Gongs – Not Bongs My first experience is using the Gong was in a Kundalini Yoga ashram in 1974 where it was played by teachers for recovering drug addicts. Our ashram served as a half-way house for ex-drug users, primarily heroin and cocaine. They lived a yogic...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: Saturn Makes a Lucky Move in Vedic Astrology Saturn Makes a Lucky Move For the past few days (October 26), Saturn has been blessing us with its presence in the Vedic sign of Sagittarius. This relief comes after an almost...
The Moody Blues Rock and Roll musicians “discovered” the psychedelic Gong in the late 1960s and 1970s. I think my first exposure to the sound of the Gong was at a Moody Blues concert when they performed “Knights in White Satin/Lament.” At the end of the 7-minute song,...
Dying to Hear the Gong The Gong has been used for centuries in almost every ritual, ceremony, and rite of passage known to humankind. In Buddhist monasteries, gongs call the attention of the gods. In ancient Greece, they open the realm of the dead. In Borneo, they are...
Talking with Your Chakras When is the last time you talked with your chakras? Probably in the last hour or so. Every time we speak, we usually speak from a combination of two chakra energy centers. Every chakra has a specific frequency that informs our energy. From...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: A Dance of Mind & Heart in Vedic Astrology Dancing with Mind and Heart October will show us how balanced we are with a month-long dance between mind and heart, intellect and emotion, understanding and feeling, and reason and...
The Octagong When does a gong have eight sides? When it is made by Martin Blase, master gong maker in Germany. I obtained this gong from Martin last summer in his studio after hearing its amazing sound. My wife says the sound of the Octogong shatters old patterns and...
A Gong for Every Chakra! Many people experience healing and relaxation from the sound of the Gong. And the gong has been used therapeutically for a wide range of applications, from treating addictions, balancing the emotions, and even reducing inflammation in the...
Kundalini Yoga: Keeping It Hot I’ve taught Kundalini Yoga in some pretty hot places: Costa Rica, Bali, Mexico, and of course, Austin Texas. Sweat trickling down your back as you do Sat Kriya and giving Breath of Fire a new meaning in 105 degree heat. And some people...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: Time for a Karmic Overhaul in Vedic Astrology Time for a Karmic Overhaul: Rahu & Ketu Change Vedic Signs On September 8, the planets Rahu and Ketu enter new Vedic signs respectively, and we all get to feel the karmic...
Put On Your Gong Ears: How to Listen to the Gong How do you listen to the sound of the Gong? Most people simply relax on the back, with their feet pointing toward to the gong player, and let the sound pour over and through them. And that’s nice. But it may not be the...
All the Breath You Need: Managing Your Emotional Energy Anxious? Depressed? Low energy? Can’t calm down? Just feeling really off? Maybe you need to take a breath. Or several breaths. After all, one of the most powerful experiences in the practice of Kundalini Yoga...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: The Big Deal Eclipse in Vedic Astrology The Big Deal Eclipse: Identity, Career and Spiritual Multiplication For once astrologers and astronomers agree – this month is a big deal because there will be a total solar eclipse...
The Gong as Therapy Are you ready for therapy? Gong Therapy, that is. If you have only experienced the gong in a group setting or yoga class, you may not fully realize the power of the gong to heal and transform. Gong Therapy is done one-on-one, the gong player and...
The Six Secrets of Kundalini Yoga Kundalini Yoga is one of the most powerful yoga practices available to spiritual seekers, primarily because it is taught and practiced in the format of a kriya, or a prescribed sequence of postures, breath, sound, and movement. The...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: Moms are from Mars in Vedic Astrology Moms Are from Mars On July 11, Mars enters the Vedic sign of Cancer where it will remain until August 26. Mars is not happy in Cancer. Mars is not strong in Cancer. Mars is debilitated in...
Gigantic Gongs: When Size Matters Gongs are often priced by size, and the sound they produce varies dramatically as their size increases. So it’s no surprise that gong players, and people who love the gong, can be a little obsessive with this probing question: How...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: Summer Solstice & Saturn in Vedic Astrology Summer Solstice Arrives – But So Does Saturn Every June, the biggest astrological event is the arrival of Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, the day of the Sun and the...
With Every Breath: Silent Mantra and Simran In the practice of Kundalini Yoga, students are often instructed to use a silent mantra with the breath as they inhale and exhale, or as they move from left to right or up and down (“Inhale Sat, exhale Nam.”) The silent...
The Land of Gongs Have you ever heard a bonang played before? It sounds a lot like a gong because it is a gong. When the Dutch explored what is now Indonesia in the late 1500s, the encountered a huge round metal instrument that the natives said was imbued with magical...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: Thank God it’s May in Vedic Astrology Thank God It’s May! Although the calendar may say May 3rd, May does not really start until now. Because that is when Mercury finally goes direct after being retrograde for...
Your Eyes Have Secrets: The Drishtis of Kundalini Yoga Unlike most styles of yoga, the eyes are usually closed when practicing Kundalini Yoga. More accurately, the eyes are not simply closed but are specifically focused inside the body in a gaze or what is...
Too Much Gong? Maybe! Can we ever get too much gong? No, no, you cry. We love the gong. Please gong us. If not too much, then how much gong? Is it like a great meal, a great yoga class, or great sex? Do you really want it to go on for hours? (Well maybe). But actually...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: Expect the Unexpected in Vedic Astrology Expect the Unexpected Do you like it when people behave unexpectedly? Sometimes. But mostly not. While unexpected events can bring new opportunities, the price is a disruption of...
Ten Kundalini Yoga Tips for Great Sleep! If you have been practicing Kundalini yoga for very long, you know that it helps you sleep better at night. There are dozens of scientific research papers published on the effectiveness of yoga in reducing insomnia and...
