Sleeping with the GONG
Have you ever heard anyone snoring during a gong relaxation?
It can be a little annoying, especially if it turns out to be yourself. Yet, it does seem natural to zonk out during a deep relaxation.
But, if you do sleep with the gong, you may be missing the best part of the relaxation – the deep personal transformation that comes from the sound of the gong while in an engaged altered state of consciousness.
There is a special state in the practice of yoga called Yoga Nidra, or literally “yogic sleep.” Yogic sleep is a state of consciousness much akin to the deep meditative state that the brain can achieve by accomplished meditators. There is a heightened sense of awareness accompanied by a deep relaxation of the nervous system. The body seems incapable of movement, much like a pre-sleep state, yet the consciousness remains fully engaged.
Yoga Nidra can be likened to an induced state of self-hypnosis where a post-hypnotic suggestion is seeded by the individual before that state.
This practice has been done in India for centuries in a variety of applications, from healing, learning, and simply deeply transforming the individual on all levels of consciousness. It is said to be effective in accessing past life samskaras, or karmic imprints, that may still be influencing our actions, relationships and health.
When the Gong is used to help create a state of Yoga Nidra and then furthermore used skillfully to guide a person more deeply into that experience, remarkable results can be experienced.
This experience is called Gong Yoga Nidra.
The sound of the gong, much like the facilitator’s voice in Yoga Nidra session, works deeply on the subconscious level to access, process and release old patterns of behaviors and the limited sense of self.
When the Gong is expertly played during and at the end of a Gong Yoga Nidra session, there is a new relationship to the self that emerges through the use of the self-created personal affirmation.
Like any therapeutic or transformation practice, Gong Yoga Nidra can have several uses and focuses, depending upon the effect that is desired, from simply balancing the chakras to clearing hidden fears or recreating an empowered sense of self.
