3 Days of Gong Baths in Upstate New York for a Solstice Celebration!

3 Gong Baths this weekend! We will be packing the shortest days of the year with as much gong as possible.

We will be in Latham, NY for the original "Gong Lab" on Friday December 19th at 7:30 PM at The Pilates Principle

We will be a part of the "Reflecting on Light" Troy, NY Solstice celebration at Heartspace Yoga - Troy Studio on Saturday, December 20th from 3:30 to 5 PM

We are extremely excited to return to Hot Yoga Saratoga in Saratoga Springs, NY on Sunday, December 21st at 6PM

Hope to see you and a ton more sunlight soon!

PS - We will keep you posted and I hope to have a video soon showing progress with Nick's "interactive paper" experiment for our Gong event posters... Very Cool!

Gong Baths and the Reaction of Our Liquid Body [Video]

These guys are having some amazing fun with an equally amazing experiment similar to what Nick has been doing in the Gong Lab. Very cool.

This may explain 'the tingle' felt during a gong bath!

"The Effect of Cymatic Frequencies on Matter":


CYMATICS: Science Vs. Music - Nigel Stanford from Nigel Stanford on Vimeo.

Gong Bath in Latham, NY

We've got just one regularly scheduled Lab this month on Friday the 21st, 7:30 pm in Latham. We are reconfiguring some of our monthly events to make room for occasional or one off events like Yoga Aid last week, and Yoga Bliss in Schenectady a couple weeks ago. We are working on a collaborative event with several sound and vibe people around the solstice in our beloved Troy for December.  

Friday, 21st of November~7:30 

The Pilates Principle

578 New Loudon Rd. Latham 

This is an "all alloy" event with just metal bowls and the gongs. Fall is crazy for a lot of us for some reason, and we will try to answer that with a warm and intimate Lab.  A time to relax and be still. No decisions, no worries about anything for a while. 

The notion of a gong "bath" is sound as a context, an environment, or as our teacher calls it Akasha. The sound is kind of a inward facing mirror to our borders, and while the sound is coming from outside it allows us to listen in. It's that listening, that noticing, the "inner meet me" that feeds the great smile of healing. 

Gong Lab 

The Gong lab is a sound and vibration meditation experiment. We use gongs, singing bowls and other equipment to facilitate relaxation and cultivate and rejuvenating experience. The  gong produces a continuum of sound or holistic resonance found in living objects that vibrate with every cell in their being. The gong is an engine of resonate power or "feeling" tones. Feeling tones are felt in a kinesthetic way as a result of sustained tone production of long, low waves of low frequency sound waves or oscillations. The body respondes to prolonged saturation  of sound by listening like a big ear, hearing with feeling. When  this happens, the mental, emotional and physical bodies become both super-conductive, and super-regenerating  as the strain caused by the normal resistance of the ego-identity no longer exists as a disease factor. Or it just sounds cool!

Gong Labs are donation based. We ask for $10-$20 but we want you there no matter what. Bring a friend for their first time as our special guest for free. Tell us you are coming and reserve a space via our facebook event page or call 518.389.2200. 

We are so glad to have been a part of the Veterans Day fundraiser organized by the Yoga Across America & The American Red Cross Challenge , and Southern Saratoga YMCA and want to keep this rolling at our Latham events by extending a perpetual invitation to "Bring a Veteran for Free". 

In 2011 Nick and I were tracking a well known Gong Master by the name of Richard Rudis who noted in an interview that year that his path to the Gong may have started when, as a 19 year old drafted soldier, he was in a chopper flying low over an area of Vietnam decimated by napalm when he noticed a single green hilltop oasis seemingly untouched with a small temple on top that he described as a "port of refuge in an otherwise insane world." He would learn later in life that gongs may have been used by the Ancient Greeks to herald their warriors returning to civilization.

Join us for "Yoga Across America" Tomorrow in Clifton Park, NY

We are excited to bring The Gongs to this Nov. 9 yoga event to raise money and awareness for programs by Yoga Across America and the American Red Cross.

