About Gong Baths
What is a Gong Bath?
It is a therapeutic and meditative experience in which you bathe in the sounds and vibrations produced by different instruments such as gongs, handpans and crystal bowls. Through these sounds and vibrations, your mind enters a meditative and relaxed state. This brings about healing at mental, emotional, and physical levels.
During a sound bath, the brainwave state is altered from normal waking state (beta) to relaxed state (alpha), dreamlike state (theta), and even restorative state (delta). As the mind and body relax, the heart rate and blood pressure decrease, and our breathing become deeper. It is in this state that deep healing can occur.
Thus, a sound bath not only reduces stress and anxiety by inducing a state of relaxation, but it also has physiological benefits. These include a reduction in pain, better sleep, removal of toxins and strengthening of immune systems.
Benefits of a Gong Bath
Sound has proven to have healing effects on the mind as well as the body. A sound bath session can lead to reduced anxiety levels, tension, and sadness as well as diminished pain. Research into this subject is limited, but there have been studies that indicate a sound bath may improve your mood and release tension in your body.
It may seem like sound baths are yet another New Age trend, but sound therapy is as old as time, dating back over 40,000 years. Ancient Greeks used flutes and lyres to treat digestion and mental health, Tibetans used singing bowls for over 2,000 years for meditation purposes and Australian aboriginal tribes played the didgeridoo to heal the sick.
What to expect in a Gong Bath
Most sound bath programs last 45 to 60 minutes. During a sound bath session with a practitioner, you lie down on a yoga mat with a comfy cushion under your head. The practitioner then asks you to focus on your breath for a few minutes to relax and then uses different instruments like chimes, rattles, and gongs to produce different sounds and vibrations.
The sounds wash over your mind and body and take you to a deeper state of consciousness such as during meditation. You unplug from external stimuli and enter a state of inner peace and harmony.
Throughout the sessions, people experience a range of physical and mental sensations. Most commonly, they fall into a deep state of relaxation. But participants have also had creative “aha!” moments, and shed tears.