Types of Healing Gongs

Gongs are made in a diverse styles, shapes and sizes. They are typically flat and round and made of metal. When played as instruments, musicians hit the gong with a mallet on one of three percussion points to produce a distinct sound. While practitioners use a mallet with healing gongs, they typically do not strike it but tap or roll it on the gong, resulting in building resonance, rhythms and sounds. Various cultures, particularly in Asia, have their types of healing gongs, methods for playing them and settings in which they are used.

Types

In Nepal, gongs are hand-hammered, giving them a singular design. Some people carve gongs to personalize them for clients. The gongs may be used for meditation practice or sound therapy. The Nepalese have traditionally used the sound of gongs to clear the mind and for prayer and spiritual awakening. In Australia, the Order of Obsidian uses meditation Chao gongs and wind gongs in conjunction with quartz singing bowls to conduct healing work. In Tibet, the bowl gong resembles a singing bowl and is often used for worship in temples.

History

Gongs have a long and colorful history. Archaeologists have discovered gongs built four centuries ago. Ancient Chinese gongs were used for ceremonial rituals. The Javanese adopted gongs in the ninth century and changed their shape, and the Indonesians created Gamelan instruments with multiple gongs. Africa and Europe were the next continents to experiment with gongs. Conducting rituals and healing ceremonies with gongs is a traditional practice in many Asian countries.

Benefits

Musical gongs may sound divine, but proponents of healing gongs say the sounds deliver physical, emotional and spiritual benefits. Healing gongs create vibrations that resonate throughout the body. Healers claim the reverberations restore inner balance and maintain the vital flow of internal energy, known as "qi" in Chinese medicine. Healing gongs are also said to open and balance the body's seven main centers of energy, known as chakras. Others credit healing gongs with reducing stress and promoting relaxation and mental clarity. Some practitioners use gong therapy to relieve fatigue and promote better sleep.

Significance

In many Asian cultures, the gong symbolizes wealth and status. Its healing significance is often regarded as spiritual, with customs for playing gongs to evoke spirits and to eradicate demons. Touching gongs can bring good fortune and strength. Paiste, a major manufacturer of gongs, sells Sound Creation Gongs that they say are designed to evoke archetypal emotions. Paiste also produces Chakra Gongs and Earth Gongs.

Expert Insight

Gong master Don Conreaux credits gongs with drawing out "the anger and negativity out of a person like a vacuum. It is used in music therapy with kids who have hostility issues. I have seen street kids listen to the gong when I have been playing and the transformation which occurs while they listen is amazing. They shed their hard exterior and anger. And, when I let them play the gong, they approach it with respect." Conreaux recommends healing gongs consisting of 75 percent copper, 20 percent tin and 5 percent nickel, saying that the nickel produces a spiritual sound that promotes transcendental energy.

Resources

• Article on gongs: "Pondering the Realm on Healing with Sound"