On Nov. 9 from 1:00pm to 3:00pm, Yoga Across American and the American Red Cross in collaboration with the Capital District YMCA is holding a fun and powerful yoga event. This yoga class will bring us together to raise money and awareness for yoga programs for veterans being offered at the YMCA. 100% of the donations goes to back into our community helping us share yoga with veterans, people in addiction recovery, high schools, cancer survivors and more. Donations raised from this event will support our growth and mission-yoga for everyone, everywhere. We will also be collecting for the Winter Warmth project for the Red Cross. NEW winter warmth items (full list to be posted to page) will be accepted for homeless or in-need veterans in the Capital Region. Suggested donation is $25 for class.

http://www.yogaacrossamerica.org

Audio File from our Recent Gong Bath and More September Dates Announced!

We hope to see you soon in Upstate New York!

On Friday, September 19th and at a new time, 7:30 PM, we will be at The Pilates Principle & Gyrotonic of Albany located at 578 Loudon Rd, Latham, New York 12110

We are hoping to be at Hot Yoga, Saratoga on Sunday, September 28th at 5:45 PM and I will update our Facebook Page if there are any issues but Gong Brother Nick has confirmed.

We may hosting two different sessions at Heartspace Yoga's Troy location on Saturday, October 11th, we will update our Facebook Page and this post when the details are announced.

We will be returning to Latham Pilates on Friday, the 17th October at 7:30PM

Happy Birthday to our Teacher and Grand Gong Master Don Conreaux!

Nick has been lucky enough to attend a several more training sessions with Don recently and many of you who know that we often reference Don or some of his works in almost all of our sessions.

I cannot express the gratitude we have to Don and the importance of his teachings have in our own practice.

Don travels the world, almost non-stop, and has for many many years. He is focused on bringing the gong to the world through the training of others who may one day speak for him with the gong.

There are a number of ways to get acquainted with Don Conreaux, follow his travels, and possibly attend a gong bath with him or be in the same place at the same time for a moment, or to train and learn from years of experience and reflection.

As an intro, I found that the Nature & Health's interview with him (written by Jan Purser) is interesting and paints a quick picture; You can read the interview "Gong Healing" at Holistic Resonance.   Additional articles can be found directly on the news page of Holistic Resonance. 

Don's personal website, including his global whereabouts, can be found here at www.DonConreaux.com. 

On facebook he of course has a personal page, but I find his page for Mysterious Tremendum to be full of links to great and frequently updated content:  https://www.facebook.com/MysteriousTremendum . 

Long before Nick and I went to visit Don, I had purchased both Gongs of Our Solar System and one of the Mysterious Tremendum Ensemble's CD's. This was a great straddle between the pure clean sessions on each planetary gong, and the performance and idea of the Gongs with Shruti. Just a tip, this is NOT good background music if you're driving. but it's perfect for long flights (I am not sure if I just made a gong joke or double entendre but I like the sound of it! JP).

Although I highly advise getting all of Don's books, "The Magnum Opus of the Gong" is one we always have present and can provide decent background before a master training session. Don't be fooled by the books' sizes; each sentence therein is 'one inch wide but a mile deep'.

I will try to update this post soon with the best current links to Don's books and CD's - JP

Troy and Latham Gong Bath Calendar, September 2014!

Our Summer hiatus is done and we are feeling refreshed and recharged. We'll be back to our regular events in Troy and Latham and sprinkling in new events in different parts of the region on a less regular basis. Our backbone events will be back on the first Saturday in Troy, and third Friday in Latham of each month.

Saturday, 6th of September~4PM Heartspace Troy 10 Second St. Troy  We miss you Troy! After two months of  not seeing each other we are feeling some pangs of withdrawal.  Plan on a super event with the whole crew this Saturday.    Friday, 19th of September~7PM  The Pilates Principle 578 New Loudon Rd. Latham    This will be close to the Autumnal equinox and nothing helps ease the change of season like a gong bath. Join us! Saratoga Lab-TBD Hot Yoga Saratoga 75 Woodlawn Ave, Saratoga Springs  We are hammering out our Saratoga Lab day for September and will let you know ASAP. Gong Lab  The Gong lab is a sound and vibration meditation experiment. We use gongs, singing bowls and other equipment to facilitate relaxation and cultivate and rejuvenating experience. The  gong produces a continuum of sound or holistic resonance found in living objects that vibrate with every cell in their being. The gong is an engine of resonate power or "feeling" tones. Feeling tones are felt in a kinesthetic way as a result of sustained tone production of long, low waves of low frequency sound waves or oscillations. The body respondes to prolonged saturation  of sound by listening like a big ear, hearing with feeling. When  this happens, the mental, emotional and physical bodies become both super-conductive, and super-regenerating  as the strain caused by the normal resistance of the ego-identity no longer exists as a disease factor. Or it just sounds cool! Gong Labs are donation based. We ask for $10-$20 but we want you there no matter what. Bring a friend for their first time as our special guest for free. Tell us you are coming and reserve a space via our facebook event page or call 518.389.2200. See you soon!

