When my daughter was a preschooler, we used to go to Music Together classes to bang on drums, dance with flowing ribbons, and sing our heads off. There was always a moment during the class that the teacher would put on a song for crazy free dancing — once it was “Cheeseburger in Paradise” (which the kids loved). And one time the teacher played this gorgeous song that I recognized featuring Peter Gabriel’s voice, with really beautiful background music. After class, I rushed out to buy the album: Afro Celt Sound System 3. I listened to that album during my yoga practice yesterday and “When You’re Falling,” the song featuring Peter Gabriel, was just perfect for inspiring my flowing sun salutations. I used to dislike listening to music during yoga practice, but these days I’m finding it adds to my energy in the practice.
Today, being too lazy to change the music, I listened to Afro Celt again. This time I was struck by this song, “The Persistence of Memory”:
Isn’t that just lovely? Happy weekend to all of you!
January 18, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Beautiful – never heard that before. Hope you and your family have a great weekend too!
January 18, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Years ago, my teacher H told me that I should try music to help inspire my home practice. I tried listening to some yoga-y stuff, but it mostly left me cold. It wasn’t until I bought my first MP3 player and put together some playlists of music I really loved that her advice clicked and made sense to me. Now, music is an integral part of my home practice. I know some people prefer silence during their practice, but for me, music is absolutely essential.
January 18, 2008 at 6:37 pm
Love the music! I’m going to have to get that.
It seems traditional in Ashtanga not to use music, but when you’re by yourself, it seems it might help. I think I’ll try it, it might help me keep going instead of fizzling out like I often do when practicing alone.
January 19, 2008 at 3:49 am
ditto to kai – i LOVE having music in my class.
I once had a teacher who played jazz sometimes in class – I told him I really appreciated it after class one time and he said that those old jazz muso’s, who have music in their soul, are some of the most spiritual people you’d ever come across – so it seemed fitting to him to play it in class.
I still remember it to his day – and I have him to thank for not being shy about choosing ‘non-traditional’ in my own classes : )
x
January 19, 2008 at 3:56 am
Great song!
Music plays a big part in my practice as it helps me keep up. It also plays a part in my active meditation. Actually, the other day I was thinking that it would seem very odd to me to take a Kundalini class where there wasn’t music in the background.
January 19, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Lovely! Thank you for sharing. I once did yoga to the Doors. Was energizing for my practice, didn’t to much for my savasana!
January 20, 2008 at 12:49 am
I’m not sure how music and yoga would mix for me – but then music tends to sound track absolutely everything else I do (”Do we have to have music on, daddy?”) so I suppose I’ve avoided it in yoga and meditation as a kind of discipline (I’d be too easily drawn into the music). Perhaps something like Nusrat Fateh Ali Kahn? The only way to find out is to try it, I guess!
January 20, 2008 at 9:37 am
Great song–I’ll have to download it from iTunes. I love the Peter Gabriel song, too. ACSS do some very cool things with rhythms, so I can see how their music would be great for movement–dancing, yoga, cycling. I think I’m going to go for a ride and take my iPod now.
January 20, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Hey- I love afro celt sound system. Sinead O’Conner does a song with them too called Release (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeNU600stLA) It is sooo good.
I haven’t thought of them in a long time- thanks for the reminder- I am off to download some for my own yoga practice tonight.
January 21, 2008 at 6:07 am
I sometimes have music in the background, but it has to be something I cant end up singing along to, otherwise my practice goes to pot! Buddha Bar cd’s are not bad, or something in a foreign language.
January 22, 2008 at 9:56 am
[...] childhood pass so quickly, like Amy, Dawn, Louann, Charlotte,(we’d like a global perspective) YogaMum, Mothergoosemouse (congratulations again), Patios, Beck, Mama M, Leslie, Jess — and you know [...]
January 22, 2008 at 12:40 pm
Delicious!!! I love this song! Thank you for reminding me of it (and of Peter Gabriel, who I also adore). In a yoga class this weekend the teacher played Indian Bhangra music at the end of class and invited us all to get up and dance. I danced so completely that the rhythms and movement brought tears to my eyes and washed my hurts away. Ah the power of sound, and energy and people moving together.