Sound and Gong Healing
Relax and rejuvenate to healing vibrations of the gong and sacred sounds – proven ways to soothe your mind and body, promoting harmony and balance.
We live in a sea of sound
Even in silence, we can hear the beat of our own hearts. How often have you used sound to uplift your spirit when you're feeling sad or bad? Do you sing a song, play music, call a friend and talk? How often have you brought yourself and others down by words used in anger and frustration?
Our words carry vibrational frequency. These vibrations generate electromagnetic energy that affects how our body functions at a cellular level.
The Universe is made up of vibration. Sound is not only a most potent tool in maintaining and creating our sense of wellbeing, but also can be used to heal the body, mind and spirit.
Naad yoga
Naad means 'the essence of all sound', the vibrational harmony of the infinite. Naad yoga is based on the experience of how sound vibrations affect the body, mind and spirit through the movement of the tongue and mouth, and changes in the chemicals of the brain.
When we consciously regulate the sounds we make through the use of mantra, breath, and rhythm, we can produce profound effects on our health and wellbeing.
Our ability to affect our immune system through our thoughts and emotions has been scientifically documented. Mantra, rhythm, and breath used together can create a healing response in the immune system.
The science behind mantra
When chanting sacred mantras, a neurophysiological cascade begins to happen.
There are 84 meridian points on the upper palate. With each stroke of the breath and the tongue striking the meridian points, it's like the beat of a drumstick that releases waves of neurochemical messages to activate the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland commands all the other glands, which in turn, regulate our immune function and emotions.
You can feel the upper palate with the tongue and experience its different surfaces. There are two rows of meridian points on the upper palate and on the gum behind the upper teeth. The tongue stimulates those meridian points, and they, in turn, stimulate the hypothalamus, which makes the pineal gland radiate. When the pineal gland radiates, it creates an resonance in the pituitary gland. When the pituitary gland resonates, the entire glandular system secretes resulting in a state of bliss.
Chanting mantra is not the same as singing. Rather, it's the creation of specific vibrations that has a direct effect on your emotional state. Chanting is an excellent technique to practice to quell high-functioning anxiety and stress-induced depression.
The limbic system
Psychoneuroimmunology is the study of the connection between the mind and emotions, and the endocrine, nervous, and immune systems. The link between these body systems and our sensations, thoughts and emotions, is the limbic system. This system is made up of the hypothalamus, pituitary, and pineal glands. Sound, breath and rhythm are interpreted like a code by the hypothalamus.
Inner nectar
There's a special connection between the higher functions of the pineal gland and the use of the breath. When the breath is very slow (4 breaths per minute or less), a channel is opened by the hypothalamus between the pituitary and pineal glands. This releases an 'inner nectar' or amrit that activates and accelerates the entire nervous system. Vitality and healing cascade through all levels of the mind and body. Nerves, muscles, and glands are at peak performance.
A symphony of breath and sound
Imagine mantra and breath are the conductors of a symphony and you're the composer. You have the capacity to change the notes of the symphony, to create chords of happiness, vitality, and calmness. This capacity is inherent in our design and requires no special drug or belief.
This creative process exists because every one of our molecules is in communication with every cell and thought. The power of mantra uses sound, breath, and rhythm to command our mind, brain, emotions, body, and actions.
Naad, as mentioned earlier, is the vibrational harmony of the Universe through which you can experience belonging, the bridge between the finite self and the infinite.
When we're under prolonged stress, the natural harmony of body, mind and spirit is disrupted. Through sacred sound, we can tune-up our glands and reset our nervous systems to build resilience. This lets us flow through life’s ups and downs in balance with nature’s rhythm.
Gong vibrations
Gong is an integral part of Kundalini Yoga and accompanies many kriyas and meditations. The mind has no defence against the gong. As you travel into the sound, the glandular system is stimulated, releasing us from the torrents of our subconscious thoughts that often hold us back and mask our true radiance.
The gong’s rhythmic overtones impact the body and its meridians and help clear the aura. They penetrate every cell and fibre of the body releasing blocks (energetic and emotional), reducing nervous tension and stress while boosting circulation. The resulting benefits are greater self-awareness and a deeper inner connection.