Note: this is a technical article, extracted from the preface to the paperback edition of my book The Yoga of Sound: Tapping the Hidden Power of Music and Chant, New World Library, 2006. It is meant to contextualize my approach to sound as yoga for those who are knowledgeable about sacred sound within the tradition of yoga and Indian spirituality. For a simpler understanding, please read " A Beginner's Questions".

          Every culture and tradition has its own form of sonic mysticism. Gospel music manifests the spiritual power of sound, as do symphony orchestras, Hebrew cantors, Sufi Quawali singers, the Tibetan Gyoto choir, or the rituals of Siberian shamans and chants of Benedictine monks. But yoga comes from India, and since sound, in the form of mantra, has shared a close partnership with the postures and gestures of yoga over many millennia of evolution, the Yoga of Sound, presented here, draws its insights and practices essentially from the Hindu tradition of yoga and meditation. Readers steeped in the practice of mantra or knowledgeable about Hindu spirituality may consider the term The Yoga of Sound nontraditional. Well, it is and it isn’t. I use the Yoga of Sound to denote the entire scope of sacred sound that developed within traditional Hinduism and the broad context of yoga. It offers anyone on the path of yoga, or for that matter anyone interested in the spiritual power of sound, insights into the yogic possibilities of vocalization in the service of higher consciousness.

Yoga is essentially the refining of consciousness. This work is an effort to create a holistic and evolutionary approach to a rapidly growing interest in Sanskrit mantra and the widespread use of chanting as a spiritual practice in the Western world. Chanting is not a New Age fad; the use of sound as a means of yoga is grounded in traditions thousands of years old. While mantra yoga, japa yoga, and kirtan denote parts or aspects of the process, the term the Yoga of Sound seeks to embrace all these possibilities and more.

The official term for the use of sound and music as a spiritual path is Nada Yoga, which literally translates as “Sound Yoga.” In this sense, Nada Yoga or Sound Yoga, with its impressive two-thousand-year documented history, is as formidable as Hatha yoga, the popular yoga of postures, stretches, and breathing techniques practiced widely today. One might easily assume that all forms of mantra are included in Nada Yoga. Interestingly, the practice of Nada Yoga, as described in numerous texts, focuses mostly on the syllable Om, along with various listening practices. Later, with the development of Indian music, particularly in the Middle Ages, Nada Yoga began to involve the use of language in musical form but still did not truly position the sophisticated technology of mantra as integral to the refining of consciousness. Etymologically, Nada is sound in the form of pitch, tone, and drone, while Shabda is sound in the form of word, meaning, and language.

Therefore, rather than title my work as Nada Yoga, or Sound Yoga, I use the Yoga of Sound to present all the major streams of sacred sound prevalent in Hinduism: through the Vedic tradition’s knowledge-based Gnostic schools, the Tantric tradition’s body-based yogic schools, and the Bhakti tradition’s ecstatic cults of devotion. All these traditions go back thousands of years and the role of sound is well documented within each of them. But, because sound, in and of itself, is capable of awakening deep states of mystical consciousness that lead to healing and spiritual transformation, sound itself is a legitimate “yoga” or path, with its own unique capabilities for mystical union and self-realization. This is a condition described in numerous sacred sounds texts and something you can easily validate for yourself through practicing the exercises on my CDs, (even just listening to them), or attending any of my events.

Nada Yoga, in the way I present it in my work and practice, is treated as a unique stream of sacred sound, with its own specific qualities. Following suit, I have chosen to present mantra from the Vedic tradition under the term Shabda Yoga, because the Vedas are essentially based on the spiritual power of the word (shabda). Similarly, I have used the term Shakti Yoga, to describe the application of sound and mantra drawn from the Tantric tradition, since the goal of Tantra is to transform energy (shakti), from gross to subtle, through the spiritual alchemy of Tantric yoga. Likewise, I have used the term Bhava Yoga to present the use of mantra and other sacred sound practices, including kirtan and japa, from the Bhakti tradition. Bhava is spiritual feeling, the predisposition toward devotional yoga. Each of these streams has been isolated in the past, at least in the sense that one could not actually study them all in one place. In my apprach and methodology, we practice all these streams simultaneously in an integrated model. Also, this is done is an accessible, meaningful, and personalized expression of all the classic of sacred sound that come to us through the Vedic, Tantric, and Bhakti traditions.

Under the auspices of four classic streams of sacred sound — Shabda Yoga, Shakti Yoga, Bhava Yoga, and Nada Yoga — I have tried to present the Yoga of Sound as an integrated system through which specific mantras can be studied within the context of each stream’s particular styles, applications, functions, and vocal methods. The Yoga of Sound also serves to encourage the application of mantras in relationship to other components of yoga, rather than as a stand-alone practice as was often practiced in the past. Thus, the Yoga of Sound requires bringing five different components together: sound, posture, breath, movement, and consciousness. When we effectively combine all these components, yoga happens!

This approach provides us with an irrefutable sense of the efficacy of what is possible through the application of sacred sound in our spiritual transformation and how the vast traditions of mantra can be applied to our lives today. Toward this end, The Yoga of Sound, as a system, provides an extensive vocabulary of spiritual practices and sounds that (when properly learned) enables the practitioner to work with the rapidly changing dynamics of modern life, helping us realize that we are not alone and that we are not without power. Mantras can be used to access the energy, power, and intelligence we need at any moment or in any circumstance, not through some cookie-cutter approach, but through an open system that can be tailor-made to each of our needs, allowing us to take control of our energy and then channel it effectively into our professions, our relationships, and most of all, into our spiritual progress. Mantra is, after all, a means to an end, and that end is wholeness, or Yoga.

Obviously, the Yoga of Sound intersects with many traditional forms of yoga: Hatha Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, and so on. (In fact, most of Hinduism’s traditional schools draw from a variety of sources; they are not as mutually exclusive as we are often led to believe. Even the distinct Vedic, Tantric, and Bhakti traditions cross over into one another.) The Yoga of Sound should therefore be viewed as an evolving paradigm that combines mantra with other forms of yogic practice, particularly with ritual, an aspect of healing that we must recover. Mantra originally developed within the context of ritual, which is something we may have to reinvent for ourselves today.

Ultimately, the Yoga of Sound should reach beyond the confines of traditional Hinduism, and embrace all the spiritual traditions of the world, advancing knowledge in science, contemporary discoveries in medicine, and all viable means of healing and enlightenment. It is in this spirit that I offer the Yoga of Sound therefore as a postmodern term, as a means of bringing together the ancient wisdom of our yogic ancestors with modern technology and then innovatively applying it to our present day lifestyles. The extraordinary acoustics of our recording and audio technologies can (and should) be used for higher spiritual purposes, assisting in opening the doors of our mystical perception and awakening powerful energies of transformation for our species This is the future of spiritual practice. Welcome to the world of sonic yoga. Om.

Russill Paul

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