Listening to music while practicing yoga is more of a controversial idea than you might expect. For some people, it just seems to work; for others, it’s a distraction. What’s most important is to select music that you enjoy listening to and music which serves the purpose you’re trying to achieve. One of the most beneficial effects of almost all types of music is to enhance movement. When practising, some postures can feel difficult or uncomfortable, especially while you’re in the early stages of learning yoga. Listening to music can increase the sense of grace and ease which is sought, easing transitions between postures and improving the physical benefits. Listening to music while practicing yoga can also help us to relax and not strain. This is important. Yoga is about doing our best while we relax and not comparing ourselves with others. Becoming more relaxed with music is an ideal way to do this.

‘Meditation music’ has become surprisingly popular. Surprising because traditionally, music is a distraction which has no place in meditation. Certainly methods which focus on mantras and on breathing are only interrupted by music but the most popular form of meditation in the West (‘mindfulness’) is totally compatible with music. Certainly prior to all forms of meditation it’s good to relax and music is ideal for enabling us to become calm.

Clearly meditation and yoga are different practices but they’re both related and the impact of different musical qualities is similar in terms of helping us to relax. Music can be used as a backdrop which adds context to one’s thoughts and feelings, for example by creating a positive mood and helping us to move past emotional obstacles to mindfulness. Just as when we listen to the sound of a gong, we transcend our thoughts to a state of inner peace.

Musical variation is the repetition of parts of a piece of music in a different form, for example with melody or rhythm altered but the bar or phrase is recognisable as something we’ve already heard. Variation tends to increase the extent to which music is ‘interesting,’ giving us more to think about, more to notice. Variation can be insistent; we expect to hear a certain melody repeated and the subtle difference draws our attention. This can make highly varied music distracting when we’re trying to achieve a state of peace and relaxation. So the selection of sacred music tends to be conservative in its variation; designed more to soothe and exalt and not “jump out” at a listener. With less potential for distraction and more consistency, sacred music can be perfect for both yoga and meditation.

Tempo is also a major factor. A bit more self-explanatory than variation, higher tempo creates a sense of energy, excitement and urgency while lower tempo creates a sense of peace and relaxation. Not all meditation, nor all yoga aims at relaxation but it’s a great place to start and is greatly eased by the introduction of pleasant distractions.

The level of content in a piece of music (the feeling of ‘busyness’) does have an impact, with sparser compositions being more valuable in clearing the mind. It seems fairly intuitive that we’d look for fairly minimal music for meditation to reduce distraction but many people find that very simple or ambient music can be more rather than less distracting, especially if the listener wouldn’t normally choose to listen to it. Picking a balance between interest and subtlety, choosing a piece of music on the basis that it might help you achieve the particular state rather than hoping that it might aid your meditation or yoga in general, is the best way to maximise the benefits.

Every spiritual tradition is different on the surface. But most spiritual music is concerned either with clearing the mind of unwanted tendencies and cultivating its positive tendencies, by awakening an awareness of and connection to divinity or by refining one’s emotions. Substitute ‘Self’, as in the higher Self, for divinity and sacred music could almost be purpose-built for yoga and meditation.

Music can be used (by some people) to enhance meditation but may be more valuable for most people as meditation. As a background, music provides things like emotional bias which could either be considered good, for its power to create a good mood without a strong positive context, or bad because of the way it distracts you from finding a source of happiness within yourself. As a foreground, music can function more like a mantra; providing a content which the mind can focus on in order to edge out other distractions for the purposes of contemplation and reflection. Music can actively improve our ability to reflect, as it enhances memory.

There are as many types of sacred music as there are spiritual traditions in the world. Music is such a part of being human that every tradition (indeed, almost every human group) has developed their own style. On Sacred Music Radio we play music from all traditions and from performers with no particular affiliation. If you’re looking for something new to enhance your yoga or meditation, or even a way to relax prior to meditation and you’ve never considered playing some background music (or sitting with headphones, hearing every note and every instrument dance together in the darkness behind your eyelids), you might be pleasantly surprised by the results… I’ve yet to meet a person who doesn’t enjoy music.

