Whisper it softly... this ASMR gym session will blow your mind
The YouTube meditation sensation has the nation tingling, so sceptic Katie Russell feels ready for a ‘Braingasm’ studio class
I’m standing in a shower, caked in mud, allowing hot water to peel the dirt from my body. Or at least, that’s where my mind is – my body is lying on a yoga mat in a dimly lit studio, with a woman’s soft Irish voice whispering a story into my ears via a pair of silent disco-style headphones.
The voice belongs to Anna Kirakowska, 32, who is leading me and five others in an Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) class. Her whisperings, combined with the sound effects of footsteps and running water, are designed to create a physical tingling sensation in the listener, starting in the back of your head and then spreading down the rest of your body. Not everyone experiences ASMR, but for those that do, common triggers include whispering, tapping and slow hand movements.
ASMR is a YouTube sensation: type the acronym into a search box and you’ll find 13million videos dedicated to the phenomenon, many of which seem to involve a young woman whispering into camera. Now, however, the experience has moved away from the screen: Gymbox recently started its own ASMR meditation class, marketed eye-catchingly as Braingasm. Tag-line: “happy endings guaranteed”.
It’s a bold and somewhat salacious claim, and I’m intrigued to see whether this 45-minute session will prove orgasmic to my anxious mind.
While the ASMR videos on YouTube don’t give me tingles, they do make me feel calmer. This is common even if you don’t experience ASMR, explains Dr Giulia Poerio, a psychology lecturer at the University of Essex who co-wrote one of the first studies on it. “The reductions in heart rate that we observed in our study were similar to things like mindfulnessbased interventions,” she says.
This calming sensation is the main reason executive assistant Louise Cole, 38, has attended almost every Braingasm class since its inception in September. It helps her to “switch off and reset,” she tells me, adding she had not heard of ASMR before her first class.
Indeed, Gymbox isn’t targeting the extensive ASMR community, but rather “the people who are trying to use meditation apps and they’re not really getting it,” says course creator and yoga teacher, Paul Selvey. “If you go to this class, there’s a very strong likelihood that you’re going to find this place – that thoughtless place of pure peace, pure deep subconscious.” I’m aware it sounds like a load of yogi hogwash. And yet…
As I lie on a yoga mat, headphones on, I already feel at ease. Kirakowska’s voice fills my head, making it impossible to think about anything. There’s no space left for the worries I brought to class. Kirakowska guides us through sensory activities. We begin with bhramari, where we spread our fingers across our faces, inhale deeply and make an “ohm” sound. It’s enough to lull me into something resembling a trance. Then comes the second phase: the brain kriya, an ancient yoga chanting practice. Before we start chanting, Kirakowska whispers an explanation about the different lobes in our brains and where they are. It gives me a sudden, powerful tingle. It seems to stem from under my skin, near my chest, as opposed to trickling from my head. When I describe it to ASMRtist Emma Smith after the class, she says ASMR “actually doesn’t happen within your brain, it happens in your nervous system”. As such, you can feel tingles anywhere. “You’ve obviously experienced ASMR your whole life without knowing there’s a name for it,” Smith says. Memories start to trickle through of feeling tingly when a teacher talked to me slowly or when a friend played with my hair. Most people with ASMR experience it for the first time between the ages of five and 10, Dr Poerio says. The tingles ebb and flow throughout the chanting, leaving me in a hypnotic state. Dr Poerio says that’s typical and what sets ASMR apart from meditation as it “increases levels of excitement but also calmness”.
Does this sensation qualify as “orgasmic”? I don’t feel the slightest twinge in my nether regions – unsurprising, according to Dr Poerio, as “it’s really not sexual”. Her research found those with ASMR do not report feeling aroused, which correlates with their slower heart rate. “It’s described as orgasmic because it’s so intensely pleasurable and possibly because of the relaxation thing afterwards. But it shouldn’t really be taken literally.” Smith agrees, saying ASMR has been sexualised, but it is actually a “very innocent, natural feeling, related to mindfulness and meditation”.
I certainly feel meditative, even before the last section: guided meditation. Kirakowska whispers about a forest walk, wading through a mud pool and then having a shower. Even though there are realistic sound effects, I’m not in the same trance as before – mainly because the story feels like a horror film. (The tale changes every week.)
Nonetheless, as the class ends, I feel less worried than I have in weeks.
Dr Poerio says there is “preliminary evidence which supports these anecdotal claims that ASMR might be something that helps with things like insomnia and anxiety, because of the effects it has on emotions”. She knows ASMRtists who want to offer it “through treatment centres… rather than just having it over a virtual medium”. Smith is one, and is setting up a college to train spa technicians.
Until you can easily book an ASMR facial or massage, I recommend the Braingasm class. While not orgasmic, happy endings are still guaranteed.