered.

written by Emma Williamson

Want to read more? View the full April & May issue of the ANTHEA Magazine here