About Michael Vakil Kenton
In 1979 I participated in a meditation retreat led by Pir Vilayat Khan. I was inspired by the inclusive interfaith principles of Pir Vilayat’s universalist teachings. I created Sacred Music Radio with the intention of enabling us all to experience the incredible variety of sacred music from around the world. I have practiced yoga for seventeen years and meditation for forty years.

The Arlington Institute, which markets itself by its tagline and matching logo of World’s Biggest Problems,insists that the most serious threats facing us as Earth-inhabitants are climate change, peak oil, water crisis, species extinction and economic collapse. In other words, we’ve already tipped the scales by producing more people than we can house, feed, or otherwise support. All of these problems, and many others, are caused by there being too many of us, and not enough resources. We can make individual changes, but we know that it counts for very little if nobody else jumps on-board.

Interfaith movements have already achieved a desirable feat: populations which have, at times in the past, been subject to segregation on the grounds of their faiths, have overcome such divisions for a greater good. Communities in which people do not ignore or put out of mind their differences for the sake of friendship, but in fact embrace them, and learn from them, are becoming increasingly concerned with environmental issues. This open-mindedness and move towards a common goal sounds simple in theory, but is so often complicated by differing opinions and approaches. As they say, too many cooks. By not allowing differences to corrupt a more important matter, interfaith communities make considerable progress that many other parties could learn much from. The level platform achieved by such groups is one of mutual respect, and is the essential first step in addressing serious matters. After all, climate change, disease and water shortage do not discriminate; nor should the people trying to solve it all.

Interfaith groups around the world are united in similar missions. A society where there is understanding of the diversity and richness of the faith communities… and where we live and work together with mutual respect and shared commitment to the common good, is how the UK Interfaith Group identifies their vision. Greenfaith sums up its vision as Spirit, Stewardship and Justice in their work towards revitalised community and environment. In recent years, special branches of interfaith groups have been concentrating their positivity on the wellness of the planet, and by doing so, have been working towards remedying two different issues we all face together.

Essentially combining the principles and practices of a house of worship and an environmental organisation, green interfaith organisations bring together the people, places and teachings of all faiths to communicate the common issue of our suffering planet. Offering meetings, conferences, activities and missions for everybody to take part in, they use a variety of ways to explore and act upon the ways in which they can take action, through such events as fundraisers, awareness campaigns, trips and pledges. Greenfaith’s sweet and simple pledge to “make my life a blessing for the Earth” emphasises the purity of the green interfaith movement’s goal.

There are many good reasons to participate in such a group. To make new friends, to dedicate yourself to a cause, to learn about other cultures, or to address local eco-justice issues. But if none of these are enough to interest somebody, the importance of the common goal should be. We are all only human, and we all have only this planet to make our home, so let us come together, as parishioners might do in a small village, to ensure every voice is heard, and every contribution is counted. As Green Interfaith Network Inc. advises, the only entry requirement to such an organisation is “a spiritual connection with the Earth”, and everybody can find theirs if they try.

In practical terms exactly how can we combine religious methods and those of an environmental organisation and increase our spiritual connection with the earth? To quote from His Holiness the Dalai Lama; “Among the many forms in which the human spirit has tried to express its innermost yearnings and perceptions, music is perhaps the most universal. It symbolizes the yearnings for harmony, with oneself and with others, with nature and with the spiritual and sacred within us and around us”. So in practical terms, when we become more at peace with ourselves using music, meditation, or simply a walk in beautiful countryside we are more in harmony with each other and our planet. Our desire to consume is reduced as we become harmonious with ourselves and everything around us. As a result our compassion for each other and our planet is increased.