Important Update to the July 2014 Gong Bath Schedule - Events cancelled in Troy and Saratoga Springs, New York.

Our next gong bath in upstate New York will be in Latham at the Pilates Principle  on Friday, July 18th at 7PM.

Although we typically publish our dates on the back page in Healing Springs we did not include dates for the summer realizing that some studios may be short staffed or closed over the holiday weekend.

We will not be hosting the Saratoga Hot Yoga and Hearstspace Troy events in July as they fall on the July 4th weekend.

The Gong Bath Experiences; What Happens During a Gong Bath?

We have been really lucky to get some feedback recently in a letter describing a Gong Bath experience as it was felt "from the floor" at the Heartspace Yoga and Healing Arts studio in Troy, NY.

We thank Glory-Anne so much for this and extend an invitation to feel free to share your own experiences as well via our Facebook Page!

Hi! I just wanted to thank you all for an amazing gong bath at Heartspace this afternoon. This was my second time taking part in one with you. I thought I would share my experience in a "from the floor" perspective. Very different from my first time (April) I was more relaxed and more aware. Right away I felt an incredible amount of vibration through my body. I could feel it in my toes, up my body including the tip of my nose, and leaving through the top of my head. I was able to follow the vibrations cycle several times through. What I thought was most amazing was the energy that I felt in my hands. At first I thought of my hands as an extra set of ears because I was able to "hear/feel" more when I turned them towards you. I had my own satellite dishes -so to speak. Changing the angle of my hands changed the amount of vibration. The vibration equalled energy and I decided to turn my hands towards each other. The energy that went back and forth between my hands was probably the most intense that I have ever felt. I played with distance and rotation as you were bringing us through the session. The amount of energy actually became too much once or twice and I had to shake out my hands and rub them. I made a conscious decision to draw some of the energy into my body. As I am writing this I can feel energy memory tingling in my hands. I am so thankful that you have become apart of my journey. Today I was brought into my body with something that I could "name" and actually measure. You have helped me to become aware of the space that I call myself on an almost cellular level. At the same time you have also made a grand statement. So big that the imagery of huge mountains and flying came to me this afternoon as well. All that within an hour's time! Thank you again, Glory-Anne

June Gong Baths in Troy, Saratoga Springs, Latham and Altamont!

We're back from two full weekends of training with Gongmaster Don Conreaux in New York City.

The Gogmaster 2.0 training was informative, challenging and designed to get us out of our routine and shake things up; Join us in June!

Saturday, 7th of June~4PM
Heartspace Troy 
10 Second St.
Troy, New York  

We ♥ you Troy! Stop by after the farmer's market for a Yoga Clothes and Accessories Trunk Sale (Great deals on yoga items!) then stick around for yoga at 2:30 followed by tea and conversation while we set up the gongs for our 4pm start time. This is often a very full class so consider registering or coming early to set up your nest.

 *Special Event*
Saturday, 7th of June (Evening)
VinYoga Yoga and Wine Festival 
Altamont, NY

The Lab will be at the VinYoga Yoga and Wine festival in Altamont later that evening for a evening lab under the stars. VinYoga is a full day of yoga and wine tasting with vendors, music and events all day. This is a new event to the region and we are really happy to support it as we hope it's the first of many. We'll be doing a special evening gong lab will be wrapping up a whole day of fun. Click here for details.

*Different Day*
 Friday, 13th of June~6:15PM
Hot Yoga Saratoga
75 Woodlawn Ave.
Saratoga Springs, NY

Please note the Saratoga lab has been pushed back a week to Friday the 13th this month. Consider coming up for the Saratoga Lab and treat yourself to a deep drink from a mineral spring after. I usually try a few until I find one that I can't get enough of then drink deeply. Our friend Trent can tell you all about it and offers tours.

