Meditation & yoga with Singing Bowls & gongs

In a meditation with Singing Bowls you meditate, usually sitting down, and use the Singing Bowl as a support to reach a state of inner stillness. Singing bowl meditation can therefore help you to find an easier approach to meditation, as the sounds already put us in a relaxed and relaxed state of consciousness.

Anyone who has already practiced meditation with Singing Bowls will perceive the familiar sound as a trigger that automatically directs your attention inwards. Through regular meditation practice, you will find new clarity and free yourself from ingrained patterns of thought and action.

Meditation with Singing Bowls is easy to learn, so you can practise it even if you don't have much experience with Singing Bowls or meditation. If you would like to practise singing bowl meditation alone at home, it only requires a little practice, as the aim is to strike the bowl yourself during meditation without tearing yourself out of your meditative contemplation.

The only requirement you should bring is curiosity and openness to sounds and vibrations. When you do the singing bowl meditation is up to you. Some people like to start meditating first thing in the morning to face the challenges of the day with inner serenity. Others prefer to meditate with Singing Bowls in the evening to end the day and calm down.

First of all, you need a Singing Bowl. Once you have found the right model for you, you can get started.

Find a quiet place

It is best to find a quiet, undisturbed place and sit on a yoga mat or meditation cushion or simply on a blanket. Turn off your cell phone and make sure that no one disturbs you for the next 10 to 15 minutes.

Place your Singing Bowl

Now place the Singing Bowl in front of you so that you can comfortably strike it from your sitting position. You can also place the bowl on the flat of your hand or on your fingertips. It is only important that the sides of the Singing Bowl are not dampened by your hand or materials. The bowl should be able to vibrate freely. A singing bowl stand is also ideal.

Concentrate on your breath

Close your eyes and concentrate only on your breathing to calm down and relax. Only in this state do you now begin to gently strike the Singing Bowl with a mallet. You can find out exactly how to do this in our article on the use of Singing Bowls. If you would like to find out more about the different types of mallets, we recommend our mallet guide.

Focus on the vibrations

Listen to the sound and feel the vibrations and focus all your attention on them. Imagine how the sound waves flow through your body. You can also concentrate on one part of your body and see what effect the sound and vibrations have on this particular area. Let the bowl fade out completely before striking it again. Focusing on the sound helps you to ignore any thoughts that arise.

Feel and come back slowly

To end the meditation, listen for a while after the last sound and keep your eyes closed. Finally, take a few deep breaths in and out, then open your eyes again.

Caution: During pregnancy and in the case of acute physical or psychological complaints, please only use after consulting your doctor.

What do I need for a singing bowl meditation?

• Singing Bowl
• Mallets & friction mallets
• Singing Bowls coaster
• Mat, meditation cushion, blanket or similar.
• Comfortable clothing
• Rest

Meditation with Singing Bowls leads to deep relaxation for body and mind after a little practice. This allows you to reduce stress and recharge your batteries. A singing bowl meditation can calm your heartbeat and breathing. Satisfaction, joie de vivre and creativity increase. Tension and blockages in the body can be released.

In addition to the physical level, the Qi, or life energy, is activated and stimulated on a spiritual level. Depending on the pitch of the Singing Bowl , different chakras or energy centers of the body are addressed. Singing bowl meditation can have a positive influence on the entire nervous system.

In our video, Peter Hess talks about his personal first experiences with sound meditation and the impressive effect it had on his body and mind.

The positive effects of meditation include

• Targeted stress reduction and burnout prevention
• More physical and mental resilience
• More balance and inner peace
• More concentration and motivation
• More self-confidence, inner strength and personal esteem
• More joie de vivre

The gong is an archaic instrument with a long tradition. Its broad sound spectrum fascinates and inspires more and more people. The TamTam gong captivates with its intense sound volume and the Feng gong with its "wind-like" sound movement. In addition to concerts, the gong is also used in sound massage, sound therapy and sound education and, last but not least, in meditation. Gong meditation has a wonderful potential for intensive self-awareness.

