According to the sleeping prophet Edgar Cayce: in the beginning, there was consciousness, then, it withdrew into itself and found a center and became aware. This was God. By vibrating Him(Her)self in different frequencies, She created matter: the stars, planets, us…everything.
If you’re thinking “Whoa that’s crap no way no how,” totally fine. I use it merely as a reference, but I needed all of it to give gravitas to the most important word: frequencies.
As humans we have a love affair with frequencies, with sound–we have created things out of metal, wood, plastic, shaping instruments to explore huge aural ranges and different ways to create them, the delicate notes of a flute can bring moments of self-clarification, the beating of a drum can raise our heart rates and get us excited whether in a concert or in an african jungle preparing for a hunt.
Go to any gym and probably ninety percent of the people there have headphones stuffed in their eardrums.
As yogis we too have a particular relationship with sound, the music in our studios as we move through asanas, and when we Om–attempting to combine our breath with a specific frequency to join with the all. Sound takes us on a journey, and it has other aspects that may seem pretty far out upon first exposure: it can heal, it can open up doorways to higher consciousness, even invite connections to otherworldly beings, and what better way to invite these amazing experiences in than by bathing in it
Hence: the Gong Bath.
It’s not metaphorical. Being in a room with someone who knows how to gong properly is a unique and transcendental experience, which is why I want to take a moment and sing the praises of how amazingly awesome Gary Fishman is–a kundalini and power yogi, certified Reiki and Himalayan sound and crystal healer, also holding a degree in philosophy from the U of Colorado. Under his hands the gong comes alive–the mind shaking, crescendoing tones become almost overwhelming to the point that one worries about eardrum safety, though as he prefaces at the start, the sounds do not damage the hearing.
At one of Fishman’s gong baths, he plays several instruments–planetary gongs (the Sun gong, Chiron and Neptune) made by the world’s leading gong maker, Paiste, constructed based on the mathematical formulas of Hans Cousto, which gives the vibrational frequency of the planets as they transit around the sun–the didgeridoo, an ancient wood instrument that is over forty thousand years old, given to the aborigines in dream time, the “time before time,” according to Gary. He also plays Tibetan singing bowls. His are unique in that they were made by a Buddhist with a very strict discipline, having a higher vibration than the modern ones.
All the tones and sounds one experiences while in the gong bath are enhanced by the crystals he offers as healing tools–I helped pack them up last gong bath, it took twenty minutes. He has boxes and boxes, each filled with different crystals for different purposes. You don’t have to use them, but if you are inviting a particular energy in, have something you want healed, or want to achieve a higher state of consciousness and spiritual evolution, he will give them to you with instruction on where to place them on your body during the gong bath.
Two such crystals, selenite and anandalite, activate the higher chakras. A fellow yogi I know informed me that she was sleeping with a piece of anandalite she got from Gary under her pillow and had to stop for a bit–her dreams became overwhelming.
Gary offers his services at all times through his website, (the testimonials are incredible) and will be having a gong bath at the CorePower Yoga Stapleton Studio on Dec. 12, a very significant date. According to Gary’s friend Jaap Van Etten–author of “Crystal Skulls, Interacting with a Phenomenon”–with the end of the Mayan calendar approaching 
(Dec 21st),
“On 12-12-12 doorways will be opened, ancient energies awakened and high frequency energies will reach the Earth, all supporting changes and transformation. The peak period for these energies is from December 12 to December 21, 2012. The Mayans believe that the area were Atlantis was located will especially be important.”
This area is at the bottom of the sea. And according to the aforementioned Cayce, Atlantis will rise again, though this can be interpreted as literal or energetically. Either way, things are about to get interesting around these parts.
How will these things affect the Dec. 12 gong bath? As Gary says, “I am not sure what to expect. One can never know what a gong bath will reveal. There is always a sense of mystery that will dominate the experience. For those people who are open, there may be some powerful energies awakened! I think it will all depend on one’s spiritual evolution on that given day.”
For pricing and reservation at the 12/12/12 Gong Bath with Gary Fishman, call the Stapleton CorePower Yoga Studio: 303-377-7444
Elliot Riis is a yogi/teacher/banker/writer who spends his time contemplating the universe and his place in it while trying to maintain a productive role in contemporary society. He can be found regularly twisting himself into deeper and deeper asanas while trying to uncover that most sacred of answers, why?