Listening to music while practising yoga is more of a controversial idea than you might expect. For some people, it just seems to work; for others, it’s a distraction. What’s most important is to select music that you enjoy listening to and music which serves the purpose you’re trying to achieve. One of the most beneficial effects of almost all sorts of music is to enhance movement. When practising, some postures can feel difficult or uncomfortable, especially while one is in the earlier stages of learning yoga. Listening to music can increase the sense of grace and ease which is sought, and easing transitions between postures. Listening to music while practising yoga can also help us to relax and not strain. Yoga is about doing our best while (and not straining) we unwind and not comparing ourselves with others. Becoming more relaxed with music is an ideal way to do this.

‘Meditation music’ has become a surprisingly popular phrase lately. Surprising because traditionally, music is a distraction which has no place in meditation. Certainly methods which focus on mantras and on breathing are only interrupted by music but the most popular form of meditation in the West (‘mindfulness’) is totally compatible with music.

Meditation and yoga are different practices but they’re related to one another and the impact of different musical qualities is similar in both in terms of helping us to loosen up. Music can be used as a backdrop which adds context to one’s thoughts and feelings, for example by creating a positive mood and helping us to move past emotional obstacles to mindfulness. Just as when we listen to the sound of a gong, we transcend our thoughts to a state of inner peace.

Musical variation is the repetition of parts of a piece of music in a different form with, for example, melody or rhythm altered but the bar or phrase is recognisable as something we’ve already heard. Variation tends to increase the extent to which music is ‘interesting,’ giving us more to think about, more to notice. Variation can be insistent; we expect to hear a certain melody repeated, and the subtle difference draws our attention. This can make highly varied music distracting when we’re trying to achieve a state of peace and relaxation. Sacred music tends to be conservative in its variation; designed more to soothe and exalt and not “jump out” at a listener. With less potential for distraction and more consistency, sacred music can be perfect for both yoga and meditation.

Tempo is also a major factor. A bit more self-explanatory than variation, higher tempo creates a sense of energy, excitement and urgency while lower tempo creates a sense of peace and relaxation. Neither all meditation nor all yoga aims at relaxation; however, it’s a good place to start.

Every spiritual tradition is different at least on the surface but most spiritual music is concerned either with clearing the mind of unwanted thoughts and cultivating positive tendencies. This works by awakening an awareness of and connection to divinity or by refining one’s emotions. Substitute ‘Self’, as in the higher Self, for divinity and sacred music could almost be purpose-built for yoga and meditation.

Music can be used to enhance meditation but may be more valuable for most people as a means of preparing for meditation. As a background, music can put one in touch with one’s feelings; as a foreground, music can function more like a mantra, providing a content on which the mind can focus in order to edge out other distractions for the purposes of contemplation and reflection. Music can actively improve our ability to reflect, as it enhances memory and provides more perspective.

There are as many types of sacred music as there are spiritual traditions in the world. Since music is such a profound part of every tradition (indeed, almost every human group) the appropriate music has developed their own style along with the relevant culture. On Sacred Music Radio we play music from all traditions as well as from performers with no particular affiliation. If you’re looking for something new to enhance your yoga or meditation, or even a way to relax prior to meditation and you’ve never considered playing some background music (or sitting with headphones, hearing every note and every instrument dance together in the darkness behind your eyelids), you might be pleasantly surprised by the results… I’ve yet to meet a person who doesn’t enjoy music.

So in practical terms why and how can music help with our yoga and meditation? So many great philosophers, throughout history, have written lamentations on how music is of vital importance to the human spirit. That is attuning the human spirit to the divine. These people range from Schopenhauer and Nietzsche in Western philosophy to Hazrat Inayat Khan in the east to name but a few. Hazrat Inayat Khan, a professor of music at the Gayan Shala Music Academy of Baroda State in India was given the task by his teacher to “unite East and West in the harmony of your music”.  The practical benefit of music is in attuning us to harmony. It is accepted among many health professionals that the disturbance of our equilibrium is a major cause of sickness. Sacred music can restore this harmony. In the same way that yoga and meditation provide us with profound rest enabling us to become restored. The addition of sacred music can act as a catalyst to further enhance the process.

