The Power Of Music

"Music is the language of the spirit. It opens the secret of life bringing peace, abolishing strife" 
Marilyn Manson 

I lay in savasana and I drifted to that beautiful place between meditation and sleep... total surrender. The music washed over my body and I felt it connect to a place deep within me. I felt free, I felt peaceful, I felt love. 

When I was a child and music was playing I daydreamed a lot. There is something wondrous to me about music; the flow, the beat, the harmony, the possibility; the promise of a new composition, a new song, new words, a new dance. It takes me away into a new world. In my imagination I remember seeing dancers and creating the perfect dance to accompany the song I was listening to. And it could have been anything to seeing the elegance of a ballet to the beat of rock, the flow of a lone ice skater to a piece of classical music, the street dance moves to the mellow sounds of folk.  


During my Forrest Teacher Training we had an afternoon of self practice towards the end. The music was loud in the room and a song came on with a Celtic beat. I could feel my body respond and the urge to dance was immense. Dana, a dear friend appeared from the other side of the room, pulled me up and I began to dance. I was an Irish dancer as a child and I danced like I had when I was eight as though I would never dance again. The music embraced my body and I simply moved. At the end I was breathless, shocked at what I had done in front of 50 people and as I looked around everything seemed to stop and my tribe smiled and clapped. It felt so exhilarating. I felt free. 

Have you stood on the platform waiting for a train or at the bus stop and simply watched the people around you? More often than not there will be a few fellow travellers with a set of headphones plugged into their ears. Some will be standing lost in the music scrolling through their smartphones, others their eyes closed as if they're in another place or are lost in a memory. And then there are the ones who can't resist moving their body, swaying their hips or tapping their feet to the beat of the tune they are listening to; finding their own internal dance and wishing that they could simply break out and let loose there and then. Where there is music there is feeling. It connects us to our heart, it allows us to experience memories of the past, possibilities of the future and be present to the feelings of this moment. It allows us to be, to feel, to experience, to embrace, to love, to laugh, to cry.  I believe the power of music asks us to experience life on a deeper level, to really be in tune with what's true for us in any moment.  

I don't always play music in my yoga classes.  I have been to classes where it's annoying and it doesn't feel right, the words don't resonate and the silence or sound of breath is more powerful. In the same vein there are classes where the music comes on and I feel held, I feel a connection to my heart that resonates so deeply I never want the song to end. 


Our yoga practice works with us physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Bringing music into the mix can shift our energy on many levels. How we choose to embrace this aspect of our yoga practice is up to us. Some days it works and resonates, others it feels constricting and disconnected. It's just like our yoga practice. There are days we flow with it and other days where we feel frustrated and less in tune with the class, the teacher, the music. By changing our perspective we get to shift our energy. By changing the song, the station, the playlist we open up to connecting to something new, something old, something that speaks to us on a deeper level. 

"You know what music is? God's little reminder that there is something else besides us in this universe; harmonic connection between all living beings, everywhere, even the stars." 
Robin Williams (August Rush, 2007)

Tune into the music of your body, the sound of your soul and allow your spirit to speak to you through the melodies and words that come through.  Notice what your song is right now... How does it reflect what's happening in your life? What's your current favourite tune to practice yoga to / to move to? 

If it's been a while take five minutes today to feel, to breathe and to dance to your favourite tune, to connect to your spirit and simply dance. If your body doesn't allow you this level of movement then listen, hear and feel the power of the music, allow it to wash over you and embrace the deep resonance in your heart. 

"I was born with music inside me. Music was one of my parts. Like my ribs, my kidneys, my liver, my heart. Like my blood. It was a force already within me when I arrived on the scene. It was a necessity for me - like food or water."
Ray Charles 

In the theme of sharing my current favourite tunes include:
Robin Schulz - Sun Goes Down
Gavin James - The Book of Love
Lord Huron - She lit a fire 

Happy listening, dancing, practicing, loving :) 

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