Who touches the gong touches the universe.

Yogi Bhajan, spiritual leader, master of Kundalini Yoga

 

HISTORY

Gong is an ancient instrument, first mentioned more than 5 thousand years ago. Some sources originate gong to Indonesia, where this instrument is called "chakram" from the Sanskrit word "chakra"; a concept used in yoga to refer to human energy centers. Since the time of the Buddha (600 BC), all the sacred Chinese gongs were inscribed by two characters "Tai Loy", which means "Happiness Arrived." Many civilizations recognized the gong as a magical instrument. In ancient times it was used as an instrument of initiation on the path to enlightenment, curing diseases, expelling evil spirits, attracting the attention of the gods and manipulation of the elements. On Borneo gongs are still used to repel storms. Generals used gongs during wars to intimidate the enemy and collect troops. Princes and leaders demonstrated their wealth and proclaimed their rank with the gongs they owned. Taking an oath was intensified by drinking from the gong. Even touching a gong promised healing from sickness and brought good luck, happiness, and strength. Many events in human life: birth, death, marriage, up to this day are accompanied by the gong. Its sounds are used at funerals, weddings, numerous ceremonies, rituals, festivals and dance performances. For many centuries the gong is used by Tibetan monks for meditation. In south-east Asia it is believed that every gong has a soul, they are given respectful names, for example, "Invincible Tiger" or "Your Majesty the Earthquake." The role of the gong in world classical music is invaluable. The sound of the gong is heard in the works of Glinka, Rachmaninov, Shostakovich, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky and many other composers.

 

HEALING

Just like yoga, the gong affects our body, mind, and soul. It works at all levels for healing and transformation: from physical to emotional and spiritual.

 

Body

The gong produces a very strong sound wave that affects the surface of the skin, stimulating dermatomes. Dermatomes are segments of the skin, which the whole surface of the human body is divided into. They are connected with the central nervous system through the spinal cord roots, which in turn provide a link to various organs. During the gong play, these skin segments are stimulated by sound waves, affecting the relevant organs and other parts of the body. Studies have shown that gong is especially helpful for insomnia, neck pain, headache, menstrual pain, migraines, spasms and restriction in the chest and upper respiratory tract, joint diseases, and psychosomatic disorders. When a gong is located in the immediate vicinity of the listener the sound wave can literally envelop the body with an "audible massage". The sound of the gong has been known to contribute to the renewal and rejuvenation of cells, often used in the recovery of cancer patients. There are repeatedly confirmed cases of faster recovery from various injuries due to gong play near the patient. This is because the sounds of the live gong stimulate blood circulation, while a large variety of frequencies stimulates the nerve endings affected during the trauma. Since physical ailments are often associated with stress and emotional problems, the gong influencing these areas also affects physical well-being. The gong also directly affects the pituitary gland, the central organ of the endocrine system, which in turn causes the balance of the entire glandular system of the body. The gong sounds also balance the processes of excitation and inhibition in the nervous system, causes muscle relaxation and stabilization of the autonomic nervous system.

 

Consciousness

The gong is a powerful transformational tool. Resulting in the complete relaxation and cleansing of the mind, its sound facilitates the reorganization of feelings and emotions, which ultimately affects our consciousness. In ancient times the gong was used to treat schizophrenia and other psychiatric abnormalities. These methods are used in the present day by many psychiatric hospitals. Putting patients into a sound trance, changing the state of consciousness and transpersonal experiences, doctors help such patients integrate their own experiences. Integrating the gong was a boom in music therapy for the treatment of autism. In 1973, Yogi Bhajan was the first to practice a drug abstinence program using the gong. In the first year of its existence, it was recognized in the top 10% of the best programs with a recovery rate of 91%. Gong therapy is also used as a method of transpersonal psychology, which allows one to find happiness, joy and feel one's integrity and identity.

 

Spirit

The sages of antiquity believed that the sounds of the gong have the power of healing the spirit, filling man with the universal vital energy, contributing to spiritual growth and development of intuition. From time immemorial, gong is used for meditation, allowing you to disconnect from the mental "noise" of the brain. Spiritual healing begins when the unity between the listener and primordial sound waves synchronize, with that transcendental reality and infinity that are beyond the limits of body and mind. In this space, the gong becomes a portal to the Divine, a gateway to eternity, which has always existed and will exist. Gong is rightfully recognized as an instrument of self-knowledge, self-transformation, and enlightenment.

 

GONG AND SCIENCE

The science of Cymatics (studying the visualization of sound and vibration) proves that frequency and vibration are the master keys and the organizational basis for creating all the matter and life in the Universe. When sound waves move on a physical medium: sand, air, water, etc., the frequency of waves has a direct relationship to the formation of structures that are created by sound waves when they pass through a certain medium, such as the human body, that is more than 70% water! Listening to the sounds of the gong helps to tune our bodies to their correct vibrations, changing bioelectric rhythms towards their harmonization. And the most valuable thing is that behind all these transformations there are absolutely natural psycho-physiological processes of polyphonic sound impact on bioelectric processes in the central nervous system and other regulatory bodies.

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GONG AND YOGA

Gong and yoga can exist on a separate basis, but it is their combination that gives a particularly healing result. Yoga itself is a healing practice leading to Unity. There is a practice of yoga-gong therapy, when yoga asanas, mudras, bandhas, pranayama, and mantras are combined with gong sounds. Such activities lead to an awakening of intuition, balancing chakras and emotions, improving the performance of many body systems. The gong is also very popular in yoga-nidra sessions, which makes it possible to purify itself of especially deep impressions of samskaras (karmic forces, driving many of our actions and life events). Thanks to a combination of yoga-nidra and gong you get to those subconscious departments that help to detect and replace habitual patterns of behavior, often causing physical and psychological problems. The gong is widely used during Kundalini Yoga classes.

 

GONGS PAISTE

Originating in 1906 in Estonia, now located in Switzerland, PAISTE company is the manufacturer of gongs of the highest quality. Along with symphonic gongs and other percussion instruments, it produces so-called planetary gongs that are tuned to vibrations of the Earth, the Moon, the Sun and other planets and asteroids according to the calculations of the Swiss mathematician and musicologist Hans Cousteau. The palette of sounds these gongs is very mystical and creates an inconceivable atmosphere of boundlessness. For our sound baths, Mystic Techniques uses three sounds PAISTE gongs with vibrations of Earth, Moon, and Uranus.