How museums across the world are becoming unexpected wellness destinations

“Imagine there’s a balloon in your stomach, expanding and contracting,” we’re told, as we lie on the floor of Oslo’s Vigeland Museum, cushioned by yoga mats and warmed by blankets. At 6pm on a weekday evening, I’m usually cross-legged on the sofa with my head in a book, chasing endorphins in an exercise class or discovering a new bolthole in a nearby suburb. Instead, I’m lying beneath Gustav Vigeland’s white plaster sculptures, breathing out long ‘ahs’ and ‘ohs’ to the rhythm of Debussy and live opera.

Part of me revels in the theatrics of it all, seeing familiar artworks from unfamiliar angles, with the added thrill of being in a museum after hours. But somewhere along the way, the penny drops and I realise it’s more than just mere entertainment. A tingling sensation travels up my legs, my stomach gurgles and tears gather at the corners of my eyes. The breathing exercises elicit a physical response, and every time the music began, it made me emotional. Around me, strangers inhale and exhale in near unison, in what feels like a primal ritual. A roomful of people, surrounded by sculptures of other people, doing the most human thing imaginable: breathing. It feels like wordless therapy, bringing with it that increasingly rare sensation of being completely present. As an avid gallery-goer, I’ve experienced art in many forms, but never quite like this.

While it might sound like the plot of a Night at the Museum sequel, this was Breath & Opera, a collaboration between the museum, breathwork therapist Fredrik Fernando Austad and soprano Nina Alexandra Barretto. And although lying on a museum floor practising conscious breathing might seem unexpected, similar experiences are appearing around the world. From London to Paris, Antwerp to Tokyo, museums are incorporating yoga, pilates, sound baths and mindfulness into their programmes. For travellers keen to make room for wellbeing alongside cultural explorations, it's an appealing proposition – squeezing more into an itinerary while (itinerary-maxxing), rather wonderfully, doing a little less.

According to Austad, the relationship between art and wellbeing is hardly new. “Breathwork and meditation have existed for thousands of years, and musicians, actors and artists have embraced them for centuries.” What's changed is their mainstream appeal, helped by social media and a growing appetite for experiences combining culture and self-care. “I think people are drawn to art, they just need a safe way in”, which has perhaps made wellness as much into “a social activity as much as it is a personal pursuit”.

For museums, it's an opportunity to reach new audiences and rethink how people engage with art. At Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, wellness sessions were introduced partly to make use of quieter gallery hours, but also to welcome people who might not otherwise visit. Arriving for pilates or a sound bath turns some of the museum's unspoken conventions on their head, and instead of tiptoeing between paintings and speaking in hushed tones, visitors are encouraged to lower their shoulders and experience art in a different context.

“There's no one way to engage with arts and culture,” says Jennifer Lockley of Birmingham Museums Trust, who explains that sessions often sell out, attracting a variety of people to attend, either alone or in a group. The Pre-Raphaelite paintings, with their expressive figures and emotionally charged stories, are “an essential part of the experience”, she continues. “Surroundings contribute to shaping the whole experience,” Austad reiterates. At Vigeland, sculptures exploring the human body, monumental galleries and remarkable acoustics make breathwork and opera a fitting pairing. “We are so used to moving quite quickly through museums,” adds Marte Grette, Curator of Education at the Vigeland Museum. Slowing down doesn't necessarily make us better at appreciating art, she suggests, but it offers “a different way of encountering it”.

There may be more to these encounters than a fleeting sense of calm. According to Corinna Christiane Kühnapfel of Technische Universität Berlin's Arts and Minds Lab, even a minute or two spent looking at art can make a difference. In one study, viewing a Monet painting online was associated with reductions in negative mood, anxiety and loneliness. Another study at Manchester Art Gallery found that visitors felt more relaxed and engaged with paintings displayed in a quiet, thoughtfully designed room than when viewing the same works in a busier gallery. The art, it seems, may already give us something to focus on.

In Japan, a similar curiosity is inspiring research into museum bathing, a concept influenced by forest bathing that explores whether slow, controlled encounters with art can be restorative. Researchers at Kyushu Sangyo University have been studying visitors' psychological and physiological responses, adding to growing interest in what happens when we give art our undivided attention.

