Have you heard of a Gong Bath? If not, chances are that you will before too long. Typically held in yoga studios, Gong Bath classes are growing in popularity, and now even have a celeb following – apparently A-lister Miranda Kerr is a fan. But just what is this mysterious sounding trend?
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What is a Gong Bath?
Well, a Gong Bath can be incorporated into a yoga session, or practiced independently. Basically, it involves lying down, chilling out, and listening to a gong! While that may sound a little bonkers, there’s more to this unusual practice than meets the eye…
Devotees say that taking a Gong Bath is a totally immersive experience, and that the sound of the gong engages the mind in such a way that it becomes extremely easy to relax deeply and rest the mind.
A quick google search of ‘What is a Gong Bath’ may well throw up a fair bit of pseudoscience regarding the healing powers of the experience. Personally, I’m not one to buy into that without more evidence – but that’s not to say that I don’t think a regular Gong Bath practice might just work wonders.
If, like me, you struggle with traditional meditation, you could do much worse that give ‘Gong Bathing’ a go (did I just invent a new term there?)! There’s just something about the frequency of the sound of the gong that allows the mind to ‘tune in’ very quickly, and in doing so helps to stop the incessant internal chatter.
And while Gong Baths in themselves may or may not have healing powers, we all know that regular deep relaxation has huge health benefits.
Check out this vid if you’d like to hear a little bit more about the potential benefits of Gong Baths…
If you’re unsure about devoting a chunk of your precious time to a bizarre sounding practice, how about asking your yoga teacher if she/he might be happy to add a little Gong Bath session onto the end of your yoga class?
Alternatively, if you prefer to exercise at home, you can listen to Gong Bath recordings on YouTube. Just put ‘What is a Gong Bath’ in the search and you’ll get a few good returns. They’re definitely worth checking out, the only issue is that the sound quality can be a little off on some – and that’s pretty important since this practice is all about the sound!
If you’re after something with better sound quality, you can get lots of Gong Bath tracks to stream on Amazon Music (here’s a link for a month’s free trial), or if that’s not your thing you can also get CDs. Turn down the lights, get cozy, and give it a go for ten minutes – what have you got to lose?
I’d love to know how you get on if you decide to try out a Gong Bath. I hope you enjoy it and manage to turn off the mental chatter for a while – you deserve it!
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