Using Music In Yoga Classes

Please refer to Using Silence in Asana Practice, where I opine that yoga sessions work best in silence, with occasional departures.

This may not seem important if yoga is being approached more like traditional western exercise that thinks of body as a piece of machinery operating independently from spirit, In this case we might  read the paper, chew gum, have a conversation  and listen to Marylyn Manson all at the same time as working the step master. But if we are pursuing yoga as in “union”, synchronizing body heart and mind in a focused present moment, a reduction not distractions that bring our attention out to multiple directions seems to make sense.

Some people may not feel ready for that or may seek a little help calming down or changing mood, so we’ll see music used in yoga classes – increasingly so, it seems to me. So, if music is to be used, I offer some suggestions on how to optimize its use…

Suggested Guidelines for Use of Music in Yoga Classes

- Live might work  better than recorded – live is in this moment –the present moment  is where we are trying to be in yoga practice, recorded music happened at another moment, playing in this moment. This is already getting complicated.

- Instrumental music might work better than vocal music. Think about it -someone is singing, it’s a human voice, like this person is talking to you. On top of that voice is a person talking to you. Who do you listen to? Can you imagine if the singer is in the room singing to you about some of their innermost heartfelt feelings, and a yoga instructor is standing in front of them clarifying the alignment of your inner organs at the same time? Although one of these is pre-recorded, brain-wise mind-wise and energetically you are placing yourself in that same situation. 

This also illustrates the merit of having live music. If it is live, it is a real situation. The yoga instructor would not likely be so insensitive to speak over a real live singer, or a musician would have the sense not to sing vocally while the instruction is going on - suddenly it gets real.  If we treat recorded music with a similar awareness and respect, it works the same way.

- If there is a voice involved, don’t speak over it -  for example, a mantra is played in the background, and the whole class is focusing on the mantra - over which there is no verbal instruction, or the content includes some kind of sparse, wordless vocalization - over which there is no verbal instruction.  In this case, it is important not to “match” the recorded sound and the live instructor.   For instance, if it is a woman instructor, use music featuring a male voice and music content of lower ranges.

Localization and Masking - This rule of compliments also applies when using instrumental music. -female instructor probably doesn’t work as well with solo flute.  There is a phenomenon of listening called “masking” – similar sounds obscure each other and blur together making it difficult to differentiate one from another – so the solo flute would work better behind a male instructor. Where the sounds are coming from has bearing on this too, and even if sounds are complimentary -  if the instructor is at the front, have the music coming from the back - they are less likely to mask each other.

- Choose an appropriate loudness level so that the instructor’s instructions are clearly heard.

- Sparse sounding might be better than full (i.e. less instruments or solo instrument vs. a music combo, especially full drum kit, bass, etc.)

- Less aggressive, less hard-hitting – in general music with a drum kit is kind of barking up the wrong tree for yoga –although pretty good for “boot camp”. But then I’ve seen “Yoga Boot Camp” – so – I’ll let you figure that one out..?

- Contemplative, Positive, uplifting music

- Provided it meets other criteria mentioned here, likely sources are: Indian classical, slow, Western classical (not pretentious/courtly, or overly dramatized varieties – and smaller ensembles), slow jazz (heartfelt pieces not dinner music and “smooth jazz” or overly sentimental fare), gentle ethnic world/folk music, acoustic ambient without percussion.

- some traditional music, avant-garde. surrealism, contemporary conscious musics might work better than pop, which has a tendency toward narrower themes of vanity, drama and trend-based perspective. In yoga we are looking outside of the box, looking to the deep within or the vast and profound, the dwelling of the tender and primordial. Here I’m generalizing about pop music and styles, but you can jam on that..

- Acoustic instruments or analog electric ones may be better than digital ones, since natural overtones only occur in analog (an interesting fact of science).

- An organic or raw mood may be better than an “appealing” superficial one. Consider some of the synthesized ‘new age relaxation” (Cd’s you have not liked).

- Genuine vibes will be better than pseudo ones. For instance, unless done really well by artists with sincere hearts and deep skills, synthesizers mixed with whale sounds may have an artificial “rose coloured glasses/suburban new age” effect counter to success in connecting genuinely, while the whales alone, or a solo sitar played by a peaceful minded person will generate a more genuine posture.

- Contemplative music is not the same thing as sentimental music. This might be a subtle point at first, but be clear that a reminiscing romantic piano mood is so mired in personal associations and past-dwelling that it can really put things into a counter-productive pace as far as yoga, truth and healing are concerned. Truly contemplative music is not sentimental, and has more of the (capital “S”) “Self” in it.

- Relatively ego-less music might work better than overly passionate or “I rely on someone to make me whole” or “hey look at me” kind of vibes. This is a difficult one, since there is very little music of this nature. The ego is a tricky thing and lurks everywhere. Sometimes the most sincere seeming music, once you get intimate with it, or get to know the person who made it, reveals a good measure of content arising from a less than grounded place. And this goes for “spiritual” CD’s, even from “ordained” or accredited people.

Does this matter? Yes it does. Just like anger and fear, hidden agendas are fairly clear to the part of our mind that is shared consciousness, and, while we may not in our ordinary mind be fully aware, we become confused by the mixed messages we are receiving, giving us more processing to do and vague, conflicting feelings.  How far away is that from having energy to get into our asana, send support to the practitioner beside us, or tune in to our own personal issues? Try tuning in to what’s going on in the intention of the music you choose. There is a time and place for ego and passion - probably not while you are trying to find your balance and calm.