How Loud is that Gong? Most people experience the sound of the gong as “loud” even when played at a medium volume because of the power and complexity of the sound it is capable of producing. And if the gong is played poorly, it sounds even louder because of the...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: Lovers Come Back in Vedic Astrology Lover Come Back: Venus Goes Retrograde! On March 4 Venus enters its retrograde period until April 15. Unlike Mercury which goes retrograde almost every 4 months, Venus is only in retrograde every...
The Most Important Stretch in Kundalini Yoga When we talk about yoga and postures and stretching and flexibility, most people focus on the wrong things – like their hips, their shoulders, or their hamstrings. And indeed the yoga postures that people work the...
Gongs – The Universal Language! There are some words that are the same in all languages. Starting with variations on “hello,” we have words like “mama” and “papa,” “tea,” “coffee,” “chocolate,” “pizza,” “shampoo,” “bikini,” and others that are almost the same...
Meet Your Master Does your momma tell you what to do? Your boss? Your government? Who do you allow to be in charge of your life, and who is your master? For many people, it is their mind that tells them what to do. Their mind is the boss, the mind is the master. And...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: Eclipses & Retrogrades in Vedic Astrology February 26 Solar Eclipse With the New Moon on the 26th, we have a solar eclipse in the Vedic sign of Aquarius. An excellent day to meditate and NOT make major life decisions. If...
Finding the Perfect GONG! When you consider that a well-made gong will outlive you (and most interpersonal relationships!), it’s obvious that you want to select the Gong in Your Life much as if you were selecting a life partner. Like the modern world of relationships,...
Meet Yogi Bhajan, the Master of Kundalini Yoga It is human nature to focus on personalities. From electing presidents to People magazine to Dancing With the Stars, we want to make people bigger than life. We are a celebrity-obsessed culture and even the practice of...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: Political conjunctions, Mercury Retrograde & Winter Solstice in Vedic Astrology December 10 – Watch Out for Governmental Authorities Always good advice but especially on December 10th when the Sun conjuncts Saturn in...
The Perfect Yoga Practice For the beginning Kundalini yoga student, one of the most common questions is: How often should I come to class or practice yoga? “How often” means there is a measurable number, an amount of time, or a finite quantity that you can achieve,...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: Super-super Moon & Mighty Mars in Vedic Astrology LOOK! Up in the Sky! It’s Super Moon! What is this strange visitor to our planet? It is the Moon, but so very close this time, closer than it will ever be for another 18...
The Sound of the Gong Mehtab is the author of Gong Yoga, Teaching Gong Yoga, and Gong Therapy The gong has been involved in every kind of human activity, from the earthly to the ethereal. In Buddhist monasteries, gongs call the attention of the gods. In ancient...
Writing about what you love is easy. After writing three books about the Gong, and working on my fourth, I’m passing the 100,000 word mark about this amazing instrument for healing and transformation. Yet in some way, all that really needs to be written about the Gong...
When we talk about yoga postures and flexibility, most people focus on the wrong things – like hips, shoulders, or hamstrings. And the yoga postures that people work the hardest to perfect are often about major muscles and joints. Yet the yogis have said that the age...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: Bring on intelligence, love & riches in Vedic Astrology Get Smart! Embrace Your Inner Mercury! After enduring the Mercury retrograde last month, October puts the smallest “official” planet in its most brilliant position and our...
Welcome to Cosmic Vibes! THIS MONTH: Big planetary shifts in Vedic Astrology Peace Out – September 18th! Mars leaves Saturn & Venus enters Libra September brings peace and harmony to the cosmos with the entry of Venus into its Vedic sign of Libra on the...
No doubt about it – the sound of the Gong is addictive. There used to be a time many years ago when I did not play the Gong at the end of every Kundalini Yoga class I taught. I thought it might be a good idea not to get everyone all strung out and dependent on a gong...
Kundalini Five Finger Tune-Up Kundalini Yoga works fast. You can reset your mood, vitalize your body and refresh your mind in minutes. The breathing technique known as Breath of Fire is excellent to make a part of your daily life, whether if it’s just a few minutes in...
Experience the Gong: Heads Up! How do you listen to the gong? Most people like to relax on their back with their feet facing the front of the room where the gong is played. And that’s fine. But you may be missing out on a new gong experience if that’s all you ever do....
Jupiter in Virgo: It’s Good! August 2016 – September 2017 Jupiter enters a new sign every year and positively affects a new area of your life. On August 11th, Jupiter begins its yearly transit of the Vedic sign of Virgo and brings its benefits according to the...
Feeling the Love The month of July brings the energy of the Vedic sign of Cancer into our relationships, communication and spirituality. Venus enters Cancer on July 7, followed by Mercury on the 11th and finally joined by the Sun on the 16th. Cancer, a water sign and...
The Teacher in the Shadows: Jupiter Meets Rahu Jupiter moves into exact conjunction with the shadowy Vedic planet Rahu on June 20th almost exactly when Summer Solstice begins. Rahu and Jupiter have been hanging together already for a number of months, but this is the...
Perfect Timing How to Get the Best from Every Moment Astrology is the science of time. From the moment of your birth to all the major decisions you make, the time of any beginning contains the seed of its ultimate outcome. Have you ever been in the right place...
Fools, Lovers & the Fight for Enlightenment April 1st: Venus Exalted in Pisces April Fools’ Day brings gifts to all lovers as the planet of relationship, Venus, enters the extremely favorable Vedic sign of Pisces. With its heightened sense of empathy, sympathy,...
March 8th: Solar Eclipse The first eclipse solar eclipse of 2016 occurs March 8th in the Vedic sign of Aquarius. Solar eclipses usually bring into question our concept of identity. Who are we? What did we come to do? How do we need to change to spiritualize our...
