The healing melody of music

On Saturday, I went along to a Kirtan where people of all ages gathered for an evening of live music hosted by Jack Harrison and his musicians. Kirtan is a popular event in the lives of many yoga devotees where Indian chanting is blended with new age melodies, in this case Irish folk music. I went feeling quite tired. I left feeling light in mood and energetic in spirit. It was a magical evening. The repetition of the ancient Indian chants and their vibrations lifted the room. The doors of the yoga studio swung wide open so the 40 or so people could sing out its goodness to the world. We were situated right across from St Vincent's Hospital. I'm hoping the vibrations were felt there. Many ancient traditions have known the effects of sound on the human body and have been using these techniques for thousands of years. The teachers of Indian music (Nada Yoga) have an understanding of its healing power. It is said the frequencies of musical notes match the frequency of the seven chakras which are our subtle energy points in the body. Jack, who has just launched his new album 'The Enchanted Island', believes music is hugely powerful, particularly when allied with other spiritual practices like yoga. "It's clear from modern physics that we are all just various forms of vibrating energy and music seems to be an incredibly effective way of contacting that energy directly on its own terms. Music bypasses the mind and goes straight to the emotional centres. If you do some yoga asanas or breathing first, you just open up your body to receive the music. By touching our essence in this way, music can be hugely powerful as a physical and psychological healer," he says. Music is the complete transformative agent and as the Galway-based musician explains, it can be used in many ways, good and bad. For example, a national anthem can evoke very strong feelings for country and community; a military march can drive people to irrational acts, a lullaby can put a baby to sleep, a hymn can bring a person in direct contact with a religious belief, a mantra or chant can clear the mind and help the body to heal, a song from your past can evoke all sorts of emotions. Music is totally transformative by acting directly on our emotional centres. He adds: "I am and always have been a musical being. Without it, I wouldn't be here; as Shakespeare said, 'if music be the food of love, then play on'." Of course, music can be distracting if it's too loud or too jarring, or if it competes for our attention. But, for the most part, exposure to many kinds of music particularly of a slow tempo has beneficial effects for our health. Studies have shown it can lower blood pressure and slow down your heart rate. Music therapy is widely used in the management of chronic pain as melodies cause the body to release endorphins to counteract pain. iPods are a popular feature for birthing mothers in hospitals as relaxing music helps them to birth comfortably. Music can help students get "into the zone" when practicing yoga. It plays as an undertone to our energetic practice in all my classes and the effects of this helps release stress acting as a distraction to life's little frustrations. If there is ever a day I don't feel like a yoga asana practice, I simply load up my iPod put on some of my favourite music and before I know it I am deep into my Sun Salutes, moving my body seam sly to the beat of Paulo Nutini. What might seem like a temporary pleasure for a full three minutes of a song can have far greater uses if we let it. The effects of music go far beyond our surface experience. Many pop and rock stars have taken to yoga to help them cope with life on the road with the lack of roots making them feel ungrounded. Moby told The Yoga Journal "practicing yoga has turned down the volume on the more desperate thoughts". Rock band Maroon 5 is considering a Twitter contest for fans to join them backstage for a yoga class before shows. Jesse Carmichael (keyboard), not content being part of a Grammy award-winning band, has completed his yoga teacher training. Claire teaches ashtanga & pregnancy yoga. See www.yoga-meath.ie