Modern life is fast-paced and can often feel aggressively demanding. With the constant expectation that we should fill every day with activity, we often forget to take time out for ourselves and reset. Something as simple as listening to music can provide us with that much-needed boost to get our work finished and see us through to the end of the day in a calm and dynamic way. Almost everyone has experienced the beneficial effects of music in one way or another; it can help us to relax and unwind even during stressful times, can improve our levels of motivation and focus, and can uplift our emotions and improve our relationships, helping us to connect more deeply and with more individuals.

Reduce Stress and Anxiety

For many, the mental and emotional effects of music are obviously the most noticeable. It can directly increase our happiness in so many ways. At Massachusetts General Hospital, for instance, attendants noticed that patients confined to bed who listened to music for 30 minutes had a lower heart rate and blood pressure than those who hadn’t listened to music. The reason behind this
is that music reduces our cortisol levels. This is more commonly known as the stress hormone and is partly responsible for feelings of tension and emotional distress, as well as lowered immune response. Therefore, the calming
effect of sound gives us the perfect excuse to sit back and switch off in a world where we are always on the move and subject to
external stimulation. There are various various types of music that we can listen to in order to relax, but many find that classical and sacred music are the most effective. Their slow tempo and conservation in variation creates an enveloping experience that allows us to forget the world, in a peaceful space of our own. They can also help us to identify, express, and accept our emotions. Indeed, classical and sacred music can help us to become aware of the feelings associated with our stress and can help us to master that stress instead of being overwhelmed by it.

Boost Memory and Restore Focus

Music also has the ability to enhance our minds and bodies, helping us to improve our memory and increasing the results we get from exercise. This has been demonstrated in the well-known Mozart Effect Study, which has suggested that listening to Mozart’s compositions may induce a short-term improvement on the performance of certain mental tasks. The ideal type of music that keeps our brain engaged is ambient music, which engages the brain at a lower, subconscious level. Examples include sacred music, waterfall sounds, and whale songs. The second element above—improving the results from exercise—is a good example of the multiple simultaneous benefits of music. Enjoyable music increases our motivation, encourages us to exercise harder, and reduces levels of boredom during repetitive tasks such as free-weight exercise or hypnotic tasks such as long-distance running. At the same time, enjoyable music increases our tolerance of pain, helping us to exercise harder and for longer. After exercise, music helps our bodies to recover by increasing the overall availability of oxygen.

Why Sacred Music?

Forget for a moment that we tend to associate sacred music with religion, especially the Christian faith. Enjoy the sound
quality of the music from whichever tradition it originates. In meditation, for example, we use a mantra for its sound quality and the effect that sound quality has on us, not necessarily for the meaning of the mantra. It’s the same with sacred music, which can benefit us irrespective of the religion it comes from. To quote from the website of Sacred Music Radio: Recent research by the Schulich School of Music, University in Montreal, Québec, indicates that people’s response to music “transcends different cultures as it emotionally affects diverse cultures in the same way.”

The Process

Reading about the potential benefits of certain types of music is akin to checking with a map prior to setting out on a journey
to an unfamiliar destination. The next step is listening to music that really appeals to us and helps us relax. Some varieties of classical music work well, and certainly most sacred music meets the requirements.

A Plan of Action

• Find music that you find relaxing by listening to several types of music.
• Decide on a time every day to listen to perhaps 20 minutes of the music without being disturbed.
• Listen to the music while sitting on a comfortable chair with good back support.
  Be aware of your breathing, let it settle.
• Notice you have thoughts; you can hear the music, and just focus on the awareness of the breath.
• Don’t try and push away thoughts; they are part of this relaxation process.
• Relaxation is the key to dealing with stress and regular listening to music can enable us to meet the challenges of our lives with strength and vigor.

Published May 2016 in Transportation Magazine.

