I love yoga music. I love kirtan, and I love chanting on my own. My old music collection is gathering dust, real and digital, while my yoga music and sacred chant collection get constant play. That’s fine when talking to my yogi and yogini friends about music, but try explaining it to someone who isn’t interested in yoga. Yikes! I got so many crazy looks for telling people I like artists with names like Jai Uttal and GuruGanesha Singh that deep down I thought maybe something was a little wrong with me. It can be hard to remember all of the reasons why yoga music is awesome when faced with the skepticism of others. If you’ve ever found yourself tongue tied when trying to explain your love for yoga music to friends or co-workers, perhaps a few of these rebuttals can help.
It’s all the same. To someone who has never heard yoga music, or participated in a live kirtan, the whole world of kirtan and yoga music seems like one giant, homogenous mass of music. How different can it be, when everyone is singing Hare Krishna or the Mul Mantra? Since I started listening to yoga music, I have expanded the genres of music I like immensely. Expanded, not contracted! The world of yoga music covers a broad spectrum of genres. If you’re into pop music, perhaps you’d like Donna De Lory. If rock music is more your style, check out Michael Cohen. Hip hop? MC Yogi is where it’s at. Like singer-songwriters? Try David Newman! Almost any genre you can find in your local cd store will have some representation in yoga music.
It's repetitive. If only I had a dollar for every time I heard this complaint about yoga music! Doesn’t it get boring singing “Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo” over and over for 10 or 15 minutes? Actually, no. Just because a song has more words, doesn’t mean the emotional content is any more diverse or complex. Pop songs are usually about love and relationships. Grunge music, rock songs, rap, R&B? Relationships. The good and bad, up and down of them. Not all of them of course, but a good number. In the world of yoga music, one mantra can be used to express love, longing, celebration, surrender, devotion… the whole range of emotions. Not bad for just a handful of words!
It's not authentic. So Krishna Das wasn’t born as Krishna Das? Muhammad Ali wasn’t born Muhammad Ali, and no one is telling the Champ he should go by Cassius. Seriously though, this can be a valid concern. For some, Western people adopting the images or practices of different ethnic groups can seem curious. And fusing traditional mantras with Western musical rhythms and styles might seem disrespectful to others. Fortunately for yoga music fans, the artists we love are making music with the highest sense of respect. Snatam Kaur and Nirinjan Kaur grew up immersed in the world of Kundalini yoga and Sikh practices. Krishna Das and Jai Uttal spent considerable time in India, studying kirtan at its source. And even if an artist can’t, or hasn’t spent years of their life in India, there’s a lot to be said for spending time building a devotional practice in their own lives. Having a strong personal practice translates into a strong foundation for sharing music with the world.
You can’t connect with something that’s in a different language. This argument has always felt so weak to me. If this were true, no movies would ever become popular outside of their own country. St. Augustine said singing is like praying twice, because music conveys a depth of emotion that regular speaking sometimes can’t. Using another language than one’s own can bypass the emotional baggage we sometimes build up around our mother tongues. Put those two pieces together, and the singing of mantras can be a powerful tool for devotion and healing.
It’s weird. When all else fails, taste plays a big factor in how people view yoga music. And this is the fairest argument of all. I think tofu weird, although millions of people around the world love it. And how about people who like bungee jumping? I definitely can’t understand why anyone would do that! Musical taste is the same. You won’t find me listening to Justin Bieber or any of the indie artists some of my friends love so much. And quite likely, I won’t catch my friends singing Snatam Kaur songs. That’s ok! If we all liked the same things, the world would be a much less interesting place. So embrace the strange looks, and chant on yoga music lovers!
If you’re up for sharing some music, here are a few of my picks for albums with broad appeal:
 |
 |
 |
|
||
|
||
 |
|
 |
|
||
Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
Ah! I feel fully identified with you! You are me, I am you. Thank you for this beautiful description about our feeling and the goodness of this sublime music!
Liz, you rock! As you know, I share your passion for kirtan and yoga music! I find it really difficult to introduce someone to kirtan by way of CD’s… because it is such an experiential participatory activity. The CDs serve to remind me and connect me back to the way I felt in kirtan. I remember listening to Dave Stringer CD’s for several years before I saw him lead kirtan.. thought his music was good… then I went to his kirtan, and the top of my head blew off… I was dancing for 30 mins before I remembered I had a sore knee!
Here in the west people are very physically orientated… most people think yoga IS just asana. They get on their yoga mat thinking they are getting a good work out.. unaware that their soul is yearning for a spiritual work out!
By introducing mantra music into yoga classes.. the old stuck judgemental prana is moving through and out, and the body is opening to new possibilities, the cells open up, reach out and grab those age old timeless mantras.. creating a powerful experience…
‘What WAS that thing? Wow! Why did I start to cry in Savasana?’, the students are heard to ask at the end of the class….
The Universe is ready for kirtan, it’s up to us to continue to find ways to introduce it to Westerners in a way that is easy and accessible to them.
Om Gum Gum Gum Ganapati Om.
Namaste!
Pat.
Pat,
I’m so glad that I can follow in your footsteps and do what I can to share the love!
And Dave Stringer is a great example. The closest I’ve ever come to crying in a yoga class was during his “Saraswati Ma” – and it wasn’t even the first time I’d heard the song! It was just the right moment and the right practice I guess =)
Music can sneak into the deep places that asana sometimes can’t. That’s why I love it!
Liz
That’s a great way to put it, Liz! Music is sneaky! When you are at Bhakti Fest, take a Saul David Raye class, very powerful..
Love your thoughts on kirtan… and about it not being authentic.. my favourite quote is from David Newman, ‘Kirtan originated in India, but lives in the heart.’
Om Shanti!
when i read your comments, it was like i was talking. my family and freinds never understand my music because they automatically think it is esoteric and sometimes when they listen to it long enough they realize how much it has made them relax.
bravo for expressing it so well
I see Liz you are in Japan. Don’t know if you were affected by the earthquake but hope you are okay
Sat nam Paula,
We have been in contact with Liz McCollum since the earthquake and she is doing well. I’m sure she’s grateful for all the support. Blessings.