Seven Days Of Sound Meditation

Gong and sound bath meditation is said to offer health benefits including improved sleep and digestion, and a reduction in stress; And when it comes to Gong Bathing, Leo Cosendai is one of the UK’s leading forces. A sound meditation teacher and speaker, Leo is also the founder of the sound meditation app Third Ear.

Late last year, we were invited to an intimate launch of Leo’s “Seven Days of Sounds Meditation” audio release, as well as a trial Gong Bathing session.

Having suffered anxiety since childhood, Leo told us he could find nothing to ease his symptoms until he discovered music (he is also a composer). It wasn’t until about eight years ago when he attended a Californian retreat and tried a gong bath that everything changed for him. He now shares his experience with as many people as possible, and so his journey began.

Having attended various gong and sound bath meditations over the years, here at Belle we find ourselves drawn to these experiences more and more.

The build up of stress over the year (and years) can reach boiling point – and we’re not alone in this. According to the mental health charity Mind, “approximately 1 in 4 people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year” and “in England, 1 in 6 people report experiencing a common mental health problem (such as anxiety and depression) in any given week.”

We were ready to lie down, listen and let the sound take us.

We arrived at the HarperCollins offices in London Bridge on a winter’s evening and were led into a darkly lit room several floors up, with floor to ceiling windows and some of the most breath-taking views of London we’ve ever seen.

One side of the room was decked out with different gongs, bowls and other instruments, in front of which were rows of laid out yoga mats together with blankets and eyes masks. After an introduction and a short Q&A with Leo, we were ready to begin.

Gong and sound bath is such a personal experience, in fact the number of experiences is infinite, says Leo. Everyone reacts differently and the best way to approach it is to be open-minded and to simply observe, letting the sound bathe your whole being and then to see what happens.

And that’s exactly what we did. The experience was overwhelming, our heads felt like a ton of bricks and just kept sinking into the floor. And our minds felt, well, mindless! We lost ourselves in the sound completely, coming at us from every side and every angle.

Before we knew it, we were guided out of the meditation and back into the room. How long were we in there? It felt like five minutes and also five hours.

We didn’t want it to be over. We were joyful, light and relaxed, and as if all our stresses disappeared, at least momentarily. We were happy. And content.

The Seven Days of Sound Meditation audio book consists of seven different sound meditations that focus on different emotions and moods and are designed for different ambition – whether it is the desire for better sleep, deep relaxation or to help boost creativity. They range anywhere from 10 minutes to just under an hour and can be listed to lying down or sitting, or even walking.

• For more information about Leo Cosendai and how to download the Seven Days of Sound Meditation audio book, visit https://www.leocosendai.com/.