Why You Need to Try a Sound Bath: To Wash Your Mind Clean

Summary

The article describes a personal experience of attending a sound bath session at Chakra5 Yoga in Los Angeles, highlighting the transformative and emotional impact of the event.

Abstract

The author recounts their visit to Chakra5 Yoga for a sound bath, an immersive auditory experience using gongs and bowls. The session, held in honor of the full moon, is led by a skilled gong player whose performance transports the participants to a state of deep relaxation and introspection. The author reflects on the power of sound to evoke emotions and create a shared sense of space and energy among attendees, despite some initial discomfort and skepticism. The evening concludes with a communal chanting of 'Om' and a sense of tranquility under the full moon, leaving the author with a memorable first experience of a sound bath.

Opinions

The author finds the receptionist's comment about their friend's last name amusing and notes the welcoming atmosphere of the studio.
There is a hint of skepticism regarding the need for a vetting process to enter the studio, questioning the practicality of such measures.
The author acknowledges the impact of the gong player's simple instructions to be present, recognizing the profound effect of such guidance when heard in a new context.
The sound bath experience is described as transcendent, with the varying tones and sizes of the gongs eliciting a range of emotions and sensations.
The author admits to struggling initially with settling into the experience without prior yoga practice but eventually finds it rewarding.
The gong player is portrayed as a conduit of sound energy, with her movements appearing graceful and integral to the narrative of the sound bath.
The communal 'Om' chanting at the end of the session is seen as a beautiful and unifying moment, symbolizing the merging of energies and the creation of shared space.
The author reflects on their personal journey during the sound bath, likening themselves to a Thomas' English Muffin in need of emotional 'buttering,' suggesting the experience brought hidden emotions to the surface.
The article concludes with a light-hearted and self-deprecating joke about the author's initiation into sound bathing, indicating a newfound appreciation and openness to the practice.

Why You Need to Try a Sound Bath: To Wash Your Mind Clean

One drink imbibed but a disproportionately strong buzz afoot, my friend and I clunked up the stairs to Chakra5 Yoga, a studio I hadn’t yet visited in Los Angeles. The wide wooden stairs reminded me of a public library, or an old building which might have served as a town hall. Creaking away on wooden floors, we dropped our shoes on the rack near the front desk and signed in. The receptionist, eager to process our paperwork, simultaneously buzzed those in from downstairs.

“Chakra5! Sure come on up,” she quipped.

When wouldn’t someone be allowed up, I silently pondered? Is there really someone masquerading as a yoga student, only to get to the top of the stairs to try to sell you the Slap Chop? I think not.

Needless to say, once the receptionist made the most amusing comment ever made about my friend’s last name(namely that Widdows is a bad-ass last name which makes her feel like Halloween), we hurried inside the studio. The room was nearly full, with everyone huddled together comfortably ready for the nights event– a sound bath. Yes — a sound bath. What is a sound bath, you ask? An hour-long celebration featuring the sounds of various sized gongs and bowls. On this night, it was in honor of the full moon.

A woman, the gong player, began the evening with a few simple words.

“Come to a seat, sit up nice and tall. Close your eyes. Forget everything that happened before this, and everything coming after.”

These simple words were very impactful in that moment as everything else fell away, even though the concept wasn’t unfamiliar. I said this very thing at the beginning of my own yoga classes. But hearing the simplicity of it again hit home. This simplicity was all we needed to be present.

The gong player was a lovely young woman who created waves of sound that rushed over and inside of us. As her hand grazed each bowl, an almost human, strangely pure sound was emitted. Soon, everyone had drifted into a no-mans land of sound, somewhere in between reality and space.

The sound welled up in different sized waves depending on the gong in play. The larger gongs had an ominous sound, almost like a gang of voices welling up in anger or discontent, while the smaller gongs felt more melodic and soothing. When you layered the sounds together, it was like listening to humanity unravel itself right in front of you. The moon seemed to become brighter with each reverberation.

To drift into an ethereal space mentally and physically without the benefit of yoga practice beforehand was more difficult than expected. After a few fidgets, I settled in, but had some uncomfortable emotions arise. It was as if the sounds pulled emotion from deep within the nooks and crannies of my being. I was a Thomas’ English Muffin of emotional gaps ready to be buttered. Or was it just how I felt that particular night? Hmmm.

The gong player was a channel for sound energy. Even though my eyes were closed for most of the evening, I peeked a few times to see how her graceful movement felt effortless and unplanned amidst the gongs, telling a unique sound story. There was something immensely beautiful about that.

At the end of the sound bath, we sounded several Oms together, one overlapping another. Then through silent consensus the Oms finished, creating a beautiful stillness. Energies had melded. Space had been created.

Afterwards, we mingled holding small cups of hot tea under the bright full moon. It was my first sound bath, so it suffices to say, I’d popped my gong cherry. However crass, it was true, so we all laughed at this fun fact. First time sound bather, no more…over and out.