An interfaith radio station, playing some of the world’s most beautiful sacred music has just been launched.  Sacred Music Radio which plays 24 hours a day,  features religious and sacred pieces of music from the Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Zoroastrian and Islamic faiths, as well as music not directly connected with any specific religion.

Michael Vakil Kenton, one of the founders of the station, says: “Music has the ability to cut through cultural dividers, going beyond borders and boundaries, creating an atmosphere that can be subtle and indefinable, or joyous and transcending. The playlists we use at Sacred Music Radio can be all of these things, drawing from different cultures and religions, appreciated by all without having to subscribe to a certain faith. Our vision is that, as a result, by appreciating the music of diverse faiths, people may find themselves realising their common ground.”

The station website is easy to navigate.  For every track played on the station, there are links to Amazon to purchase the track, a voting button to assist audience-driven frequency in schedule, and a short blurb on the artist or composer so that listeners can find out more about artists they like.

Published on Wednesday, December 11, 2013 11:16 pm.
On Independent Catholic news.

Almost everyone has experienced the beneficial effects of music in one way or another; it can help us to relax and unwind even during stressful times, can improve our levels of motivation and focus, and can uplift our emotions and improve our relationships, helping us to connect more deeply and with more individuals. Michael Vakil Kenton the explores the universal language of music and explains why notes bring happiness in our lives.

Consider ‘the concert’: old as music itself, live performance events draw us together, creating a shared mental and emotional place for appreciation and celebration. Just as our individual relationships with music are enormously varied, so too are the observed effects of different forms of music. Low tempo music with less variation and an emphasis on notes with strong sustain is more effective in assisting the listener to achieve a state of relaxation, while faster music with higher levels of variation and more emphasis on notes with strong attack can improve our energy levels and may increase our motivation in challenging situations, helping us to replace anxiety with excitement.

The extent to which music may improve our mood and promote relaxation or motivation should not be underestimated. Music has a profound capacity to increase happiness, even proving effective in treating depression. Nurses at Massachusetts General Hospital observed that individuals who listened to music while confined to bed had lower heart rates and blood pressure and appeared to show less distress overall than individuals who did not. This appears to result in an overall reduction in cortisol levels; cortisol is responsible for many stress responses and also suppresses the immune system.

Music can also enhance our minds and bodies, helping to improve memory (having proven effective in the treatment of stroke patients, helping them to recover verbal memory) and increasing the results we get from exercise. The second element is a good example of the multiple simultaneous benefits of music; enjoyable music increases our motivation and encourages us to exercise harder, reducing levels of boredom during repetitive tasks such as free-weight exercise or hypnotic tasks such as long-distance running. At the same time, enjoyable music increases our tolerance of pain, helping us to exercise harder and for longer. After exercise, music helps our bodies to recover by increasing the overall availability of oxygen.

Music has a long and rich history of usage in the world’s spiritual traditions. The Mevlevi order of Sufism, for example, uses a music and dance ceremony known as the Sama as a form of remembrance of God (dhikr). Practitioners (Dervishes) whirl counter-clockwise, focusing on God and attempting to transcend their ego. Inayat Khan, the founder of the Sufi Order in the West says of the Dervishes that “They have the power of wonder-working, and the power of insight… They are dreamers, and lovers of God. They worship God in nature, especially in human nature.” Sufi worship is highly physically active and direct by comparison with Western traditions of quiet contemplation and mediated collective prayer. Speaking of this apparent contrast, Inayat Khan says “Whoever among them is moved by spirit may manifest the ecstasy, which is called wajad, in the form of tears, sighs or dance… It is therefore that those who do not understand the meaning of their dance call them “howling dervishes”, or “dancing dervishes”

