Relaxing in a Gong Bath

When a friend invited me to join her in a gong bath session at a church hall in Dorchester I was intrigued, so decided to sign up for the experience and see what it was all about. The session organisers were Sound Healing Lotus Academy.

So I left the house with my yoga mat, a cushion and two blankets scooping my friend up as I passed her house and off we went. When we arrived at the church hall we were warmly welcomed and there were an array of drums, gongs, singing bowls brass and crystal and other unusual percussion instruments set up, some hanging on a large frame work.

I unrolled my mat and arranged my blankets etc as the room began to fill. Not too many just a nice amount of people. Leaving large spaces between each person for the sound therapists to walk along during the session.

The beautiful crystal singing bowls were lit with calming coloured lamps and as we were invited to sit the light dimmed a little and the session commenced.

We started by becoming mindful of our breathing and the invited to join in some chanting of mantras which was surprisingly calming.

After a time we were invited to lie down and make ourselves comfortable in any way we chose, and the lights were dimmed lower and the sound healing session began.

Sound healing and gong baths are said to benefit many things, including improve the mental, emotional and physical awareness of yourself and enhancing well being. It can ease stress and balance the mind, body and spirit. It can provide positive results for many issues such as insomnia,anxiety, depression and even pain management. It can provide depth of relaxation as the vibrations pass through the body.

As the session began I soon began to relax and enjoy the different sounds and gongs as the sound therapists walked amongst us playing their various instruments, sometimes sweeping them above our bodies. I became sensitive to the vibrations of the different instruments and as they moved around the room it felt almost like my ears were reaching out and following the sounds. As I relaxed further my mind quietened and I became immersed in sound and vibrations, and until this point I hadn’t understood why it was called a gong bath. But that very much was the experience, bathed in sound and vibrations. For me some of the very deep tones of the gongs and singing bowl were amazing. They resonated through my entire being and were soothing and incredibly calming . All in all a most enjoyable experience.

At the end of the session I took my time to sit up and as I looked around the room people were slow getting up and beginning to talk to each other about the experience. I found it quite interesting that each person’s experience was unique to them, very much like hypnosis. The one thing we had all agreed on was that it had been a truly pleasant and relaxing experience. And as I write this 24 hours later I still have a sense of calm running through me almost as if

some of the vibrations are continuing within me. I have felt very zen like today, I hope it continues!