Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.
Victor Hugo
How many times have you searched online for a yoga or fitness practice to follow along with and finally found something that looks like it’s perfect to suit your needs, only to play the video and discover that the music just doesn’t suit your vibe? Perhaps it’s too upbeat, too aggressive, or too distracting? I know I have been in this situation, perhaps more than most people. As someone who began studying an instrument at 8 years old, with over 30 years experience composing, recording and producing music, and a BA in Commercial Music Production, music is something that really stands out to me no matter where I hear it. While I find that I can appreciate almost ANY music, even things that many people might consider too experimental, I also find that it can be very important to me to match the music to the environment. When it comes to mindfulness practice, this importance is even more amplified (pardon the pun).
Even if you’re not a person who has made the study of music a major part of your life, I think it’s worth considering the impact it has on you. Imagine watching your favourite movie without the musical soundtrack. Do you think it would have the same emotional impact?
The Science of Music
You didn’t think we were going to talk about the effect of music without dropping a little science, did you? Here at Living Lotus Online we can’t help but geek out about wellness, and the emotional and cognitive effects of music is a topic that has been studied at great length! In Music, memory and emotion, published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, the author Lutz Jäncke obvserves that Music activates the entire limbic system, which is involved both in the processing of emotions and in controlling memory. But you don’t need a PHD to intuitively understand that, do you? I’d bet everyone has experienced an emotional response to music at some point. As for memory, do you have songs that are associated with a special time or a place? Jäncke observes “Hearing music associated with our past often evokes a strong ‘feeling of knowing’.” For me, this ‘feeling of knowing’ is markedly similar to the stillness that comes with meditation. Finding your way to that feeling of calm reflection requires a corresponding emotional state and Jäncke’s findings seem to indicate that while music can’t automatically take you there, it can certainly aid in creating the right environment for your mindfulness journey.
Music and It’s Place in Spirituality
Many cultures from all over the world incorporate music into their spiritual practices. It’s likely you’ve been exposed to this in some form or another. In traditional yogic practice, chanting of mantras plays a major role. Several years ago I had the opportunity to create a short documentary on the Yoga Meltdown stage at the Toronto Festival of India. Part of the documentary features an interview with Madhava Naidoo, whom I had a chance to sit down and chat with for some time.
Madhava has dedicated his entire life to Kirtan, a form of devotional singing. The passion and intense focus with which participants will commit to the practice of Kirtan is awe inspiring, but what really struck me was how Kirtan is rooted deeply in experiencing the present moment. Madhava speaks about how people can feel being uplifted, describing an experience akin to the ‘feeling of knowing’ that science tells us is our limbic system engaging in a very real and tangible way. Looking at it from this perspective, the scientific and spiritual perspectives may really just be two sides of the same coin.
To be clear, the music I create is not inherently spiritual in nature. However I am deeply inspired by the presence and clarity that practices like Kirtan can offer. In particular the repetition of musical themes, reminiscent of the chanting of mantras, is something that I include a lot in my own work. It’s important to me to acknowledge and understand how modern practices are connected to ancient traditions, whether that is asana yoga, music or meditation.
Music for Mindful Movement
When we started making our own Mindful Movement videos one thing became clear: we needed music that would strike just the right balance between calm reflection and the energy for motivated movement! This is why ALL of the music you hear in our On Demand Video Library has been custom created by us and tailored to the practice.
You’ll find a variety of musical soundtracks accompanying all of the videos in our On Demand Library. Check out the more upbeat sounds in our HIIT practices such as our recent Dopamine HIIT class. For a class like this, we’ve created a custom music soundtrack featuring calm yet energizing beats and basslines to get you moving. Our hand crafted music tracks are created to help you to connect more deeply with your practice.
Or, if you’re looking for guided mediation you might want to check out the ambient soundscape music featured in our 8 Days of Calm Meditation Series. This relaxing soundtrack features soothing chord patterns with a calming bass tone that uses binaural beats to promote relaxation, lower stress and anxiety and increase focus and concentration. We’ve custom designed these musical accompaniments to complement the guided meditation and help you to be present as you move through your guided meditation practice.
No matter the class, we take great care to be intentional in the entire experience we present. That includes the music. In fact, it’s something I personally take the most satisfaction in putting together. Creating music is a mindfulness exercise in and of itself for me. I often find myself deeply embedded in the present moment, often for hours at a time while I create in the studio. I hope I can share some part of that with you as you practice with us.
To close, please enjoy the following video performance from one of my most recent Mindful Music projects “Acid Rainforest”. This is a live recording of a performance. While the song itself has a pre-defined structure, the performance itself varies each time I play it (much like an acoustic music performance). When I have the pleasure of accompanying Carole as she presents an in-person practice, this gives us the ability to adjust the music in real time to support and reflect the vibe of the practitioners. It’s an honour to be able to contribute to this type of experience and I hope you enjoy the video below.