In Hindu culture, a complex system of mantras are believed to have powerful healing properties. Believed to bring about change through the pineal gland, mantras are used to solemnize ritual, enhance meditation and effect psychological and physical benefits. In general monosyllabic mantras (e.g. Om, the most basic and fundamental mantra) are used to free an individual from restraints and frustrations, while multi-syllabic mantras generally target a specific desired result, for example the cultivation of divine wisdom. The parallel between the traditional understanding of the mechanism through which mantra influences the mind and body and our modern understanding of the pineal gland is interesting: the pineal gland release melatonin, responsible for regulating our sleep patterns. The function of this obscure part of the brain remains somewhat mysterious, and the hypothesis that the pineal gland’s functions can be consciously regulated is rare in science and philosophy. Hindu theories on the pineal gland – especially the implicit understanding of the pineal as a hormone-secreting gland in the Hindu principle of a ‘liquid nectar’ being released from the pineal – may represent some of the earliest contributions to a huge and enduring history of thought on the subject.

Chinese theories of musical healing relate specific tones of the C pentatonic scale to specific parts of the body and particular elements of Chi. The purpose of is to improve the functions of organs, improve and strengthen psychological condition and stimulate emotional reactions in order to prevent and cure illnesses (in a manner similar to its modern therapeutic uses). Different types of music are prescribed for different illnesses. It is theorized that the tones of the scale regulate the circulation of Chi in the human body, acting specifically on the liver, heart, spleen, lungs and kidneys in the context of the release of Wood Chi, the rise of Fire Chi, the stability of Earth Chi, the induction of Metal Chi and the descent of Water Chi.

In all of its traditional uses, one of the most powerful benefits of music has been its capacity to promote unity; to bring listeners together in a shared mental and emotional state. Music is more emotionally direct than natural language. Thinkers throughout the ages have dubbed music a universal language, capable of communicating deeply felt emotions which may be difficult or even impossible to convey verbally.

Communication is what makes civilization possible; human societies form around that which we can share. As a group of people (for example a nation) exist together, identifying as members of a collective, they create unique ways of thinking and feeling about certain things which are often intimately tied up with the experience of being part of their group. While the strength and depth of these experiences can bring individuals of the same group together, the way they are sometimes perceived by other groups can create deep divisions.

This often occurs because the emotional foundations of certain principles can be difficult for members of other groups to understand. Principles can become strongly associated with the experience of belonging to a group and viewed as being important independently of their societal impact. When such principles are approached from a viewpoint which makes no real attempt to understand their original context, people can feel as though these principles rather than their place in modern international society is being challenged. This perception of hostility can shut down reasoned interfaith debates before they even get off the ground where strongly defensive reactions refuse the invitation to shared discussion.

Music, with its unique capacity to communicate deep feelings and engage individual’s emotions, may represent a strong way for us to better understand the deeply-held beliefs which are associated with membership of a group. Music gives us an insight into the performer’s identity and when a shared common identity can be definitive of a group, music might represent a strong way for us to understand the way in which individuals consider certain principles to be an important part of their self-identification with a group.

Music, and especially music from spiritual traditions, may help us to commit to more sensitive and reasoned discussions of our cultural and religious differences, creating a place where principles and practices can be discussed in the context of an international community. In this atmosphere of equality, respect and appreciation, groups would be seen as members of the same greater whole as opposed to distinct and divided entities, bypassing the doctrines and dogmas which so often divide us.

Spiritual music, having been underrepresented in modern society, may have a profound contribution to make to the world. The ease of transmission allows almost anyone to experience the beneficial effects of music, and ventures such as internet radio station Sacred Music Radio are making this form readily available across the world: playing music from a wide variety of spiritual traditions and from performers associated with no particular tradition.

In an era when the importance of pursuing interfaith harmony is pressingly urgent, the power of music to break down linguistic barriers and gives insights into the deeply personal experiences of others may provide us a way to focus on the fundamental similarities between our varied cultures, discussing and celebrating our differences in an atmosphere of co-operation and harmony.

Something I often hear people worrying about in the weeks leading up to Christmas is the way in which Christmas is losing its meaning, and becoming focused on consumerism. But what is the meaning of this time of year?

