When did music become so much a part of yoga practice?

When I started in the early 70’s I don’t remember music being part of a class ,I left and did jka karate for over a decade then triathlon when i came back to yoga it seemed yoga teachers send as much time with their recorded music as they do with their practice . Don’t get me wrong i spent most of my life as a jazz musician ,but in class i find it a distraction sometimes .what do you think
Cheers
Peace

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I went to a class and the music was extremely loud and for me it was a huge distraction. I do however like soft soothing background music, but it can be just anything :slight_smile:

There came a point when my asana practice sidelined all inner and outer distractions; cold, hot, noises, smells, dark, light, bugs, other people, dead past, imaginary future, expectations etc. etc. etc.

[QUOTE=ray_killeen;81527]There came a point when my asana practice sidelined all inner and outer distractions; cold, hot, noises, smells, dark, light, bugs, other people, dead past, imaginary future, expectations etc. etc. etc.[/QUOTE]

Ah ,then you need no music to have a blissful practice , I feel the same often
Well there was this thing yesterday where a rather large man next to me passed extremely loud gas during savasana …but that is another story
:smiley:
Cheers

When I first began practicing at home I listened to music every time . . . I don’t remember when I stopped but I may have been emulating some one I respected who showed astonishment and distaste for my choice. These days for me its just the music of the breath and body in the moment and I find music distracting.

No idea what music they play; perhaps an overhang of massage therapy. The studios are justifiably looking for ‘more’ students than ‘more spiritually conscious’ students; though one is not necessarily better than the other. Mere accompanying music (unless it is kirtan) may be distracting to some, others may go past it like many other constraining factors.

However, musical notes have a very different role to play in yoga. Do, Re, Mi … are not just notes, but create very precise frequency of vibrations in a given octave, when done right. The lower “Do” resonates with muladhara chakra and the last “Ti” with sahasrara chakra, the rest 5 notes with chakras in ascending order. If one medidates on the chakras reciting these notes correctly, one by one, it delivers amazing results. In the least, it lets us know the location of a chakra and soon we find it pulsating. This however requires some musical prowess.

I like to practise with music at home but I hate it in a taught class.

[QUOTE=Suhas Tambe;81532]No idea what music they play; perhaps an overhang of massage therapy. The studios are justifiably looking for ‘more’ students than ‘more spiritually conscious’ students; though one is not necessarily better than the other. Mere accompanying music (unless it is kirtan) may be distracting to some, others may go past it like many other constraining factors.

However, musical notes have a very different role to play in yoga. Do, Re, Mi … are not just notes, but create very precise frequency of vibrations in a given octave, when done right. The lower “Do” resonates with muladhara chakra and the last “Ti” with sahasrara chakra, the rest 5 notes with chakras in ascending order. If one medidates on the chakras reciting these notes correctly, one by one, it delivers amazing results. In the least, it lets us know the location of a chakra and soon we find it pulsating. This however requires some musical prowess.[/QUOTE]
I have heard that before do re mi .but that changes in each key signature the diatonic scale .then there is the five tone scale which is eastern and the chromatic scale the dimished scale the whole tone scale some scales have less the seven tones .
Cheers

I like music if the volume is soft.

That is all.

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Fixed,
This is a simplified table. But its a method of trial & error, and to sense a consonance when correct.

Western Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Si Do
Indian
style Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa
Approx.
Frequency
[Hz] 262 294 330 349 392 440 494 524

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Thank you ,I will try that
Cheers

[quote=fixed;81524].what do you think
[/quote]

?after silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.?

~A. H.

[QUOTE=Fixed;81528]Ah ,then you need no music to have a blissful practice , I feel the same often
Well there was this thing yesterday [B]where a rather large man next to me passed extremely loud gas during savasana …but that is another story
:D[/B]
Cheers[/QUOTE]

Ahhhhh. You have touched on one great fear I have. That I will someday do this inadvertently. Surrounded by a class of pretty young girls,I, an older man will let one rip. Oh the embarrassment.:eek:

It is interesting about music in class. When I first started, back in the late 70’s I don’t recall music being used. Of course back then, I practiced to Lilias Folan on PBS.

I’ve taught class both using music and in silence. Each has a benefit as some of the previous posters have discussed. Yes it calms the agitated and over stressed student, but can also further distract if not chosen carefully. I’ve gone to class where the teacher has the music blaring and I couldn’t hear a word they were saying. I’ve been to class where there was no music and at times it was great, and other times I wondered why they didn’t play something.

For me, I take my cue from the energy of my students upon entering the studio.

But I must share one very funny story. I love hard rock music and have quite an extensive playlist of both rock and yoga music on my IPod. My students were coming out of a wonderful meditation and I went to cue my music. Out blared, and I mean blared, Alice In Chains! Luckily my students know of my love of rock and started to laugh hysterically. Ended up being a great class!

I was in a class the other day with recorded ocean sounds that were so loud it sounded like an airport with jet landing and taking off so loud I could not hear the teacher
Cheers

I have health problems that [I]require[/I] a low stimulation environment and Perhaps this has made me judgemental about the constant state of arousal that modern people incessantly subject themselves to. Are they afraid of having an unoccupied, on every level, mind?

Silence itself has many different gradations and tones. Sit in silence for a while and you can actually hear the various electrical appliances around you - not running or turned on- My cd player sucks electricity if I leave it plugged in. (yes I do listen to music recreationally)

I first tuned in to silence on meditation retreat and it changed my life. Instead of being angry or bitter about my recently developed sensitivity, it has given me the opportunity to explore unfamiliar sensory terrain.

Look Forward

The silence was deafening
Cheers

I’m exlporing using music but more as a methodology for find a rhythmic breathing and silent rhythms. Once I’ve discovered through exploring what it is I’m hoping to find I’d be open to findback.