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The yoga teacher cues us to relax after an intense vinyasa flow. Lying in Savasana, I feel a growing sense of joy within. My lips curve into a subtle smile. In the stillness of this moment, I am home.
Eyes closed, I hear the teacher’s footsteps alongside and then behind me as she pads to the back of the room. I squint my eyes and nervously watch her carry an enormous gong and a mallet the length of her arm to her mat.
“No,” I silently plead. “Not again.”
“This is a little something I’ve been working on,” she says to us in earnest.
She taps the gong gently. “Maybe it won’t be so bad this time,” I think. But then she proceeds to swing the mallet with greater force, striking the gong as if it had wronged her in a past life. The reverberations pierce my ears, sound waves moving in and out as if there is someone paddling tennis balls against each side of my head. It is no longer just sound. The vibrations fill the room, an all-consuming energy that causes uncontrollable muscle-clenching and rattling in my every cell.
“Can I escape?” The mere idea prompts a slew of anxious questions: Would that disturb my classmates who might (somehow) be enjoying this? Would the teacher ask me later why I left? Do I have the courage to tell her the reason?
I stay. When she finally stops, I allow my muscles to release. I feel a dull pain in both eardrums. I need a Savasana after this Savasana.
Do Loud Noises Belong in Yoga?
“Sound therapy has been around for centuries in Eastern medicine,” says Sarah Wakefield, Au.D., director of the Audiology Clinic and associate professor in the Department of Audiology at Nova Southeastern University (NSU). “The qualities of sound have been recognized in ancient cultures during rituals, prayer, and meditation. Western medicine and science are only just starting to catch up,” she says.
Although there are potential benefits of listening to certain types of sounds, the extent to which sound affects us isn’t yet fully understood, according to Amit Kanthi, research associate at S-VYASA in Bangalore, India.
“Sounds can stimulate the release of dopamine and serotonin, which are associated with feelings of pleasure and well-being,” Kanthi explains. The type of sound you listen to can make you feel calm or alert “depending on the tempo and the rhythm,” he says.
Gongs can produce low-frequency vibrations that alter blood flow, ease muscle tension, and induce a feeling of relaxation, says Kanthi. But these effects vary based on how the gong is played as well as the individual listening.
Loud noises are a potential disruption to students’ yoga practices—and potentially their health. Should we reconsider whether the gong, sound bowl, tuning fork, or any instrument belongs in class?
Why Does a Gong Sound Make My Body Feel Weird?
Aside from the dull pain I experienced in my ears, I’ve noticed gong-playing also induces a sort of full-body vibration in a hard-to-explain, floating-above-the-ground type way. Turns out there are a few scientific reasons that could explain this phenomenon.
“When sounds are too intense, they can lead to overstimulation and discomfort particularly due to the resonance these frequencies create within the body,” says Kanthi. Loud sounds can cause physical and even emotional discomfort by triggering “heightened states of awareness or stress,” he says.
“Sound can trigger the autonomic nervous system response, meaning your flight or fight system activates,” adds Wakefield. “If your [limbic] system is already in a heightened state of arousal or if you are anticipating a negative association with sound, this can turn up your brain’s sensitivity to a particular sound and cause increased heart rate, blood pressure, sweating, and even nausea,” she says. These types of negative responses to sound have also been observed in people with sound sensitivities and tinnitus, according to Wakefield.
Potential Harmful Effects on Hearing
What I didn’t know when I was lying on my yoga mat and subtly trying to plug my ears with my fingers, is that the safety guidelines for hearing protection apply in a yoga studio as much as anywhere else—whether you’re attending a heavy metal concert, operating a jackhammer, or listening to a gong.
“Loud sounds, including those from gongs, can cause temporary or permanent hearing loss if they exceed safe listening levels. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), sounds above 85 decibels (dB) can be harmful when exposure is prolonged,” says Kanthi. Exposure to loud sounds can also cause tinnitus in some cases, he adds.
How loud a gong is depends on a few factors, including its size, how hard a teacher strikes it, and the room in which it’s played, says Wakefield. “Typically, a gong can produce sound levels ranging from 80 to 110 dB. Larger gongs, when struck forcefully, can even reach levels over 120 dB, and can potentially cause hearing damage with prolonged exposure.”
Does this mean you should altogether avoid classes taught by gong enthusiasts?
Not necessarily.
“You would likely not exceed the recommended exposure unless the gong [sounds] are continuous or you are close to the sound source,” says Wakefield.
How to Protect Your Hearing During “Sound Therapy”
The following tips can help you stay safe if your yoga teacher unexpectedly pulls out the gong or other instrument or cranks up their playlist just a *little* too much.
Communicate With Your Yoga Teacher
Before class, ask your teacher whether they plan on playing an instrument during class. If they’re playing a gong during Savasana, for instance, you can plan to leave class early.
Distance Yourself From the Sound Source
The closer to the gong or other instrument, the louder the sound, says Wakefield. Make sure your yoga mat is a few rows away. You can move it before the sound session if necessary.
Choose Crowded Spaces
Sound is influenced not only by the acoustics of a room but the number of people in it. “Since people and soft surfaces absorb sound, there is less sound reverberating around the room, dampening the effects of the noise,” says Wakefield. A more populated yoga class or sound therapy session means less risk of ear-blasting sound.
Measure the Decibels
Wakefield recommends downloading an app, such as NIOSH Sound Level Meter App or Decibel X, to measure the decibel output of a gong or other instrument. If the level exceeds the NIOSH recommendation, use ear protection, she says.
“Make sure they [your headphones] have the noise attenuation necessary to put you under the recommended exposure,” says Wakefield.
Remove Yourself From the Space
“If you are experiencing pain in your ears, it is a good indication that you should leave the room,” says Wakefield. You should also leave if you feel physically or emotionally uncomfortable—especially if you experience tinnitus, sensory processing disorders, epilepsy, or PTSD with sound triggers.
Kanthi adds that pressure or ringing in the ears as well as headache and dizziness are additional indicators that your body is overstimulated by sound and that you should remove yourself from the space.
The same goes for experiencing heart palpitations or anxiety. Once you’re in a quiet place, you can practice breathing exercises to address these symptoms, adds Kanthi.
As for me, I no longer let the fear of disturbing the class or offending the teacher keep me from exiting a room in which a gong is being played too loudly. My choice not to listen to gong-playing is just as valid as the other students’ choice to listen and the teacher’s choice to play. We all practice yoga when we honor ourselves.