The winter festival predates all organized religions by millennia; we celebrate Christmas when we do because it aligns with the cycles of nature and of our lives. At the end of the year, when all seems so dark and lacking in life, the solstice finally passes and the natural world is reborn in light.

The true spiritual meaning of the winter festival has always been vested in the relationships we have. It is the time to come together and reflect on the meaning we have in each other’s lives. With the days starting to lengthen and our focus being drawn towards Christmas preparations, we need to remember to pause, reflect on the year just past, and consider what the year ahead holds for us. In terms of our goals and aspirations, what is our vision for the coming year?

Christmas is meant to be an enjoyable and uplifting time of year, yet a recent study of 3,000 people in the UK has revealed that 65% find Christmas stressful, making it the sixth most stressful life event — up there with divorce! One reason for this might be the speed of modern life. Many of us may feel we don’t have the time to explore our spirituality, don’t have the time to “do Christmas” properly with real meaning.

Just slowing down and thinking about the true meaning of the winter festival can remind us of the importance of community that the festival has always revolved around. Other people give our lives meaning, and so often we don’t take the time to express our feelings in a positive way or even feel insecure about letting people know how much they mean to us. Christmas isn’t just a time for family; it’s a time to meditate on all of our relationships, including the relationship we have with ourselves.

To have a good relationship with others, our relationship with ourselves has to come first: we must first take care of ourselves. If we are not at peace with ourselves how can we be a source of joy to others?  By taking the solstice as an opportunity to think about the sort of life we each live, we can gain a sense of self-acceptance and peace that is necessary in order to openly express our feelings to others.

The winter festival is far more than observing tradition; it is a time for new beginnings, a time for looking at how we can enrich our relationships with friends and relations to be aware of others on our planet who are suffering, people we do not even know. Use the next few weeks leading up to the year’s end to look at what changes need to be made in our lives to bring us closer to the people who matter most to us, not just around a pile of presents on 25th December with a fire crackling away in the background, but throughout the year, with each of us bringing warmth to enrich each other’s lives and the life of our global community.

When it gets closer to this time of year, many people often say that Christmas has lost it’s meaning, with the focus on consumerism becoming larger every year. But what is ‘the meaning’ of this time of year?

Christmas is celebrated in the winter festival because it aligns with the cycles of nature and our lives, predating organised religions by millennia. I feel this point often gets forgotten about, and it is important to remember that at the end of the year, when the dark nights are getting longer and life is lacking, the solstice is passing and the natural world is being reborn into the light.

The winter festival is often expected to be an enjoyable and uplifting time of year, yet a recent study of 3,000 people in the UK has revealed that 65% find Christmas stressful. It is actually the sixth most stressful life event, up there with divorce! A lot of this can be linked to the speed of modern life, as many often place spirituality at the back of their minds, feeling that they don’t have the time to explore their spirituality, and as a result, don’t have time to ‘do Christmas properly with real meaning’.

The true spiritual meaning of the winter festival is vested in the relationships we have. This time of year is the time to come together and reflect on the meanings we have in each other’s lives. With our focus being drawn towards Christmas preparations, we need to remember to pause, reflect on the year just past and consider what the year ahead holds for us. In terms of our goals and aspirations what is our vision for the coming year?

By simply slowing down, and considering the true meaning of the winter festival, we can be reminded of the importance of community, which lies at the heart of the festival. So often, we do not appreciate the meaning other people give to our lives, and do not take the time to express our feelings in good way. Many feel insecure about letting people know how much they mean to us.

Christmas isn’t just a time for family; it’s a time to meditate on all of our relationships, including the relationship we have with ourselves. Our relationship with ourselves has to come first- we must take care of ourselves. If we are not at peace with ourselves how can we be a source of joy to others? The solstice presents the perfect opportunity for us to think about what sort of life we lead, allowing us to gain a sense of self-acceptance and peace that is necessary in order to effectively express our feelings to others.

