If I had it my way, I would probably play nothing but Ravi Shankar in the yoga classes that I teach. His beautiful sitar playing, which is considered classical music in many circles, epitomizes what I feel when I practice yoga. Once he gets going, there are plenty of rhythmic qualities for a nice practice pace, and since yoga originated in India, I feel closer to the real essence of what I’m doing. Call me a traditionalist if you like.
As you guessed, I don’t let myself have it my own way. Because I teach such a variety of students, I thought it might be unfair to play just one kind of music during classes. Many of my mixes include songs from soundtracks, New Age artists like Kevin Kendle and classical pieces like “Venus, the Bringer of Peace,” by Gustav Holst. With enough styles of music, I believe that most of the students will be pleased with the music for at least part of the class.
There have been days when stereos didn’t work or a class was taught outside without a boom box. Interestingly, some students conveyed afterward what I have occasionally thought as well, “I didn’t really miss the music.” Sometimes instructors play the music too loud, sometimes the music has too many distracting vocals, and other times, I just don’t want to hear an hour of Enya. Many people tell me that they prefer to drown out the music, whatever it may be, so that they can just focus on the sound of their breathing.
As I stated before, my remedy is to keep the music a little low and to make sure that it has enough pace to be motivating, but not overwhelming in its contents. The last thing I want to do is distract people from their practice. Getting back to the essence of ancient yoga, I imagine that most yoga over the past 6,000 years has not been practiced with any music whatsoever, so why do we bother with it at all? In short, for most yoga in gyms, music is expected. In studios, you’ll probably find a lot more music-less yoga. All in all, I lean toward the music because it can take you outside of yourself and it can keep the class energized. Let me know what your feelings are about music in your yoga class. What music styles or artists have you found pleasant in the past or what do you think would be so?
Jazzercise: It isn’t What You Think