Gong meditation is often offered in conjunction with Kundalini yoga. After yoga, the participants lie down on their mat and surrender to the intense sounds of the gong, which are played by the teacher. Our human body consists largely of water, which is made to vibrate by the gong. It slows down the frequency in the body and brain, putting the participants in a state of trance. Gong meditation primarily helps us to detach ourselves from our thoughts.

In the tradition, the gong is played in such a way that the individual strokes are not heard, but the gong is made to sing. A gong meditation is characterized by this very special type of sound: The gong strike goes into the room, comes back as an echo and combines with the next sound. This creates a unique tapestry of sound that gradually puts the participants into a trance.

It starts with soft, gentle vibrations, which gradually increase in intensity over time. The teacher not only increases the strength of the strike, but also switches from soft to hard gong mallets. Gong meditation can be particularly intense when several gongs are played together. The term gong bath is often used here.

How does gong meditation work?

The sound, which is not only perceived through the ears during a gong meditation, but can also be felt physically, helps us to relax deeply. In this state, emotions, old injuries and feelings of happiness can come to the surface and be processed. This is why the gong is considered to be one of the most powerful instruments with a healing effect in a state of trance.

Yoga and sound have belonged together for thousands of years. The additional sound component gives yoga with Singing Bowls an even deeper quality and promotes an intensive encounter with oneself. Singing Bowls-Yoga appeals to people on a physical, emotional and mental level and inspires them to let go with joy.

With Singing Bowls yoga, it is much easier to focus your attention on your body. This allows you to develop a better sense of your body's needs and relax deeply into the asanas. The sound allows you to engage with your yoga practice in a completely new way and enjoy it with all your senses.

The bowls used in Singing Bowls yoga can be sounded by the teacher or by the yoga practitioners themselves. The main bowls used are the pelvic and heart bowls from Peter Hess® Therapy Singing Bowls, supplemented by Sangha meditation bowls. The lower sounds support grounding and releasing exercises, while the higher sounds are mainly used for uplifting and opening exercises. The Singing Bowls can be placed next to the body, on the body or moved around the body. The bowls often sound alternately.

Exercise: Yin yoga with Singing Bowls

• After a yin yoga sequence, lie down in Shavasana and place a Singing Bowl, ideally a pelvic cup, on your lower abdomen.
• Now strike it and feel how the gentle vibration of the Singing Bowl spreads throughout your body.
• Feel whether you can use the sound to further deepen the relaxation created by the individual Yin yoga exercises.
• Hit the Singing Bowl a few more times and drive the last thoughts out of your head.
• Concentrate completely on the vibration of Singing Bowl so that no other thoughts arise. Allow yourself to fall deeply into the sound.
• Now put the mallet aside and feel for a few more minutes.

The gong is considered to be one of the most powerful instruments - in order to make it sound spacious and gentle at the same time during yoga classes, you should know its effect and playing techniques well. Unlike the above-mentioned gong meditation in combination with Kundalini yoga, the gong does not always have to be played loudly and powerfully. In Emily Hess' gong yoga, for example, you will learn a more gentle way of playing the gong.

Emily Hess teaches the special connection between gongs and yoga in a sensitive, playful and yet structured way, so that participants learn to use the gong effectively and responsibly. Let yourself be inspired by different teachers and teachings, techniques and ways of playing so that you can develop your very own way of playing.

In gong yoga, the sound and vibration of the gong is combined with the methodology of yoga with the aim of energizing and facilitating the movement of energy (prana) in the body. Emily Hess does not experiment with the sound of the gong in her teaching, but instead structures the asana sequences according to the five rhythms of Gabrielle Roth's music therapy. This means that even beginners can use the gong safely in yoga.

The different effects of gong yoga on the mind and body can be perceived through different striking rhythms and their vibration. For yoga teachers, the gong is a great enrichment - both for themselves and for their yoga classes.