Yoga and Music: To Crank Up or Mellow Out
Recently, I received a complaint from a student about the music choice I had chosen for savasana. I had never received a complaint before about my playlists, but this one had said it was not yogic. The song, granted, could be seen as offensive (which I warned the class prior to playing it) but the message was positive and needed, in my opinion, to be shared with the class. The songs I play in my classes are not the soft music with Tibetan bowls or anything played by Krishna Das. My music is typically music I like and associate with. Currently this is a lot of indie rock and a lot of these songs are loud and fast. Occasionally I will throw in some hip hop or a playlist dedicated to 90′s alternative music. But the idea that a song is not yogic to me is ludicrous. Its not the music, the beat or the meaning that is important. Its the focus one has toward the music.
This brought up an interesting topic that is usually overlooked in our practice. That is music’s place in yoga classes. Traditionalists could say that there shouldn’t be any music. Contemporaries could say use it as it adds to the flow of the class. When I started out teaching, I believed in the former and that music deserved no place. Yoga needed a place to be sacred and nature is the most sacred sound. Today though, I see it completely different. Music should be used as it enhances our practice and actually challenges us further.
Yoga has the ability to allow our minds to focus. This actually is a much harder task than even the hardest of poses or sequences. Think of your mind as a muscle and focusing on one object for a certain time requires constant practice. This exercise is often in combat with our monkey mind and any thoughts that pop up to interrupt our practice. An hour yoga class becomes rather difficult to focus the entire time but constant effort and practice allow this focus to sharpen itself.
There are two ways to focus during a class. The first is to focus on one thing. This could be an intention, your breath or your movement in your poses. The idea is to never leave your mat and allow all other distractions to not even be a concern. The second way to focus is to accept and welcome the entire environment around you and allow yourself to move freely through it. It may seem like a farce to say to focus on your environment, but allowing yourself to use all five senses to equally take in everything and be amazed by your surroundings is a way to shift your attention to the present. All distractions than are natural and cease to become distractions. Focus itself than is either attention on one thing or all things.
Music itself than becomes a way to hone your focus. Whichever focus is chosen, music can play a part. If the chosen focus is to concentrate on one point, music is a challenge to not focus on it. Think of meditating. Meditating is great when it is completely silent but a struggle when there are tons of outside noises that can distract. Is life silent? Does the world stop making noises when you want to sit? The answers are no. Meditation and focus require a challenge of sorts to keep us strong in what we want to focus on. Music than becomes a challenge to maintain we keep our focus, so that it may make us stronger in our practice. On the other hand if the focus is drawn to the equality of five senses and the present, music becomes part of our environment. When this occurs, the beat gets into our head and the music takes us. We become a part of the song and it lifts us to whatever feeling it is giving us, whether it is slow or fast.
Usually, I offer a choice of songs for savasana. I ask the class “Happy or beautiful?” These refer to two songs I absolutely love and fit perfectly for final relaxation. They are Sigur Ros’ Festival and Ara Batur. These songs emit the wonderful feelings for finishing a great class. It was these two songs that made me want to use music the way I do and without apology. Songs can lift us, move us and put us in places we are uncomfortable with. It seems like yoga and music are similar in that fashion. Why wouldn’t they be shared together?
Harry Dinwiddie will be exploring mixing music, yoga and art as he will be teaching a new class at Eye Level Art at 103 Spring St. Tuesday nights at 6:30 starting Feb 16.
February 11th, 2010 at 9:33 am
Great article Harry.My vote is to mellow out!
By the way Happy 32nd birthday.Hope all is well!
February 11th, 2010 at 2:04 pm
It all comes down to balance doesn’t it : ) and being authentic in what inspires you as a teacher will set the space and tone of the class. The spirit inside of you that is moved to the beat of sound and lyrics will radiate from you to your students. Silence is essential at some portion of the class along with the vibrational flow with the rhythm of the breath! Thanks for sharing and reminding me that music in a class is like musical breathing. Peace and Health-Rachel
February 14th, 2010 at 11:27 am
Music has the power to move enrgy and spirit. The choices we make as teachers speaks loudly of where we are at personally in our own practice.
Shavasana isn’t a place to get a message across with the words of a song. It is a space where healing occurs, a safe space to cultivate the witness to the body, mind, spirit. If the music is distracting from this, the healing doesn’t happen. Look at the research on relaxation response the links to music and healing. This may help you. Sometimes God puts a “student” in the “teacher” role for a reason. Be open to suggestion, rather than digging your heals into having to be right.
February 16th, 2010 at 3:57 pm
Hi Harry
According to the haṭhayogapradīpikā हठयोगप्रदीपिका
“Concentrate on the natural breath and feel the body becoming looser and lighter with each exhalation. Keep the awareness on the breath and the physical body.”
Therefore anything which detracts from the way the posture is practiced is not in accordance with this Scripture.
Yet there are times when we may make a departure, providing we have the experience, knowledge, and the service of the students at heart. This isn’t very easy to do. Personally, I don’t use music with profanity(Michael Franti uses an F bomb every now and then, and his message is positive)or offensive no matter what the message is. I’ve found with all the things you mentioned occuring during the asana practice, the student may not hear what I hear when I play the music at home, with a mind focused on a class theme which I have. Many times it just doesn’t line up that way, so why risk it?
In the Jivamukti method we use music to reinforce the teachings in relation to the focus of the month, I don’t believe in doing things arbitrarily or “spur of the moment”, nature and the whole world don’t operate that way.
There were 2 great articles last month in Yoga Journal about this.
Great article Harry, keep ‘em coming!
Mark
February 16th, 2010 at 5:54 pm
We get out of yoga exactly what we choose to get out of it… not always what the teacher is trying to teach. For me, some days I need silence, other days I need wild music even in savasana. If your classes are full then you’re obviously doing somthing right Harry. If you have students who love your music selection because they can’t find it in other classes then you are probably connecting with them in a special way. Forget about that one person who doesn’t like it- he/she can find hundreds of other yoga classes to try that will fit him/her better. I think if you are getting just a few more people off their butts into a yoga class (that otherwise might have just stayed on the couch with chips watching trash tv and feeling sad) then rock on! Thumbs up from me!
February 21st, 2010 at 11:14 pm
Megan, I love your passionate and encouraging response! It is true each student will receive what they need to receive, music or not. That is why there are so many different styles and classes,it is what makes yoga accessible to all beings. To each his own, wise saying from the grandma. : )
March 14th, 2010 at 9:52 am
Well I found this on Digg, and I like it so I dugg it!