Leo - Gong Baths
Leo Cosendai is an author, teacher, sound therapy practitioner and founder of Third Ear, the sound meditation app. Making gong baths accessible on a global level, Leo helps people transform their lives through this form of sound therapy. The same therapy that helped him overcome his own anxiety. Here we explore the health benefits of gong baths on a mental and physical level, giving light to why Leo dedicates his energy to sharing this ancient practice with the world.
What is a gong bath and how does it work?
A gong bath is a form of passive meditation practised lying down whilst being immersed in the rich and unusual sounds of a gong.
It makes meditation very accessible and turns it into a real experience with many benefits on both a mental and physical level.
To keep it short and simple gong baths offer us the chance to bathe in sounds that alter our magnetic field, our brain chemistry and our nervous system. On a human level this translates in many experiences including the 5 most common below:
Boundary cessation - it’s not unusual for people to feel like their awareness extends beyond their skin. You may also feel like your body is floating or rotating in space, or that you have become tiny tiny or very big. All of this is part of what the world calls out of body experiences.
Time cessation - oftentimes, people feel it’s only lasted 10 minutes when in reality they stayed in that altered state for over 45 minutes. Occasionally, time can go very slowly and that is equally a sign of an altered state experience.
Deep relaxation - it feels like your body has melted and you are part of the floor. You are here but not quite here and it feels amazing during and after the experience. It’s often what people want but I don’t think that is the most efficient experience in terms of transformation. However, if calm and relaxed is what you feel you need to be, then this is perfect! That calm and deeply relaxed place can generate lots of ideas as well as solutions to problems.
Falling asleep - some of us go so deep we sleep the whole time and feel like we went somewhere, without really knowing where, how and why. It’s thought to be the equivalent of 1 to 2 hours of delta sleep.
Emotional digestion - it is not uncommon for people to become aware of dis-ease within their body or existence. Gong baths can feel like intense therapy and things can and do come up. I find that you usually experience whatever you are able to cope with, so there is no worry to be had here.
‘gong baths offer us the chance to bathe in sounds that alter our magnetic field, our brain chemistry and our nervous system’
~ LEo cosendai
@SAIKI.WELLNESS
Are there additional benefits of gong sound therapy?
1)Parasympathetic activity is boosted and adjusted so that your adrenals don’t burn 24/7.
2)Heart rate goes low (it can take time and oftentimes it goes up before going right down), heart rate variability increases (that’s a good thing), breath rate slows down and homeostasis is initiated after a while (where all body systems communicate together as as tuned orchestra).
3)Nitric oxide is released in various parts of your body (great for immunity).
4)Your body produces chemicals such as serotonin (happy hormone) and oxytocin (love/kindness hormone).
How did you come to be an instructor?
It changed my life and it very quickly made sense to share this gift with the world.
What is your hope for the wellness world?
That it becomes the norm and that it is accessible to everyone on this planet.
Can you tell us about your app, Third Ear, and how it came to be?
Third Ear is now in its third year of existence - it was made by my sister Julie Cosendai (designer, illustrator), Charles Vila (technology) and myself (teachings, content, project management). I made this app because people wanted CDs and also because I wanted to scale this experience so anyone could do it anywhere, at any time. It has since launch been Apple’s App Of The Day in Australia, UK, India and Italy. We will soon be launching the app on the Google store.
Why try Third Ear when there’s Headspace and Calm? We offer people the chance to experience a sound meditation that is in tune with the moon cycle every night (thanks to NASA). We have created a set of oracle cards where each animal has its own sound immersion to offer you. I upload special videos to teach you various notions that have sculpted my current life as it is. And finally, we use potent organic sounds to help you meditate.
What is your favourite ritual?
I love: gong baths, sauna, cold plunge, infra-red light bathing with acupressure mat, breathwork, yoga Asana and Kundalini Kriyas, walking and travelling.
How can we follow you and your work?
www.leocosendai.com and @Leo.cosendai on instagram
My next teacher training starts in April 2020 - more details: www.leocosendai.com/teachertraining
My next and only retreat in 2020 is in the Sahara Desert in October 2020 - more details: amy@thirdear.com
