Summer Solstice Yin Yoga + Gong Bath

There are wonderful synergies between yin yoga practice and the gong bath such that, after an hour and a quarter of tranquil, meditative yoga, participants typically share an acuity of hearing – and of being – that can make the ‘gonging’ experience particularly deep and meaningful. On such a pivotal day in the calendar as the summer solstice, intentions set in the moments after the yin yoga practice ends and the gong bath begins can be very powerful.

why yin yoga?
Yin yoga is a beautiful healing practice giving us a break from our daily busy lifestyle. Being in the yoga poses for a longer time, in stillness, we open the meridian lines and allow the energy (chi) to travel more freely. We become receptive to many aspects of our being, the physical, emotional and spiritual. When followed by a gong meditation we are even more open than before and therefore receptive to its healing qualities. The depth experienced is beyond words and can only be felt on a deep cellular level.

why gong bath?
In a gong bath the cleansing metaphor holds true as the vibrating tones of the gong break through the mental and physical blocks of mind, body and spirit to promote a deep sense of well-being, relaxation and inner peace. The sound of the gong has the effect of timelessness – and of de-materialisation. People often have the experience of floating in space, or in an ocean. Some have inspiring visions or see colours.

More than a musical instrument, the gong is a conduit for vibrational waves of energy, releasing reverberating tones of great fullness and resonance that interact with the human body on a very deep, even cellular level. The gong facilitates deep meditation; it can open all the chakras and enable healing to more readily occur, as the body concentrates on drawing in the sounds it needs to re-align and harmonise itself.

The silence which settles when the gong bath ends is often very profound. Most people emerge from a gong bath feeling extremely relaxed, re-energised and refreshed. The aura, nerve and immune systems seem strengthened and the inner voice of higher consciousness more easily heard.

mia has been a dedicated yoga and spiritual practitioner for more than 14 years. She is the author of the series Yoga Perspectives in Yoga & Health Magazine (see www.WorldsUnite.org) comparing the three main types of yoga in which she is trained: Ashtanga, Iyengar and Yin. Having begun teaching in 2003 on her return from 4 months studying in India with the founder of Ashtanga Yoga, Mia now teaches mainly Yin (Insight) Yoga. She has been fortunate enough to study with a number of the world’s leading influences on yoga, including her main teachers: Sri K Pattabhi Jois (Ashtanga Yoga founder), her mentor, Sarah Powers (Insight Yoga/Yin founder) and Ruth White (Karuna Yoga/Iyengar founder). Mia has both Iyengar (500 hours) and Yin (Insight International Course) based teaching qualifications. Her style is friendly, open, loving and supportive. Her yoga teaching, inquiry and health coaching work is underpinned by the question of how practice can best serve our daily lives.


gordon spent the early part of his musical career working with such luminaries as the mime artist lindsay kemp, the velvet underground’s john cale and punk star toyah wilcox. He later ran an improvising electronic jazz combo, the space cadets, and, more recently, began composing and recording music incorporating the sounds of nature, notably birdsong, along with devotional material such as shamanic poetry and buddhist chant.

He was drawn to the gong several years ago through a deepening involvement in yoga and meditation and it has since become his main sphere of interest. He studies with grand gongmaster don conreaux – the world’s foremost authority on the gong – and offers gong baths regularly in group sessions and on a one-to-one basis in brighton and london. He currently employs a beautiful 32 inch paiste symphonic gong, a 28 inch chinese wind gong, temple cymbals and chimes.