Gong Therapy

Gongs in Asian ritual and performance

Writers on the gong give uncertain origins. Pesek and Bratina, in a 2016 article, report that gongs are supposed to date to the Bronze Age and that interpretations differ: a struck bronze shield used as a signal, or a bronze disc representing the sun. They cite a percussion historian for the earliest written mention of the gong in sixth-century China and note that some ethnomusicologists attribute the instrument to ancient Greece. These accounts are second-hand and unresolved.

The same article reports that in East and Southeast Asia gongs have marked births, deaths and weddings, accompanied dance and theater, signaled events and served as symbols of rank. It describes gongs in the Javanese and Balinese gamelan, in Chinese opera and in Japanese Shinto ceremonies, theater and sumo. It also repeats a story that the Buddha valued the gong's sound in meditation, taken from a popular book; this page does not treat that story as established history.

Gongs in Western music

According to Pesek and Bratina, the gong first appeared in Western concert music in Gossec's funeral music for Mirabeau in 1791, and later in works by Cherubini, Rossini, Berlioz and Wagner, among others. They separate the tam-tam, which has a flat face, from the gong, which usually has a raised center, while noting that the line is not always kept. This orchestral use is musical and not therapeutic.

The modern gong bath

Pesek and Bratina state that gong baths are performed in many countries mainly because of Don Conreaux, a gong player who trained thousands of learners. They report that he began playing the gong in 1969 as a Hollywood actor and director, that his first teacher as a teenager was Paramahansa Yogananda, that he became one of five students of Kundalini Yoga initiated by Yogi Bhajan, and that he developed a program called Gong Kriya Kundalini Yoga. Omega Institute's biography says he was designated by Yogi Bhajan in 1969 as one of five original Kundalini Yoga teachers.

Both accounts rest on Conreaux or those close to him. Omega's page presents his work as sound performance and does not mention gong baths or gong therapy. The sources reviewed do not independently date the first gong bath. Pesek and Bratina report that by 2016 gong baths had been practiced in Slovenia for a little over a decade, introduced mostly by people trained by Conreaux, and one of the two authors is among his trainees.

Gong bath, gong meditation and gong therapy

A medically reviewed Healthline explainer defines a gong bath as a type of inactive meditation in which participants relax while listening to a gong, and says it typically uses only gongs. A sound bath, by contrast, may add singing bowls and other instruments. Pesek and Bratina use sound bath and gong bath together under the wider heading of sound therapy, and describe baths with gongs alone or with instruments such as Himalayan singing bowls, a didgeridoo or a shamanic drum.

Relation to neighboring practices

On Machipedia the wider family is described on the Sound Therapy page, and sessions that combine several instruments are covered on Sound Bath. Related pages include Tibetan Singing Bowl, Crystal Singing Bowls, Music Therapy, Meditation, Vibroacoustic Therapy and Biofield Tuning. Pesek and Bratina separate music therapy, which they describe as the clinical use of music by trained professionals who completed certified programs, from sound therapy, which they describe as resting on the premise that the body is a set of vibrations. The sources reviewed do not test that premise.

Instrument terms

The label gong bath describes a session format, not a standard instrument set. The two studies reviewed that included gongs report little beyond their presence: one reports that two to six gongs were played among many other instruments, and the other names gongs among several acoustic instruments without a count. Size, tuning and playing style are not reported, so sessions cannot be compared on those terms.

Typical session format

Healthline describes gong baths as lasting about 45 minutes to 2 hours, done alone or in a group, live, over video or with recordings, with participants usually lying down under blankets and pillows and passively taking in the sound. The singing bowl sessions in the Goldsby study lasted about 60 minutes with participants lying down. These are general descriptions of the format and not instructions for conducting a session.

Facilitators, volume and training

Pesek and Bratina report that Conreaux's training, as described on the program websites they cite, lasts a few years and covers music, medicine, physics, philosophy, psychology and ethics. In their survey of 129 gong bath users, 48.1 percent preferred baths of moderate volume, 42.6 percent preferred acoustically diverse baths and 9.3 percent preferred very loud baths. In the Goldsby sessions, gongs were one of several instruments in a repeating sequence and made up about 5 percent of the session.

Uses described by practitioners

Pesek and Bratina describe gong baths as used for relaxation, for coping with everyday stress and related problems, and as a way to reach altered states of consciousness. They also present claims about headaches, migraines, menstrual conditions, spinal pain, autism, schizophrenia and substance use, some linked to Yogi Bhajan's use of the gong, with footnotes that this page did not open. These claims should be treated as unverified here. Healthline says gong baths may help the brain enter a theta-dominant state linked to relaxation, and adds that evidence is limited.

