Wouldn’t it be great if some day your doctor would say take two sound baths and call me in the morning?

By: Kenny Kolter, Gong Meditation

Recently on social media my respected friend & gong teacher Michael Bettine posted an interesting article about yoga. It’s author essentially shared her opinion on how yoga is more mainstream and is being touted as a cure all for all sorts of physical and mental issues. The author with fifteen years of practice under her belt claims that while yoga has incredible benefits for the body, mind and Spirit; there is a danger in representing yoga as a magic pill of sorts. She’s heard everything from yoga teachers like ‘jumping into postures breaks up cancer or headstands reverse gray hair.’  Ultimately the author points out the need for precise language in sharing the benefits of yoga. Michael shared the article and said ‘Read this and replace the word yoga with gong. Before you make outrageous statements about the magical and healing properties of of gongs etc. DO YOUR RESEARCH.’

And it hit me. He was right. I’ve heard all kinds of folks over the years who play gongs and bowls and others that are considered sacred instruments making all sorts of incredible claims. Some claim that these instruments were given to us humans by beings from another planet or universe. Some claim that if you attend their sound baths you will be given a ‘download’ of some magical healing energies that will help you on your life journey. All of this sounds really incredible… pun intended… but is it true?

I decided to do some research and I found an article by Amy Novotney published in The American Psychological Association Magazine in 2013. This does not address the specific use of gongs or Tibetan bowls but it does show some serious research being done on the healing properties of sound.

“ Lee Bartel, PhD, a music professor at the University of Toronto, and several researchers are exploring whether sound vibrations absorbed through the body can help ease the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, fibromyalgia and depression. Known as vibroacoustic therapy, the intervention involves using low frequency sound — similar to a low rumble — to produce vibrations that are applied directly to the body. During vibroacoustic therapy, the patient lies on a mat or bed or sits in a chair embedded with speakers that transmit vibrations at specific computer-generated frequencies that can be heard and felt, says Bartel.”

In 2009, researchers led by Lauren K. King of the Sun Life Financial Movement Disorders Research and Rehabilitation Centre at Wilfrid Laurier University, in Waterloo, Ontario, found that short-term use of vibroacoustic therapy with Parkinson’s disease patients led to improvements in symptoms, including less rigidity and better walking speed with bigger steps and reduced tremors (NeuroRehabilitation, December, 2009). In that study, the scientists exposed 40 Parkinson’s disease patients to low-frequency 30-hertz vibration for one minute, followed by a one-minute break. They then alternated the two for a total of 10 minutes. The researchers are now planning a long-term study of the use of vibroacoustic therapy with Parkinson’s patients, as part of a new partnership with the University of Toronto’s Music and Health Research Collaboratory, which brings together scientists from around the world who are studying music’s effect on health.

The group is also examining something called thalmocortical dysrhythmia — a disorientation of rhythmic brain activity involving the thalamus and the outer cortex that appears to play a role in several medical conditions including Parkinson’s, fibromyalgia and possibly even Alzheimer’s disease, says Bartel, who directs the collaboratory. “Since the rhythmic pulses of music can drive and stabilize this disorientation, we believe that low-frequency sound might help with these conditions,” Bartel says. He is leading a study using vibroacoustic therapy with patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease. The hope is that using the therapy to restore normal communication among brain regions may allow for greater memory retrieval.

Novotney sates that “The goal of all of this work is to develop “dosable” and “prescribable” music and sound therapy as medicine.” I like this for obvious reasons. Wouldn’t it be great if some day your doctor would say take two sound baths and call me in the morning?

You can find more information about Kenny at www.gongmeditation.com