Gongsta

I have tried pretty much every trend of exercise in the book: NIA, Zumba, Pilates, Yoga… anything, as long as it does not hurt and doesn’t require a lifelong membership.
Recently, a friend of mine asked me to join her for a “gong meditation session” which is supposed to refresh your senses, recalibrate your brain, give you inner peace, even remove your wrinkles if you have any!
She added that all I would have to do was to lie on my back, close my eyes and relax. She didn’t need to say more, I was game!
After a short introduction, a little mantra and the dimming of lights, the instructor started to play the gong, softly at first, then louder. I cannot say that I hated it but I didn’t like it.
The sound started invading every part of the room and found its way to my brain, my skull, my teeth, my bones… there was no way to fight it.
For those of us who have not been conquered by meditation, it is one of the most difficult types of mental exercise.

The gong probably helps you get in a meditative state because it is so present that you cannot ignore it.

The gong probably helps you get in a meditative state because it is so present that you cannot ignore it.
It literally takes over your brain. I know that I am not the only one who -during meditation- starts thinking about the dinner I am going to cook, the film I plan to see, the plane ticket I have to book.
With the gong playing, you find yourself incapable of thinking of anything else.

No more jumping from one idea to the next, I was now fully occupied with the waves.

The waves of sound travel on top of each other in an endless stream that you mentally want to grab, interpret, translate…
No more jumping from one idea to the next, I was now fully occupied with the waves.
It is said that everybody can have a different experience with the gong meditation but then everybody can also have a different experience drinking a cup of tea so it is just my take on it.
I am not easily convinced by pseudo-spiritual practices.

When the gong session was over I did feel very relaxed but then, I had been lying down on my yoga mat with a fluffy pillow for an hour and a half!
The instructor told us that we would feel all the benefits of the session for as long as a week. I was not so sure about that at the time, but I did sleep very well that night and felt great all week long.
What puzzles me the most is that, even if I cannot say that it was a pleasant experience, I feel the urge to go back.
I do know that if I want to lie down for an hour and a half, I can do that in my own room with as many fluffy pillows as I want, so there must be more to it.
“Gongsta” I am… until the next trend takes me to new territories.