The Goldsby study also measured spiritual well-being, which reflects a purpose some participants and practitioners attach to sound meditation, and the Pesek and Bratina survey reports respondents describing personal growth and inner peace.

Claims the sources reviewed do not support

Claims that sound vibrations remove toxins, clear energy blocks or treat disease are practitioner beliefs. Pesek and Bratina state, without a source, that cells exposed to sound remove toxins and that participants should therefore drink water. None of the studies reviewed measures toxins or energy, and none tests gong sessions against a condition. The sources reviewed do not document why people seek gong baths in everyday life.

Survey of gong bath users

Pesek and Bratina surveyed 129 users of gong baths in Slovenia in the first half of 2015, using a 10-question email questionnaire sent to people who had attended for at least a year. All respondents described the effect of the sound as healing, relaxing or both, all said they would recommend it, and three said a bath had brought complete recovery. The survey had no comparison group, relied on self-report from committed users, and one author trained under the practice's best-known teacher, so it cannot show that gong baths cause any outcome.

Observational study with gongs among other instruments

Goldsby and colleagues studied 62 adults, mean age 49.7, at three California sites. Sessions of about 60 minutes used mostly Tibetan singing bowls, with two to six gongs and other instruments making up about 5 percent. Scores on a mood scale fell for tension, anger, fatigue and depressed mood (all p below .001), and spiritual well-being rose, comparing before with after. People new to the practice reported a larger drop in tension. There was no control group, and the authors call for randomized trials. The effect of the gongs cannot be separated from the bowls.

A trial of sound-based meditation that included gongs

A 2026 randomized trial in Tamil Nadu, India, enrolled 100 adults aged 21 to 65. The intervention group attended 60-minute daily sessions for four weeks that used recorded 528-Hz audio and acoustic instruments including singing bowls, gongs, bells and tingshas; the control group joined online music sessions. After four weeks the intervention group scored lower on an anxiety scale (adjusted difference -2.55, 95% CI -3.62 to -1.48) and lower on depression, salivary cortisol and systolic blood pressure. No adverse events were reported.

The authors name limits: the groups differed in setting, supervision and equipment; the control music may itself relax; participants could not be properly blinded; follow-up lasted only four weeks; sound pressure was not measured; and a funder supported the work. The intervention was a mixed program, so the result does not isolate gongs.

Reviews and gaps

A 2023 review abstract on singing bowl sound meditation reports studies on mood, tension and well-being, says the reasons for the effects are not fully understood, and calls for research on long-term effects; only the abstract was read for this page. Healthline notes that most studies it cites concern singing bowls. PubMed searches for gong combined with bath, meditation, sound, anxiety and related terms surfaced no controlled trial of a gong-only session and no systematic review of gong therapy. Evidence for gongs specifically is therefore thin.

Loud sound and hearing

The US National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders states that loud noise can cause tinnitus, which may fade or may last a lifetime, that sounds at or below 70 dBA are unlikely to cause hearing loss, and that long or repeated exposure at or above 85 dBA can. Human cochlear hair cells do not regrow. NIOSH sets a recommended limit of 85 dBA over eight hours, halving the time for each 3 dBA increase, and lists ringing in the ears after leaving a noisy area as a sign that exposure may be too high.

No source reviewed measured sound levels in gong sessions, so whether sessions reach these levels is not established. These sources advise earplugs, moving away from sound and avoiding noise that is too loud, too close or too long, which are general guidance and not gong-specific. Healthline notes that gong baths may cause discomfort for people with hearing impairment or hearing assistive devices.

Health conditions and precautions

Healthline states that gong baths may not suit some people with mental health conditions and may not be appropriate during pregnancy or for people with epilepsy or seizures, and advises consulting a health professional first. These are cautions, not measured risks; the sources give no incidence data. Pesek and Bratina write that very loud baths can provoke unforeseen physical and mental reactions, because strong vibrations may bring up fears or traumas, and that inexperienced performers should not use them with people who have psychiatric conditions.

The 2026 trial excluded people with significant hearing impairment, uncontrolled cardiovascular disease or severe psychiatric disorders, and does not mention epilepsy or pregnancy, so its findings should not be carried to those groups. It reported no adverse events, and the Goldsby study does not report on adverse events, so a lack of reported harm is not evidence that none occur.

Training, regulation and when to seek care

The only training described in the sources reviewed is a multi-year program offered by Conreaux. No statutory regulation, independent professional register or accreditation for gong facilitators was found in the sources reviewed, and the title gong master is not tied to any verified external standard. Gong sessions are not a substitute for assessment or treatment, and persistent ringing, hearing change, a seizure or severe distress after a session are reasons to seek medical help.