This month, meet Pluto – the big hitting transformative gong.

When Alex and I trained as gong practitioners there were 2 gongs that stood out for me – Mars and Pluto (well, also Venus but only because I couldn’t get a good note out of it!). Perhaps the Mars / Pluto connection was unsurprising as I’m a Scorpio and these are the two ruling planets. Whilst I loved Mars because I felt bold playing it, Pluto stole my heart with it’s dark mysteriousness.

Pluto at 36 inches is a considered purchase – not just in terms of money but also size. I can just about carry the Symphonic and Platonic Year gongs, but Pluto is beyond my scope. I always figured that if we got a studio space we could get Pluto and just have it set up permanently. Alex had other ideas.

I think Pluto was meant for us. Alex found an extraordinary deal for a new one and gifted it to me. I’m not sure that I’ve ever let him play it despite the fact he has to carry it everywhere!

Pluto is a mighty force.

It provokes, stirs things up and ultimately brings about change. There is nothing light and fluffy about Pluto! Very often at the end of the gong bath, people will talk about “the bit when it turned dark” and they are invariably referring to Pluto. When I play it, I lose myself – it’s as though the gong shows me what to play. Certain parts of the gong sing sweeter on a particular day and my job is just to draw them out. I have to set myself aside to play Pluto well, it doesn’t do ego or control or show. It’s intense, unrelenting and demands meditative qualities from me.

In terms of it’s frequency, it is at the lower end of the scale (C#). Physically it doesn’t really work above the heart. It’s realm is the base of the body and it challenges our ideas of who we are, our habits and patterns of thinking. When we’re choosing which gongs to take with us to a gong bath, I always bring Pluto if I want people to shed the past.

I don’t think Pluto is an easy gong. Certainly we have gongs in our collection that sing sweeter and are much more relaxing. But Pluto gets results – exploring the darkness isn’t easy but the light shines much brighter once we’ve been there. And there isn’t much left to fear or trip us up if we’ve looked intently at the darkest side of our self.

Pluto is also the gong associated with Kundalini energy.

As a teacher and practitioner of Kundalini yoga I can attest that this is the case! Kundalini yoga isn’t for the faint-hearted – it’s powerful, challenging and pushes boundaries much like the Pluto gong. The two in combination are phenomenal. The Pluto gong acts as another teacher – helping you explore habitual reactions, shed outworn ideas of yourself, and go much deeper in your practice. It’s a beautiful marriage. It helps you shed toxic overload, to see Truth and rise above the delusions of the material world.

When you see the Pluto gong in the room, you know something is going to shift! I never get bored of playing this extraordinary gong. I hope you never tire of feeling its vibrations.