 Friday, 20th of June~7PM
 The Pilates Principle
578 New Loudon Rd.
Latham, NY

We are usually right on the mark with the solstice in Latham and this time is no exception. Join us as we welcome Summer at the beautiful Pilates Principle. Gong Lab The Gong lab is a sound and vibration meditation experiment.

We use gongs, singing bowls and other equipment to facilitate relaxation and cultivate and rejuvenating experience. The gong produces a continuum of sound or holistic resonance found in living objects that vibrate with every cell in their being. The gong is an engine of resonate power or "feeling" tones. Feeling tones are felt in a kinesthetic way as a result of sustained tone production of long, low waves of low frequency sound waves or oscillations.

The body responds to prolonged saturation of sound by listening like a big ear, hearing with feeling. When this happens, the mental, emotional and physical bodies become both super-conductive, and super-regenerating as the strain caused by the normal resistance of the ego-identity no longer exists as a disease factor. Or it just sounds cool!

 Gong Labs are donation based. We ask for $10-$20 but we want you there no matter what. Bring a friend for their first time as our special guest for free. Tell us you are coming and reserve a space via our facebook event page or call 518-389-2200. See you soon!

New Audio Sample From our Hot Yoga Saratoga Gong Bath on SoundCloud!

April / May 2014 Gong Baths in Albany, Saratoga Springs, and Troy, New York!

Friday, 18th of April~7PM  The Pilates Principle 578 New Loudon Rd. Latham  Join us for a thoughtful and meditative Lab as part of the Easter weekend.  Our Uncle Mickey is going to be recording this Lab so you'll be able to listen and download it from our Facebook page. Diane will be away at Esalen charging her soul battery so this will be an "all alloy" with gongs and metal bowls only. Something Special! Our friends at the Pilates Principle will be offering a Gyrokinesis movement class at 6:15 to help prepare your body for the gongs. We are finding that some physical action before the gongs makes a huge difference in the experience. We'll be trying to couple gongs with some form of movement or exercise as often as we can. Gryo-K is a brilliant, fluid movement class. It is as hard or easy as you'd like it to be, perfect for beginners. Susan has agreed to lead the class for a donation before the Lab and we hope you'll consider coming early and giving it a try.

Friday, 2nd of May~6:15PM Hot Yoga Saratoga 75 Woodlawn Ave. Saratoga Springs   A very special thank you to Margery and her students at Turtleback Craniosacral for bringing such a great vibe to our last Saratoga event. Our Saratoga event is simply special. The warm room does something to the gongs and the people are wonderful. A special thank you to Cindy for the class space last week. A donation in her honor is being made to support Domestic Violence Rape Crisis Services of Saratoga.    Saturday, 3rd of May~4PM Heartspace Troy 10 Second St. Troy     Our last Troy event was the most popular we've ever done, thank Troy and Heartspace! The feedback we got from the yoga/gong combo was wonderful. We found room for everybody but the yoga folk have a guaranteed spot :)  Heartspace will offer a yoga at2:30 and Gongs are at 4PM.

Gong Lab  Gong Labs are donation based. We ask for $10-$20 but we want you there no matter what. Bring a friend for their first time as our special guest for free. Tell us you are coming and reserve a space via our facebook event page or call 389.2200.

New Spring Schedule for Gong Baths in Saratoga, Latham, and Troy

Upcoming Gong Bath Events in the Albany, NY / Capital District Area:

Latham Gong Bath at The Pilates Principle and Bodyworks Professionals 

Friday March 21st at 7PM

Friday April 18th at 7PM

Friday May 16th at 7PM

Saratoga Springs Gong Bath at Hot Yoga Saratoga

Friday April 4th at 6:15PM

Friday May 2nd at 6:15PM

Troy Gong Bath at Heartspace Yoga and Healing Arts

Saturday, April 5th at 4PM

Saturday, May 2nd at 4PM

Stay tuned for additional sessions by connecting with us on facebook !

Bad News / Good News

Due to a scheduling conflict we have to cancel our March 8th GongLab at Heartspace in Troy, but stay tuned for big changes soon as we announce multiple same-day sessions in Troy to make sure no one is getting left out!

~

The Poem below is one Diane has been reading during some of the recent Gong Baths:

SWEET DARKNESS

You must learn one thing.
The world was made to be free in.