Having spent plenty of time in both traditional wellness studios and art galleries, I found the combination unexpectedly moving, although choosing the right setting and type of session can make all the difference. Danish journalist Amalie Thejls Uebel recalls struggling to relax during a breathwork class alongside around 150 women at Copenhagen's Thorvaldsens Museum. She wonders whether a smaller group might have helped her settle into the experience and connect more deeply with the art. In a fresco-covered mausoleum in Oslo, Norwegian editor Caroline Krager initially found a gong bath soothing and transporting, until the cold floor and enclosed surroundings became uncomfortable.

She'd happily attend another session somewhere with more light and air, and fondly remembers the feeling of unity afterwards, when strangers exchanged more smiles than they had at the beginning. Hours after Breath & Opera at the Vigeland Museum, my boyfriend asks if I'm alright. Apparently, I'm breathing differently. Without noticing, I've continued practising one of the techniques long into the evening – an unconventional museum souvenir, one might say, and one I'll happily keep collecting.

Particularly when travelling, museum visits can become another exercise in ticking things off an itinerary, moving from one masterpiece to the next with half an eye on the time. But you can't hurry through a sound bath or slip away from a yoga class to see what's in the next gallery. Having booked a ticket and carved out time for the session, you're encouraged to slow down and be present. All you have to do is turn up, find your place and stay awhile. Below, we’ve rounded up the best upcoming museum wellness experiences to consider for your upcoming travels.

Museum wellness experiences to try

Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, France

After closing time, yoga instructor Charlotte Wilkins leads a gentle practice and guided contemplation among the collections, with monumental works by Robert and Sonia Delaunay, Raoul Dufy and Henri Matisse providing the surroundings.

Address: Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, 11 Av. du Président Wilson, 75116 Paris, France
Website: charlottewilkins.fr
Dates: 26 November, 6.30 - 8pm

The Courtauld, London, UK

Led by Leyla Bumbra, this morning community yoga class combines flowing movement with ideas drawn from folklore, philosophy and visual culture, encouraging participants to look at art a little differently.

Address: The Courtauld Gallery, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 0RN
Website: eventbrite.co.uk
Dates: 28 October 8.30 - 9.30am

Emanuel Vigeland Museum, Oslo, Norway

Gong master Anne Siri Langelandsvik combines gongs, singing bowls and chimes beneath Emanuel Vigeland's vast fresco Vita, in a mausoleum with extraordinary acoustics. Bring warm layers: the interior is kept at around 14°C.

Address: Emanuel Vigeland Museum, Grimelundsveien 8, 0775 Oslo, Norway
Website: visitoslo.com
Dates: 20th October and 17th November, 7pm. 13th December, 6pm and 7.30pm

Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, UK

Enjoy early-morning Pilates with Graft Pilates in the Pre-Raphaelite Galleries, followed by a drink in the tearoom, or settle beneath the paintings for an evening sound bath with Manoj of The Manoj Collective, accompanied by crystal bowls, gongs and chimes.

Address: Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, Chamberlain Square, Birmingham B3 3DH
Website: birminghammuseums.org.uk
Dates: Sound bath: 24 October, 6pm. Pilates: 25 October and 13 December, 9am

Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, UK

Sunday morning Vinyasa yoga with instructor Hannah takes place in the Enlightenment Gallery, moving through breathwork, balances and stretches before a final relaxation.

Address: Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, Queens Rd, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1RL
Website: bristolmuseums.org.uk
Dates: 18 October, 1 and 15 November, 6 and 20 December, 10.30 - 11.30am

KMSKA, Antwerp, Belgium

American yoga instructor Erica Lutes leads Yoga & Sound in one of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts' galleries, pairing yoga poses with soothing sounds before visitors explore the collections.

Address: KMSKA - Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, Leopold de Waelplaats 1, 2000 Antwerpen, Belgium
Website: kmska.be
Dates: 29 November and 19 December, 10 - 11am

National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, Japan

Drawing on the principles of forest bathing, Museum Bathing invites visitors to spend time slowly and attentively with art, exploring how a museum visit might offer more than an encounter with its collections.

Address: The National Museum of Western Art, 7-7 Uenokoen, Taito City, Tokyo 110-0007, Japan
Website: nmwa.go.jp
Dates: 16 October (session time still pending)