Importance of Music

An intimate touch of sound, if your'e really listening, can open up the body to become more aware of your being. Wether you are meditating or doing postures, soothing music can keep the mind and body calm and relax. Thus, increasing your ability to correctly hold postures, and helps you stay in sync with your meditation. When I meditate nightly I have to have soft flutes or singing bowls playing in the back ground. This really helps me to keep my mind at ease and also to remove other thoughts of stress from that day.

Singing bowls have a really deep smooth sound, and flutes have a higher pitch. When you put them together specifically, it is so relaxing! Sometimes people will even combined the wonderful sounds of instruments with mother nature. Sounds such as waterfalls, streams, thunderstorm, etc. The combination of these two really creates a harmony between human kind and mother nature. It helps to remind me that we are extremely connected with mother nature as long as we are willing to be.

Vocal music can actually distract the mind, and is not recommended for meditation. Vocals can trigger memories, and when meditating, you want to remove all possible thoughts. This is why instrumental music is recommended. Kirtan can also be added to instrumental music adding a more religious feel. Kirtan chanters called Kirtankar, are singing lord praises and that is why I say it is more tied to religion. The tones the chanters use are very similar to the music it is combined with! This makes it very relaxing to listen to, and even a non-religious person can enjoy the music for meditation.

This is a picture of a singing bowl! You simply take the wooden stick and glide it around the top edge of the bowl. This creates a deep soothing sound! Kind of like a glass of wine!

Khalsa, Karan. (12/30/2009). Article Factory. Importance of Instrumental Music In Yoga. Received 05/01/10 from: http://www.articlesfactory.com/articles/health/importance-of-instrumental-music-in-yoga.html

(4/22/2010). Wikipedia. Kirtan. Received 05/01/10 from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirtan