— Practice 05
Sound Healing
Himalayan bowls, gongs and voice, played into a dark garden until the room stops keeping time.
Nothing is asked of you. You lie down, you are covered with a blanket, and for an hour the only instruction is to stay reasonably still.
Priya works with a set of Himalayan bowls, two gongs, chimes and her own voice. The sound arrives in layers, and somewhere in the second half most people lose track of where one instrument stopped and the next began — which is roughly the intended effect.
It closes the week for retreat guests and it closes most Sundays for everyone else. Guests routinely describe it as the deepest sleep of their trip, which we suspect is half the sound and half finally lying down.
“An hour of doing nothing, structured carefully enough that you actually manage it.”
In the practice.
- How a session runs
- Ten minutes of settling and slow breath, forty minutes of continuous sound, ten minutes of silence before anyone is asked to move.
- Who it suits
- Everyone, including children over eight and people who are certain they cannot meditate.
- What to bring
- Warm layers and an eye covering if you like the dark. Mats, bolsters and blankets are here.
Good to know.
- Tell us beforehand if you have a pacemaker, are in the first trimester, or have sound sensitivity — we can seat you further from the gongs.
- Latecomers cannot be admitted once the sound has started.
- Private sessions can be arranged for families.
