Nada Yoga

Nada in Sanskrit means ‘sound’ or ‘flow’. Yoga means ‘union’. The practices of Nada Yoga therefore can be understood as the union or flowing into sound. Nada Yoga incorporates all forms of sound or music. It is said that this path of yoga is the one to which all forms of yoga eventually lead. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika, after describing all the practices for yogic development – asanas, breathing, shatkarmas and bandhas, devotes much of its final section (entitled Samadhi) to the practice of Nada Yoga (referred to as laya yoga):

There are one and a quarter crore ways told by
Sri Adinath to attain laya, but we think the one and only
thing is nada anusandhana or the exploration of nada.”
Hatha Yoga Pradipika v.66

This nada or eternal sound is ever present. “All the seven heavens are echoing with the Sound. The ignorant do not hear it, or catch the strains” says Hafiz, a Muslim mystic poet. “Search for the Sound in the body, and thou shalt be saved!” said Guru Nanak, founder of the Sikh religion.

This science of sound involves becoming aware not only of audible frequencies but also of frequencies that are inaudible to our ears. It is important to differentiate here between the two different kinds of sound. All the sounds which we hear through our ears are the result of two objects striking each other. This is obvious when we think of clapping or drumming and other such percussive sounds, but more subtle when the interaction between the two surfaces is not so obvious – the sound of the wind in the grass, the wide range of sounds we are capable of producing with our voices for instance (the effect of air hitting our vocal cords.) These sounds are called ahata sounds or ‘struck sounds’.

Then we have the ‘unstruck sounds’ – the anahata sounds. These sounds have no discernable source and are heard from within. The more subtle nada yoga practices are focused on these inner sounds.

“When the mind becomes so absorbed in that sound that one
is no longer listening to it, but is vibrating in unison with it,
then the final state of Laya Yoga (Nada Brahman, or Oneness
with God/Sound) is achieved.”
Muz Murray

Whilst it is true that it can take many years – even lifetimes – of spiritual practice to achieve this ultimate ‘Union’ with the Divine, I do believe that we all can and do catch glimpses of it all the time in our daily yoga practice and living. And when we sing!