“In sound we are born, in sound we are healed”
― Mehtab Benton
Gong baths in recent years have started to be considered an alternative therapy with benefits ranging from stress reduction to restful sleep. Find out what is a gong bath and how this healing sound meditation can help you today.
What is a Gong Bath?
It is essentially a healing and reflective experience where you “wash” in the audio and vibrations generated by different tools such as gongs, adjusting forks, and crystal bowls. The form of sound meditation uses vibrations to calm your mind and enters a meditative state. It allows for sound healing of the mind, body and soul.
Throughout a gong bath or sound bath, the brainwave state is altered from a typical waking condition (beta) to a relaxed state (alpha), dreamlike state (theta), and also corrective shape (delta). As the body and mind relax, the heart rate and blood pressure decrease, and our breathing becomes more profound. It then remains in this state where deep recovery can occur.
Hence, a Gong bath decreases stress and anxiety by inducing a state of leisure and has physical benefits. These include reducing pain, improving sleep, eliminating toxic substances, and conditioning immune systems.
Gong Bath Benefits
Sound has been confirmed to have healing impacts on the mind and body. A gong bath session can lower stress, anxiety, tension, unhappiness, and decreased discomfort. Research into this subject is limited; however, some studies show that a gong bath may improve your emotional state and relieve stress in your body, among other things.
Gong bathing might appear as another ‘holistic living’ fad. However, this sound meditation healing therapy is ancient, going back over 40,000 years. Ancient Greeks used their musical abilities to treat ailments related to digestion and psychological wellness, and the Tibetans used singing bowls for centuries for sound meditation amongst the Himalayan mountain ranges. Also, Australian indigenous tribes played the didgeridoo to help heal the ill. Sound meditation has a long history.
Healing the Mind
Gong baths or sound baths might assist in treating mental health issues, such as anxiety, stress, and depression.
One 2016 research on 62 adults determined their feelings before a sound bath and after a meditation session that included a sound meditation gong bath. The researchers discovered tension, anxiety, and negative moods decreased considerably after the therapy.
A 2018 study with 60 individuals asked 30 to listen to the songs of Tibetan vocal singing bowls before getting a surgical procedure. It also provided the 30 other participants with earphones without any music.
The evaluation discovered that the stability of heart rate and other vitals showing tension improved in those offered earphones with music.
Healing the Body
Individuals in the previously pointed out 2016 research study were also asked whether they were in pain and to rate their discomfort on a scale from 1 to 5 if they felt pain.
Before a sound bath, these research study individuals tended to rate their pain higher than they did later. More research is needed to validate whether this decreasing trend would reach scientific significance. However, the small amount of evidence already points towards the positive impact of sound meditation.
Top 7 List of Benefits of a Sound Meditation
- Improves focus
- Clears mind
- Relives stress, tension, and anxiety
- Boosts Confidence
- Re-energizes the body
- Become more mindful of others
- Improves health conditions related to high blood pressure
What does Gong Bath healing look like?
Most sound bath healing sessions last for one hour. During a professional’s sound bath session, you rest on a yoga floor covered with a comfy pillow under your head. The practitioner then asks you to concentrate on your breath for a few minutes to relax and then uses various instruments like healing bowls, tuning forks, and gongs to create different noises and resonances.
The sound cleanses your mind and body. Taking you to a much deeper state of consciousness, such as during meditation. You disconnect from external stimuli and enter a state of internal peace and harmony.
Throughout the sessions, people experience a variety of physical as well as mental experiences. Many fall into a deep state of relaxation. Yet individuals have likewise had creative “aha!” moments.
At Home, Gong Baths
You can undoubtedly have your sound bath session in your home if attending a group session is not practical. There are a lot of sound bath songs readily available on the internet. There are also many live online gong bath sound meditations by instructors.
Relax easily when you have chosen the music or session you wish to play. Then, close your eyes as well as take deep breaths. Concentrate on your breathing and unwind; then, concentrate on the audio around you. Pay attention and focus on the distinction produced when the audio fades away.
Proceed to experience the sounds and let them anchor you to the present. Don’t judge any sound. Just observe them. If you become panicked or troubled, don’t respond. Acknowledge the emotion. Do this for the rest of the recording while becoming aware of the surrounding area.
Once the recording is over, enjoy the silence, slowly opening your eyes. Observe just how your awareness has altered.
Listening to recordings at home is a terrific method to improve your meditation technique and reduce and loosen up. Nonetheless, there’s nothing like being in the same room as the instruments.
To summarize
A Gong bath is a reflective technique that’s risk-free for the majority of people to attempt. A good gong bath can be less complicated than other meditative practices since it doesn’t need experience with meditating to do it– all you have to do is pay attention. This is why it is an ideal meditation technique for beginners!
Remember that sound baths aren’t a replacement for medicine or therapy. Yet considering that leisure is the primary byproduct of this method, it could be worth attempting as a means to start a healing process.
