Wrote this for a publication thought I would share: Wrote this for a publication...thought I would share: YEEZY & YOGA...THAT SHIT CRAY??? Sorry Enya & Deva & Krishna & Jai etc...hip-hop, elecronica and yoga...the best kept secret no longer! Traditional Yoga music is so over...that it’s over...I mean over yogis!!! Yogamusic needs to be changed up, especially after science began to reveal that, as you might have suspected, our emotional connection to the music we listen to can cause major changes in the way our brains work. Peace and serenity can be found in the most unusual of places caused by the most unusual of sounds! Few yogis know more about leaving one’s comfort zone musically than Dido. After Eminem recorded his song “Stan” using her hit “I’m Sorry” she felt a connection to the song in her musical soul, highlighting a shift in how she interacted with rap and hip hop music. What happened? Well, I realized that students benefited from a choice of music that resonated with them personally. The songs that comprise the “soundtrack” in my classes bring on meditative states just as deep and powerful as what a chanted mantra could produce. They are, like Indian ragas, made up of small pieces of music, repeated over and over and overlaid with a melody and lyrics. In hip hop, the vocals are themselves like a percussive instrument, with a definite rhythm and meter that could affect your mental state almost independently of what the lyrics actually say. In techno, the lyrics were very often a single phrase or two, repeated over and over like a mantra, but forming a melody that was inseparable from the electronic instruments in the background. What’s more, the tempo of the songs mimic the human heart’s natural beat of between 60-120 BPM. You can see it today, in songs by Daft Punk, Gorillaz, and Kanye West, or in oldies like Snoop Dog, Tupac etc... The strong bass beats practically could’ve been made for inducing a trancelike state, and I took notice quickly. Scientific research into the effect of music on the human mind found that a constant beat “at or near the human heart rate” could induce an effect known as “entrainment,” in which the heart rate and brain waves synchronize with an external audio signal, causing intense relaxation. So there it is “Intense Relaxation”... Much of this culture revolves around the concept of Peace, Love, Unity and Respect (PLUR), and while your students will appreciate it if you don’t take an ecstasy pill before class, the sentiment is quite compatible with our yogic philosophy all the same So here are a few of the songs from my latest soundtrack, I change often but these have stuck for a while. Hear me out please...no pun intended. I begin Pranayama with: Kaskade- One Last Chance (to breathe) THEN: Daft Punk - Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger The Gorillaz - Feel Good, Inc. The Luminaries ft. Trevor Hall - Be The Change 6. Kanye West - Runaway 7. Jay-Z/Kanye West - Ni--as in Paris 8. The Postal Service - Such Great Heights Pink ft. Nate Ruess - Give me a Reason Matisyahu - One Day Julian Lennon - Someday Radiohead - Creep Rufus Wainwright - Hallelujah If you want start by sampling some of these classic rap, hip hop and techno tracks. Like any new stimulus, it takes time to get used to a new genre of music, but the rewards are quite tangible and easily attained. Namaste, Peace Out, and make sure to keep it real. So...That Shit Not Cray!
Posted on: Mon, 22 Jul 2013 18:51:34 +0000
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