The winter festival is far more than observing tradition; it is a time for new beginnings, a time for looking at how we can enrich our relationships with friends and relations to be aware of others on our planet who are suffering, people we do not even know. With Christmas around the corner, try to use the time wisely and look at what changes need to made in your life to bring you closer to the people who matter the most. Look beyond the pile of presents on 25th December with a fire crackling away in the background, to the entire year, as each of us can bring a warmth to enrich each other’s lives and the life of our global community.

Listening to music while practicing yoga is more of a controversial idea than you might expect. For some people, it just seems to work; for others, it’s a distraction. What’s most important is to select music that you enjoy listening to and music which serves the purpose you’re trying to achieve. One of the most beneficial effects of almost all sorts of music is to enhance movement. When practicing, some poses can feel difficult or uncomfortable, especially while a practitioner is in the earlier stages of learning yoga. Listening to music can increase the sense of grace and ease which is sought, easing transitions between postures and improving the physical benefits. Listening to music while practicing yoga can also help us to relax and not strain. Yoga is about doing our best while we relax and not comparing ourselves with others. Becoming more relaxed with music is an ideal way to do this.

‘Meditation music’ has become a surprisingly popular phrase lately. Surprising because traditionally, music is a distraction which has no place in meditation. Certainly methods which focus on mantras and on breathing are only interrupted by music, but the most popular form of meditation in the West (‘mindfulness’) is totally compatible with music.

Meditation and yoga are different practices, but they’re both related and the impact of different musical qualities is similar in both in terms of helping us to relax. Music can be used as a backdrop which adds context to one’s thoughts and feelings, for example by creating a positive mood and helping us to move past emotional obstacles to mindfulness. Just as when we listen to the sound of a gong, we transcend our thoughts to a state of inner peace. Rather like the way in which when we listen to the sound of a gong we transcend our thoughts to a state of inner peace.

Musical variation is the repetition of parts of a piece of music in a different form, with e.g. melody or rhythm altered but the bar or phrase is recognisable as something we’ve already heard. Variation tends to increase the extent to which music is ‘interesting,’ giving us more to think about, more to notice. Variation can be insistent; we expect to hear a certain melody repeated, and the subtle difference draws our attention. This can make highly varied music distracting when we’re trying to achieve a state of peace and relaxation. Sacred music tends to be conservative in its variation; designed more to soothe and exalt and not “jump out” at a listener. With less potential for distraction and more consistency, sacred music can be perfect for both yoga and meditation.

Tempo is also a major factor. A bit more self-explanatory than variation, higher tempo creates a sense of energy, excitement and urgency while lower tempo creates a sense of peace and relaxation. Not all meditation, not all yoga aims at relaxation, but it’s a great place to start and is greatly eased by the introduction of pleasant distractions.

Every spiritual tradition is different on the surface, but most spiritual music is concerned either with clearing the mind of unwanted tendencies and cultivating its positive tendencies, by awakening an awareness of and connection to divinity or of refining one’s emotions. Substitute ‘Self’, as in the higher Self, for divinity and sacred music could almost be purpose-built for yoga and meditation.

Music can be used (by some people) to enhance meditation, but may be more valuable for  most people asmeditation. As a background, music provides things like emotional bias which could either be considered good, for its power to create a good mood without a strong positive context, or bad because of the way it distracts you from finding a source of happiness within yourself. As a foreground, music can function more like a mantra; providing a content which the mind can focus on in order to edge out other distractions for the purposes of contemplation and reflection. Music can actively improve our ability to reflect, as it enhances memory.

There are as many types of sacred music as there are spiritual traditions in the world, as music is such a part of being human that every tradition (indeed, almost every human group) has developed their own style. If you’re looking for something new to enhance your yoga or meditation, or even a way to relax prior to meditation and you’ve never considered playing some background music (or sitting with headphones, hearing every note and every instrument dance together in the darkness behind your eyelids), you might be pleasantly surprised by the results… I’ve yet to meet a person who doesn’t enjoy music.