By Mei-Hua Lin

Cultural Correspondent, The Asian Diaries

Mui Ne, a coastal town best known for its sun-bleached dunes and oceanfront resorts, is tuning into a quieter frequency.

This month, The Anam Mui Ne—an Indochine-inspired retreat along Vietnam’s southeastern coast—announced the launch of a new wellness menu centered around Himalayan singing bowl therapy. While the practice itself is centuries old, with roots in Tibetan and Himalayan monastic traditions, its arrival at one of Vietnam’s newest luxury beach resorts suggests something deeper: a regional shift in how Southeast Asians are embracing sound as medicine.

As someone who’s spent much of her career tracing the migration of traditional Asian healing techniques—from Japanese kampo to Chinese gua sha—I find it unsurprising that singing bowls are experiencing a new life here, not in temples, but spas. The gentle hum of a metal bowl, when coaxed by a wooden mallet in slow, rhythmic circles, produces sound waves that don’t just fill a room—they fill the body. Practitioners believe these frequencies can harmonize our internal systems, aligning everything from our chakras to our central nervous system.

At The Anam’s new spa, this practice takes center stage. Their treatments, which range from 45 to 60 minutes, carry names that speak directly to contemporary anxieties: “Relaxing,” “Balancing,” “Detoxifying,” “Healing Power,” and “Healing Sound Bath.” Each session incorporates multiple bowls of varying sizes and tones, some placed directly on the body to send vibrations deep into muscle tissue and organs.

The “Relaxing” session uses seven bowls to slow brain waves and release stored tension in both body and mind. “Balancing” is designed to target the body’s seven chakras and the brain’s hemispheres—echoing Ayurvedic principles and mindfulness psychology. In “Detoxifying,” therapists use sound to stimulate liver, spleen, and kidney function, enhancing the body’s natural cleansing systems. “Healing Power” adds warm water into the bowls to increase vibration and circulation, while “Healing Sound Bath” aims to bring peace of mind to those suffering from headaches and upper-body tension.

Of course, the evidence for sound therapy’s effectiveness still lives somewhere between anecdotal and empirical. Yet for many, especially in increasingly wellness-conscious corners of Asia, results speak for themselves.

According to The Anam Mui Ne, guests can now experience these treatments in one of five treatment rooms, three of which are designed for couples, complete with massage beds and deep soaking tubs. There are also complimentary group sound bath sessions for up to five participants, offering an accessible introduction to the practice without the formality of private appointments.

For further information or to make a booking, visit www.theanam.com, email [email protected] or telephone +(84) 252 628 4868.               

This isn’t the first time singing bowls have migrated from their ritualistic origins into commercial wellness spaces. In Bangkok, I’ve seen them used alongside yoga nidra. In Taiwan, they’re sometimes paired with crystal healing. But their arrival at a beachfront resort in Mui Ne—set against the backdrop of French-colonial architecture and coconut palms—signals a new synthesis: one where luxury and ancient wisdom coexist, not just as aesthetic, but as aspiration.

In many ways, the spa’s offering mirrors the broader regional embrace of healing practices that are both experiential and immersive. These therapies aren’t just about fixing what’s broken—they’re about tuning the self to a more harmonious frequency, especially in a world that’s noisier than ever.

As Asia continues to lead the global wellness movement, places like The Anam Mui Ne are reframing what it means to be well—not through pills or procedures, but through resonance, rhythm, and stillness. The bowls may be singing ancient songs, but their audience is unmistakably modern.

About the Author

Mei-Hua Lin is a Taiwanese journalist and cultural historian in her 50s who has spent over two decades exploring the intersection of wellness, ritual, and identity across Asia. A former academic with a background in East Asian anthropology, she now writes full-time, contributing to The Asian Diaries and other regional publications. Mei-Hua is known for her reflective, deeply researched essays on traditional healing practices and the quiet ways they reemerge in contemporary life.