Give up all the other worlds
except the one to which you belong.

Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet
confinement of your aloneness
to learn

anything or anyone
that does not bring you alive
is too small for you.

© David Whyte: Excerpted from SWEET DARKNESS
In THE HOUSE OF BELONGING: Many Rivers Press

PHOTO © David Whyte 2014:
February Sky, Paris.

Returning from Another Gong Master Training with a Very Special New Walter Meyer Gong

Gong Brother Nick has returned from the recent training sessions and gong baths in New York City and we are very excited to introduce the community to our newest gong.

Although this new gong will be our smallest, it it probably the most special to us as it came directly from our teacher, Don Conreaux, and was built by master builder Walter Meyer.

Getting a new gong is always rewarding... I sometimes think of it is as an 'energy transfer' as it may take well over a year of gong baths' donations to convert our energy into a gong such as the Walter Meyer gong below (you can see the excitement in Nick's face!).

Although Walter is no longer with us, I found a quote on PlanetenKlang that may capture the feelings of anyone using a Walter Meyer gong for the first time, even for those who have never met him:

"Lieber Walter – vielen Dank für Deine Hilfsbereitschaft, Deine Offenheit, Dein Vertrauen, das Wissen und die Erfahrungen, die ich ohne Dich niemals erlangt hätte! Danke! Danke! Danke! Ich vermisse Dich…"

(Rough Translation):

"Dear Walter - Thank you for your helpfulness, your openness, your confidence, the knowledge and experiences that I would never have achieved without you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I miss you"

We are excited to be introducing Walter's gong this month at the February 2014 Gong Bath's listed below:

Gong Bath, Hot Yoga Saratoga
Saratoga Springs, NY
Friday, February 7th at 6:15 PM

Gong Bath, Heartspace Yoga, Troy
Troy, NY
Saturday, February 8th at 4PM

Gong Bath, Pilates Principle Latham
Latham, NY
Friday, February 21st, 7PM

Make sure to subscribe for updates and future invitations!

Subscribe to the Gong Bath Upcoming Event Email List!

Click HERE to make sure you're on the list!

Gong Baths in Upstate New York (Latham, Troy, Albany, Saratoga Springs)

Join The Gong Lab!

Gong Lab Winter Schedule

Gong Bath
Latham, New York
Friday, January 17th at 7PM
The Pilates Principle

Friday, February 21st at 7PM
The Pilates Principle

Friday, March 21st, at 7PM
The Pilates Principle



Gong Bath
Troy, New York
Saturday, February 8th at 4PM
Heartspace Yoga, Troy

Saturday, March 8th at 4PM
Heartspace Yoga, Troy



Gong Bath
Saratoga Springs, New York
Friday, February 7th at 6:15PM
Hot Yoga Saratoga

Friday, March 7th at 6:15PM
Hot Yoga Saratoga

Kate Stone's Genius - Interactive Paper (and the Future of GongLab Event Posters!)

We are delighted to have just received some Interactive Paper from Genius Kate Stone.

For those not familiar with Kate Stone, PLEASE watch this entire TED talk with her to get a sense of how cool  her story is, at least as much so as her invention!


Thank you Kate, you'll hear from us soon with updates!

From,

 Jim and Nick Pavoldi, AKA "The Gong Brothers"

January 3rd, 4th, and 17th - 2014 New York State Gong Baths; Saratoga, Troy, and Latham.

Greetings!

We've got Gong labs on Friday and Saturday this weekend!

Saratoga Springs, NY
Saratoga Hot Yoga Saratoga~
Friday 3rd of January 2014~6:30pm
We've got a Lab this Friday at Hot Yoga Saratoga studio B. Our last one awesome and we were eager to follow it up. We've still not settled on our regular monthly schedule in Saratoga yet, but look for our February date will be in the next email.

Troy, NY
Troy (1st Saturdays of the month) 
Heartspace Yoga~Saturday, 4th of January 2014~4pm 
The Troy lab is one of our favorites. Please join us at Heartspace Yoga to vibe the New Year in right.

Latham, NY
Latham (3rd Fridays of the month) 
Pilates Principle~Friday, January 17th at 7pm. 
 Labs are a $10-$20 suggested donation. Bring a first time friend as your special guest for free.

Links and reservations can be made via Facebook

 Hope to see you soon!