- Peaceful music may be better than rapid, jagged or “motivational workout” music. Peaceful implies truth, harmony, balance and resolve.  Even if it is a vigorous yoga class, better to let the yoga be vigorous and feel that, than have a rock n’ roll Goth track rumbling so actively and heavy that you aren’t able to sense your own presence in your own body. That works better for the boot camp approach.

- Light will work better than dark. This is a careful point. One might be attracted to a recording of ancient bells or cymbals, and these might even be described on the recording as part of a particular mystical practice, and it may sound “other worldly” or somehow transformational. But beware of dark and cold colours, or the disorienting effect of sustained tones pierced by random jagged spikes. It isn’t just about being mystical and leaving it at that - we want to provide a supportive, comfortable, fairly transparent place to be in for a sustained time. I once brought a troubled friend to his first yoga class, with a well-known Kundalini instructor who had us lay down while a harrowing cymbal was played increasingly louder and louder, for twenty minutes, designed to “break through” our barriers. My poor friend almost had a nervous breakdown and has never done a yoga class since! Breaking through in this way can be helpful under specific circumstances, but best in a controlled situation where the participants are familiar to the instructor and ready for something like that. Warm, light music is more likely to get a general class toward positive transformation.

It is rare to find music that is pleasant but not bland, consistent but not dead, inspired but doesn’t go to extremes of mood. We want to (safely) offer transformation through inspiration, but not pushing a psycho button “scaring” someone into enlightenment. One can be very receptive in a yoga state and the responsibility is to offer safe ground. Those skull bone shakers and bat shrieks from the shaman ofCongo might be inspiring to you but to a class attendee who is battling with mild paranoia and self esteem it might be a terrifying experience!

- Music without much drama.  This is like the ego point above, only there we spoke of subtleties - here I refer to music that goes through wild moods of intense sadness and loss, then prideful triumph, etc.  - the stuff of traditional symphonies, movie soundtracks and opera. This emotional roller coaster is the very thing we are trying to free ourselves of in yoga practice.

- Consistent mood. The practitioner is encouraged to settle in to a space and go deeper. If the music programming goes through electric - acoustic - jazz - then new age - Indian tranquil then some surf sounds with flugelhorn -- one is constantly adjusting to backdrops. Again, just more distracting work to do. It might even feel good or seem like fun to hear all these great tracks, but we are putting our energy into something other than doing the yoga. It’s like reading an article while on the treadmill. That seems fine in a gym where the culture is about treating bodies like cars or a mechanical process. In yoga we are exploring the connection between body and spirit - so we need our mind to be concentrating on what our bodies and the mind itself is doing, not on an external changing stimulus.

Inspired not flat. Something solid, even, repeating, going nowhere, copying some style perceived as “meditative” - composed by a person who hasn’t had at least a taste of luminosity may sound like its fitting the guidelines above -but has no spark! My note about avoiding dramatic, overly passionate music is a different point than this. Purer inspiration is not of grandiose statements or over-orchestrated layers of sound.  Learning to see this difference is a lifelong process, and being able to see it in music is a joyful path of discovery and a service to ones self and one’s “students”.

An Alternative Option

Some of the most useful music accompaniment I’ve heard in a yoga class is a simple tamboura drone playing one long note for a half hour (followed by a half hour of silence). The tamboura is a sparkling, inspired sounding complexity of a few consciously related notes and many overtones, coming out as one wide, shining sound.  No drama, no statements, nothing changing in a large way,  but lots of small vibrations and inflections going on keeping it fresh. And, in Indian music the tamboura represents the unchanging one thing that underlies all things -i.e. God, from which the various melodies arise from and return to.  So it has the elements we are looking for -intent, peace, resolve, balance, inspiration, lack of ego, sparkle, aliveness, consistency. Technically this is not really “music” or a “musical piece” - just the drone that is provided to put a music piece onto - one can therefore put their yoga practice onto it.

Also, some of the extremely sparse, truly “ambient” composition or sound-scapes seem to describe the patient, rich, visceral experience of peace that is more or less universal in what practitioners eventually come to.

So we can see, the responsibility of recognizing supportive music for yoga, and the issues of missing the benefit of silence make it worth thinking twice before playing music in a yoga class very often! The exception might be a rare time when it feels especially dry and you want to just warm it up a little, for a small part of the class. Or, you might wish to develop a relationship with a particular piece of music for a period of time, always opening with it, and then moving into silence.

If something is calling you strongly, of course you can do whatever seems best, even if it is sentimental or cacophonous –crazy wisdom expresses itself many ways on the path.  I’m suggesting just to check where the motivations are coming from and consider letting go of a habit to play music that keeps you distracted or keeps you in same patterns –after all, we do yoga to try move beyond patterns that hold us back.

Maybe you are a shy, meek type who is trying to break out and for some reason Rolling Stones on full blast while doing rapid sun salutations fits for you at a certain time - only your “inner guru”  knows, but this would surely be a “stage” to go through, not a sustainable yoga practice.

For most of us, most of the time - try the silence, see what it has to offer, or when breaking from that, consider the points above. 

In silence you might begin to hear that your asana is a melody all by itself – a poem, a prayer an expression that deserves to be the centrepiece not the backdrop, or a sidebar!