The two areas of my life I’m most passionate about are music and Yoga. Rare is the day that I don’t engage in both. They have literally transformed me, making it impossible to imagine where I would be today without them. Each, on its own, has helped me create a greater sense of inner peace, facilitated healing and self-acceptance, and allowed me to connect more deeply to my own soul and the subtle energies in and around me – ultimately creating a greater sense of joy and vitality in my life.
A vital part of Yoga for me has always been my asana practice. With a well-integrated practice and my love of music, it seems natural that the combination of the two would take the transformative experience to a new level.
While I have taken countless classes where the music has helped to enrich and deepen my experience, it is not always the case. I recently had to excuse myself from a Yoga class taught by a teacher I totally admired. She played cool music throughout the class, but her selections simply felt out of alignment with the energetic principles of the postures themselves. As a result, my nervous system started to react like an experiment gone awry.
Music, like Yoga, is a form of energetic alchemy, as powerful as the asana practice itself. In a Yoga class, when people are by definition “opening,” the effect of music on the subtle bodies is amplified. By adding music to the mix, teachers are playing with that alchemical balance within their students, directly manipulating the vibrational frequencies of their bodies, minds, and spirits.
Does that mean we should avoid using music in the classroom? I don’t advocate either using or not using it when practicing or teaching. What I do encourage, however, is using music with the same level of consciousness and integrity that we apply to the asana, vinyasa, pranayama, and meditation practices we are trying to support. Although some music may seem to be harmless on the surface, there is a risk that the unconscious use of music could lead to undesirable results.
This creates a bit of a quandary. Understanding the complexity of how music engages our brain, shifts our emotions, and affects our nervous systems and energetic bodies can take a lifetime to comprehend. While there is information in the ancient texts on music as a Yoga practice (like kirtanam or Nada Yoga), it appears that music was not traditionally mixed in a Hatha practice. For this reason, and because most teacher trainings rarely delve deep into the subject, there is little within the tradition that teaches us how to effectively use music in combination with asana.
To make it more confusing, just as there is no one-asana-fits all type of sequence, there is no one-song-fits-all solution. Based on each student’s constitution, their prior association with the music or artist, their openness, personal tastes, and their emotional state, each practitioner will have a different experience while listening to the same musical selections. Individual students in a group class can adapt their postures and pace to better suit their own needs, but they cannot change the music that is playing in the room.
In order to create a more cohesive experience, the first step is to be intentional about the effects of the postures and sequences we choose. The next step is to apply that sensitivity to our music choices so we can better align the energetic properties inherent in each selection with our desired outcome of the practice.
One basic approach might be to avoid playing music with faster tempos or erratic and complex rhythms during a moon sequence or set of postures specifically designed to calm the nervous system and to pacify the often overstimulated vata (air) and pitta (fire) elements of our constitution.
Another might be to experiment with periods of silence – no music. Then students can have an opportunity to tap into the sound and rhythm of their own breath, unsupported by outside stimuli. Just like the pause between the breaths, the spaces between sounds give us a moment to more deeply feel the effects of the vibrational shifts taking place within us.
It is also important to consider the lyrics of our musical selections. Words, like thoughts, like harmonies and melodies, are vibrations that can deeply affect us. When combined with music, words and the energy they carry can resonate even more deeply.
Finally, just as Vinyasa Krama—the intentional sequencing of postures—is concerned with the cumulative effect of postural sequences over time; music affects us in the same way. Even though a musical selection might seem right with a particular posture or sequence in isolation, consider the overall arc and cumulative effect of the entire soundtrack.
While this may already feel like too much to think about, don’t worry. Yoga teachers are almost by definition striving to be more intuitive, more connected, and more subtly aware. Many of these musical elements can be intuitively felt. Just being aware of the mystery of music and the alchemy between postures and sound is a huge first step.
Try practicing to the playlist you intend to use in the classroom and observe what happens. By paying closer attention to the effect of each musical choice on the mind, the emotions, and the nervous system, teachers and practitioners alike will learn which music enhances and which music takes away from the journey of their practice.
Although additional training in the skillful application of music can’t hurt, I ultimately believe it is through more conscious execution, rather than simply through musical expertise, that most yogis will achieve harmony with and the desired balance between the two sacred alchemies of music and Yoga.
Frank Fitzpatrick is a multi-platinum producer, Grammy-nominated songwriter and award-winning filmmaker. In addition to his twenty-five years as a successful Hollywood Creative, he is a dedicated Yogi, certified Yoga instructor and founder of Earthtones, a nonprofit arts organization committed to raising social consciousness and connecting people across the globe through the power of music and media. He released the album Yoga Revolution and he produced the first international collaborative hip hop soundtrack featuring socially conscious artists for the feature film Beat the World.