Lau Harp’s workshop explored the impact of sound in immediately reducing our stress and tension, its ability to access a state of (often hard to reach) deep peace, and its power to ignite our creative flame.
Lau shared her underpinning assumption that in order to unlock our creative potential fully we need to be relaxed. As a dramatherapist working on an NHS run inpatient unit for people with eating disorders, Lau began exploring using gong baths to assist in grounding and relaxation as preparation for creative work. Lau has also been delivering gong baths to NHS staff as a result of the increase in mental health challenges at work as a direct result of the pandemic.
The vibration of the gong offers us a direct link to our parasympathetic nervous system and achieves deep relaxation, often resulting in increased creativity and a deeper understanding of oneself. As a dramatherapist this work has been invaluable to Lau, helping them find a way to ground themself when working in an environment often consumed by crisis and chaos, and also helping as a human being experiencing deep personal challenge and loss throughout this time of collective trauma.
Lau introduced us to the four gongs she would be using saying things like “this one is splashy” “this one is tuned to the planet Saturn”.
We were then invited to lie back on the blankets with our heads pointing towards the gongs and to close our eyes.
What followed was bliss. I could have laid there all day and just listened. The impact that the vibrations had on my relaxation was transformative.
When I returned to work the next Monday I told my collegues in the team meeting that I had been to a conference on self-care. I then told them about a couple of workshops that could be interesting for the clients and then enthusiastically told them about this workshop.
Lau Harp is a Dramatherapist, Gong Practitioner and Holistic Retreat Facilitator living and working in Devon. Currently, Lau works for the NHS as a dramatherapist on an NHS run inpatient unit for people with eating disorders and is working to normalise the use of alternative therapies within inpatient settings. With support from fellow dramatherapist Becca Harp.
Beautiful gong bath facilitation with powerful reverberations amongst the Dramatherapists this morning. #badth2022 #selfcare #artstherapies pic.twitter.com/br5mUnugxA
— Lorna Downing (@LornaDowning2) October 2, 2022
